By admin 
Clark Neilson doesn’t live in South Carolina — yet — but he wants a shot in the state’s open U.S. Senate election.
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The sudden death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham triggered a special primary to replace his name of the November ballot because he had decisively won the Republican primary earlier this year for a reelection bid.
At least eight Republicans indicated they would compete for the rarely open U.S. Senate seat.
One of those is Neilson, a 70-year-old business owner. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, but filed to represent the Palmetto State in the U.S. Senate.
His candidate filing lists a North Carolina address, though he says he owns land in Charleston County where he plans to build a home. He is working on gaining South Carolina residency.
The U.S. Constitution only has three qualifications for the Senate: they must be 30 years or older, a citizen of the U.S. for at least nine years and an “inhabitant” of the state when elected.
But Neilson’s residency also has to satisfy the state Republican Party. Under the party’s rules, candidates running as Republicans must be a “bona fide resident” of South Carolina. The party hasn’t vetted candidates’ qualifications yet, said Grace Short, a spokesperson for the state GOP, Wednesday afternoon.
The state party pulls candidates’ South Carolina voter registration files to confirm residency and eligibility, Short said.
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Neilson considered running for the open U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina but still had obligations to his business that kept him from mounting a bid then. He’s more interested in national and international politics than state or local, pushing him to consider a congressional seat.
“I felt like … I was a good candidate, but I needed to tie my business down to somebody, and I hadn’t done that yet,” Nielson said.
Nielson owns a land surveying business in Charlotte. He said his education and business background would help him in the U.S. Senate and that he has never run for elected office before.
“I think more people in my situation should be running for things instead of career politicians,” Neilson said.
Duke Buckner, Mark Lynch, Mark McBride and Samuel Shepherd also filed to run for U.S. Senate. U.S. Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman and Lindsey Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, said they would campaign for the seat.
Nielson said he wants to continue “following Lindsey Graham’s footsteps and be supportive of our president, and pushing towards policies that help South Carolina remain economically vibrant, which I think it really has become, like North Carolina, over the last 10, 15 years.”
Read more Former SC state Rep. Chris Murphy from Dorchester County dies. He was 58 years old