Sen. Josh Kimbrell is seen during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in Columbia, S.C. on March 15, 2022. Kimbrell, who is running for governor, told voters not to count him out, even as a lawsuit has overshadowed his campaign. (File photo by Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA)
State Sen. Josh Kimbrell says voters should not to count him out, even as a lawsuit from a former business partner has overshadowed his run for the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion.
Kimbrell, in a 21-minute Facebook video, called the months of legal drama that have dogged him since the start of his campaign “the roughest period of life since I’ve been on the planet.”
In an interview with the SC Daily Gazette, Kimbrell went on to blast his former associate, Frank Rogers, as a “raging narcissist” who had destroyed his business and left him forced to sell his home to pay his ongoing legal fees.
An attorney for Rogers did not respond to phone calls from the SC Daily Gazette Thursday.
The legal drama started two weeks after Kimbrell’s June gubernatorial launch. Rogers sued him, alleging the legislator had diverted more than $2 million out of their joint company and used the money for personal and campaign expenses.
Kimbrell denied the allegations and counter-sued for defamation.
Now, the Boiling Springs Republican is urging voters not to dismiss him in the five-way Republican primary, despite his low profile and nearly non-existent fundraising compared to other candidates.
“Anybody that’s writing me off as irrelevant does so at their peril,” he told the SC Daily Gazette.
Kimbrell highlighted his record of co-sponsoring anti-abortion and tax-cutting laws and said he’ll further prove himself to voters in the upcoming legislative session.
But what the former conservative Christian radio host is probably best known for are a pair of special budget rules: one threatening to pull state funding for public libraries unless they restrict children’s access to books deemed inappropriate and another yanking funds for any city with bans on so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors.
Exodus Aircraft
In addition to his radio career, Kimbrell founded Exodus Aircraft, a company that charters private flights, in 2017. Five years later, Rogers bought a half-stake in the company, according to his July lawsuit.
Kimbrell said he was in the process of selling the business when Rogers sued him. Rogers, in court filings, claims he wasn’t adequately informed of the sale plans.
Kimbrell told the SC Daily Gazette that he believed, after Rogers sued him, that Rogers would soon “destroy” the company and wanted to sever ties as soon as possible.
He agreed to resign and turn over all Exodus business records in anticipation of counter-suing.
In a dueling lawsuit, several Exodus investors sued alleging Rogers was fully aware of the impending sale and blew up the deal by orchestrating a “hostile takeover.”
About two weeks after Rogers filed suit, both he and Kimbrell signed on to an agreement saying that Kimbrell would resign from Exodus Aircraft and surrender all company assets and business records. Rogers’ lawyers have argued in recent filings that Kimbrell has not abided by terms of that agreement. They alleged Kimbrell has contacted former Exodus employees and investors and has not turned over all business records Rogers’ lawyers requested.
Meanwhile, the legal mess continues to grow as Rogers and Kimbrell each seek to drag more people and businesses into the fray. A judge will hear arguments about potential new parties in the suit Friday.
According to recent quarterly fundraising reports, Kimbrell has raised $23,000 for his run for governor. Three of his Republican competitors have raised over a million dollars; the fourth has raised over $800,000.
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