COLUMBIA — State Sen. Roger Nutt resigned his Upstate seat Monday after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the Moore Republican said in a news release.
Rep. Bobby Cox, a Greer Republican, has announced he will run for Nutt’s seat representing parts of Spartanburg and Greenville counties. To do so, Cox also resigned Monday from his House seat.
Nutt, a 59-year-old father of three, spent a decade on the Spartanburg County Council before winning a seat in the House in the 2020 election. He was elected to the Senate last November after emerging as the victor of a contentious, four-way GOP primary for an open seat.
Nutt had been receiving medical treatment for what he believed were symptoms of long COVID, in which symptoms of the virus linger after the infection itself has ended. Doctors instead determined that Nutt had neurodegenerative disorder Alzheimer’s disease, according to a news release.
“While we are saddened by this news, we will face this trial with faith in the grace of God that has sustained our lives, our marriage and my career in public service for nearly 15 years,” Nutt said in a statement.
Following the resignation, the Senate set the dates of an election to fill Nutt’s seat, as per the timing rules in state law: Filing will open Aug. 29. Party primaries (if needed) will be Oct. 21. The special election will be Dec. 23.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of Senator Nutt’s resignation and the circumstances that led to his decision,” Senate President Thomas Alexander said in a statement with the election schedule. “In the time I had the privilege to serve alongside him, I was struck by his knowledge, tireless work ethic, and unwavering commitment to his constituents.”
Voters sent Nutt to the Senate to replace Sen. Scott Talley of Spartanburg, who opted not to seek a third term.
Nutt said Talley asked him to run, but others wanting the seat included former Sen. Lee Bright, a firebrand Republican who lost his reelection bid to Talley in 2016.
Bright placed first in the four-way primary last June, but Nutt ultimately defeated Bright in the runoff by fewer than 150 votes.
While in the House, Nutt voted with the Freedom Caucus much of the time, but he didn’t want to join the ultra-conservative group that split off from the main Republican Caucus out of fear of limiting his options, he said ahead of last year’s primary runoff.
During this year’s session in the Senate, Nutt sponsored a bill that would allow nursing home residents to select one person allowed to continue visiting in case of an emergency, such as another pandemic. Even in South Carolina, COVID-19 rules kept loved ones locked out from nursing homes for more than a year.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously but didn’t get a hearing in the House — at least, not this year. Legislators can still take it up after returning to the Statehouse in January.
“It is hard to describe how much I have enjoyed my time in the Senate,” Nutt wrote in his letter. “Serving in the Senate has been a dream come true, and I am so proud to be a small part of this great Body.”
Nutt encouraged Cox to run as his replacement, Cox wrote in a Facebook post Monday. The election for Cox’s seat will take place at the same time as the special election for Nutt’s seat.
It will also be the same day voters in Lexington County replace Rep. RJ May. Though written last Thursday, May’s resignation was received Monday from jail, where he’s being held without bond on charges of distributing child sexual abuse material.
Cox, first elected to the House in 2018, said he resigned the same day as Nutt to prevent the cost of multiple special elections.
“This decision will save taxpayer dollars, ensure the people of Greenville and Spartanburg Counties are not without representation for months in 2026, and allow me to fully dedicate myself to earning the trust of the voters for this next chapter of service,” Cox wrote.
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