Does Lexington sheriff candidate actually live in the county? A fight is unfolding

One of three Republican challengers who filed to run against Lexington County’s sheriff won’t be certified for the race because of a question raised about whether he actually lives in the county. He says he’s challenging that decision.

The state Republican Party confirmed to The State that Garry Rozier isn’t being allowed to participate in the June 11 Republican primary due to residency issues.

Jay Koon, who has served as Lexington’s top law enforcement officer since 2015, faces two other challengers for the Republican nomination: Alan Driggers, who retired as a Lexington sheriff’s lieutenant after 24 years with the department, and Billy Warren, a former Lexington deputy and 32-year veteran of the state Highway Patrol.

Rozier, who served 40 years with the state Highway Patrol before later joining the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the county Sheriff’s Department, has been actively campaigning for sheriff since 2022.

No Democrat filed to run, so the Republican primary likely will decide who will be Lexington County’s sheriff for the next four years.

Rozier said he moved back to Lexington County, where he lived for 25 years before purchasing a house in the Prosperity area of Newberry County, in January 2023. That was the same month he formally announced his run for office.

Properity records indicate he purchased the Prosperity home in 2009. He said he is now renting a house in Chapin.

While his move to Lexington County and the formal announcement of his candidacy took place the same month, Rozier said there were other motivations for his move back to the county.

“I’m helping my brother-in-law with his business, and it put me a little closer on Jamil Road where his business is at, and two, I wanted to move a little closer, I’ve got some friends in Chapin,” he said.

Rozier said he was contacted by the state Republican Party on April 4 to furnish documents proving he lives in Lexington County. According to state law, a candidate for sheriff must have lived in the county he is seeking to represent “at least one year immediately preceding the date of the election.”

“Based on the residency requirements under SC State Law for the Office of Sheriff, the SCGOP did not certify Mr. Rozier,” the party said in a statement, refusing to comment further on pending legal action.

Rozier said he was asked for documents proving both his residency in Chapin and that he doesn’t claim the Newberry County house as his primary residence, which he provided. During this process, he said, he talked with the state GOP’s executive director, Hope Walker Rossi. The candidate said he was told he would likely be OK before receiving an email informing him he wouldn’t be certified for the election.

“I was very upset,” Rozier said. “I have been doing candidacy, doing this for a year and a half. You can understand after working so hard for a year and a half for them to tell you you can’t run, it’s kind of tough to handle.”

The candidate showed The State copies of the email he said he received from the state party informing him of the issue with his residency, with documents attached tying him to Newberry County, including records of two vehicles and two watercraft registered in his name there.

A letter included with those documents says they were sent to the state GOP by lawyers representing Koon and his reelection campaign.

“Based on publicly available information, it is clear that Garry Bryan Rozier, who is currently seeking the office of Sheriff of Lexington County, lacks the requisite qualifications to be certified as a candidate for the office of Sheriff,” attorney Kevin Hall writes in the letter. “Accordingly, any request by Mr. Rozier to appear on a primary or general election ballot for the office of Sheriff should be rejected by the South Carolina Republican Party and the Lexington County Election Commission.”

Koon confirmed to The State that his lawyers sent the materials questioning Rozier’s residency.

“This isn’t really about me,” he said. “Everybody’s got to get certified.”

According to Newberry County records, the house Rozier owns isn’t his primary residence, but he is listed as having those two vehicles and two watercraft registered to him in the county.

He said one of the cars is a truck he has since sold and says he is now driving a new truck registered in Lexington County, while the other vehicle is a car owned by his ex-wife who hasn’t changed the registration. As to the watercraft, he said one is a boat that was defective and had to be totaled, and the other was provided by the dealer to replace it. It took a while for the dealer to provide the title, which it did in February, Rozier said, so he hasn’t yet been able to register the boat in Lexington County.

The candidate said his representation is gearing up for a legal battle in an attempt to change the state GOP’s ruling.

“I hate to say this, but I kind of feel like the Trump of Lexington County,” Rozier added.