Jim Rex

Jim Rex (born November 21, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 16th South Carolina Superintendent of Education. He ran for the position in 2006 as a Democrat, against Karen Floyd, a Republican. He was sworn in as superintendent on January 10, 2007, replacing fellow Democrat Inez Tenenbaum. In 2014, Rex co-founded a new political party – the American Party of South Carolina, now known as the Alliance Party of South Carolina.

As of 2026, he is the last Democrat to have won a statewide election in South Carolina. While Yancey McGill briefly held the office of Lieutenant Governor from June 2014 to January 2015, he was elected by the state senators, and while Brian Gaines has been State Comptroller since 2023, that was the result of a gubernatorial appointment.

Education and early career Rex received a bachelor's degree in English, a master's degree in education administration, and a doctorate degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Toledo. the dean of education at Coastal Carolina University, On September 15, he announced his candidacy for governor.

On the campaign trail, Rex advocated for revenue and funding reform in order to relieve some of the extreme cuts caused by the budget crisis that began in 2008. One of his ideas – the Tax Realignment Commission – was already in progress before the campaign began, but he expressed concern that the General Assembly might try to water down the reform in an effort to appeal to special interest groups.

Another key component of Rex's platform was his plan to raise the cigarette tax. South Carolina's tax, which was $0.07 per pack at the time Rex began to advocate an increase, was far from the national average of $1.34 per pack. Ultimately, the General Assembly compromised on the issue and raised the tax to $0.37 per pack, still $0.97 below the national average. Rex repeatedly stated that an increase to $1.34, indexed to increase with the national average in the future, would have prevented teacher furloughs and decreased teen smoking.

Rex finished second in the Democratic primary to State Senator Vincent Sheheen, whom he endorsed for governor in September.