ABOUT

Daniel B. “Danny” Verdin is a life-long resident of South Carolina, and is proud to represent District 9 in the South Carolina Senate. 


In 1987, Danny married Kimberlee “Kim” Owens of Charleston, and together they have been blessed with four children and eight grandchildren.  A small business owner, he owns and operates Verdin’s Farm and Garden Center in Laurens, a family-run business he founded in 1992. Danny and Kim are active forty-year plus members of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, S.C.


Danny is the son of Daniel Byron Verdin, Jr. and Eloise Watts Verdin.  His father and paternal grandmother nurtured him in a love of good music and his South Carolina heritage. He has a deep love of history, reading, and in his teen years was an accomplished tennis player – perhaps the skill of executing and volleying continues to aid him in his political pursuits. 


The values of hard work and farming shaped his view from the young age of twelve, when Verdin sold a large load of Christmas trees in Simpsonville and bought out his “tree partner” when he decided not to continue the venture. During those early teenage years, he helped haul watermelons, pumpkins, and other produce from the Farmer’s Market in Columbia, and these experiences along with accompanying his father on many veterinary calls helped launch Verdin into a life of agribusiness interests. These life lessons have stayed with him and illustrate his inclination towards agriculture and entrepreneurship.

 

Verdin’s participation in the political arena began when he was a Junior in high school.  A trip to Washington in 1981 eventually led to a page assignment with Senator Strom Thurmond.  While still a student he participated and as well led other students in the campaign of Airline pilot Ted Adams for the U.S. House of Representatives, and after graduation, he continued these efforts, working with Joe Morecraft, in a Georgia U.S. House campaign. These assignments sparked his interest to major in Political Science and History at Bob Jones University, after which he joined Governor Carroll Campbell’s staff as an Agricultural Policy Analyst in the Division of Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources. 

When they were just a young couple, Danny and Kim would travel on weekends from Columbia back to the Upstate with a load of fresh produce working to establish their fledgling agribusiness. In 1992, he bought a business location in Laurens and moved and expanded his feed, seed, pecan processing, and agricultural related operation. Together they expanded the business yet again with the addition of Verdin’s Too in 2018. Now a “mom-pop-and-sons” operation, the open-air plant and garden center has become a horticultural destination location for the lower Piedmont and Lakelands area. 


Danny’s life experiences – as a Christian, father, grandfather, business owner, policy analyst, historian, farmer and citizen, led to his desire to make a difference – and in 2000 to run for the South Carolina State Senate. Verdin was first elected to the Senate during that campaign, upsetting a four-term incumbent, giving a critical victory to the Republicans as they achieved a legitimate majority in the Senate for the first time in history. 

Senator Danny Verdin has proven himself a true conservative leader in the Senate who is grounded by his family, his faith and his friends (his constituents). He has strived to lead with integrity, intellect, character and moral convictions that have made a difference in the lives of all South Carolinians and that is needed most in today’s evolving political dynamic.


In April 2007, he became Chairman of the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee, a position he held through the legislative session of 2018, when he became Chairman of the Medical Affairs Committee, his current leadership position.  He continues to serve on Agriculture & Natural Resources, as well the Transportation and Finance Committees, the latter as the Chairman of the Property Tax Subcommittee.  He also serves on the College and University Trustee Screening Commission and is the Chairman of the Hunley Commission.


As the chairman of the Senate Medical Affairs committee, Senator Verdin uses that leadership role to push for important conservative causes like protecting the unborn, providing lower costs, higher quality healthcare options, and rejecting experimental ‘woke’ medical procedures that harm our children. 

During his 23 legislative sessions, he has co-sponsored 30 pieces of pro-life legislation, as well as championing a Biblical worldview in other bioethical and social order issues.  In 2022, he was integral in the passage of Act 1, commonly referred to as the “Heartbeat” bill, not only for his role as co-sponsor, but by managing the legislative process as Chairman of Medical Affairs, the committee to whom the bill was assigned. 


During the 2023 legislative session Senator Verdin provided leadership and support as he has championed the work of the Medical Affairs Committee, working on some of the most important legislation of the session including the recent passing of S.164 to repeal Certificate of Need and efforts to pass S.474 the Heartbeat bill, and S.399 – the most significant streamlining and restructuring of state government in more than 30 years.

During his tenure, Senator Verdin has become known as a highly competent Constitutional conservative, proving himself to be a friend to the taxpayer and an unwavering advocate for 2nd Amendment rights. He also continues to champion the life of the unborn and the rights and the agrarian interests of our state. 


He has received numerous awards for his consistent voting record. Senator Verdin lives his life like he legislates – with character, commitment, and integrity. His legislative work and record are a true reflection of who he is and how lives his life in the community.


But above all, Senator Verdin prefers to be known best as “Danny,” a God-fearing farmer and family man who has been blessed by South Carolina, its beauty and land, and wants to leave it better off for the generations to come.

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