Fort Mill House Seat Up for Grabs as Incumbent Raye Felder Announces Retirement Plan

Fort Mill House Seat Open for Newcomer as Raye Felder Decides Not to Seek Re-election

Dec 5, 2023 | Fort Mill, South Carolina

It’s the end of an era for District 26 as the incumbent, Representative Raye Felder, R-Fort Mill, announced on December 4th that she wouldn’t run for another term in the House of Representatives. Her six-term tenure, representing the Fort Mill area, will end in November 2024.

A Time for Transition

After ten years, the residents of Fort Mill will send a fresh face to S.C. General Assembly. Felder has kept her future plans private but expressed her affinity for the Fort Mill community and her intentions to “retire for real this time.” She aims to spend more time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

With her announcement coming early, interested parties will have enough time to prepare and file for the soon-to-open seat in March when filing opens for all seats in the General Assembly.

Growth and Challenges ahead for the Fort Mill Area

She leaves behind a legacy filled with challenges and successes. Fort Mill has experienced rapid growth, especially from the expanding Charlotte area, which has brought its own set of issues, especially in traffic and town services.

Recognizing the growth, Felder backed impactful legislative changes such as permitting impact fees for schools. The measure aims to help the community deal with increasing demand for amenities due to the population increase.

Fort Mill’s School District has tripled its student capacity over two decades and is working to build more schools to meet the growing demand. The district’s next school will be solely financed by the impact fees, showing the effectiveness of such legislative changes.

Felder’s Legislative Achievements

Besides encouraging community growth, Felder is proud of her contributions towards increasing teacher pay, enabling family members to provide foster care, and amping up Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Announcing the end of her House career, Felder stated, “This community has always invested wisely in education, recreation and cultural opportunities, and I strived to make that my focus in representing you.”

Ahead of her departure, Felder expressed eagerness at the progress towards the reform of the state’s judicial selection process during her remaining term.

In a statement to the local media, she thanked her constituents, saying, “Thank you for placing your trust in me and for all you have done to support me.” She also noted that representing the residents of Fort Mill had been an honor and a privilege.