Senator John Matthews to step down at the end of the year
Orangeburg, SC (WOLO) — A state Senator John Matthews announced he will not file for re-election later this month.
Senator Matthews has served in the South Carolina General Assembly since 1975 and says he will step aside at the end of the year. The 79-year-old Democrat from Orangeburg County spent 10 years in the House after being elected in 1974.
He then was elected to the state Senate in 1984, serving ever since. No African American lawmaker has served longer at the Statehouse. Matthews says he thinks the best way to continue the momentum he and his senators have built is to have a new generation take over.
