Jim Rex | |
|---|---|
| South Carolina Superintendent of Education | |
| In office January 10, 2007 – January 12, 2011 | |
| Governor | Mark Sanford |
| Preceded by | Inez Tenenbaum |
| Succeeded by | Mick Zais |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 21, 1941 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Alliance[1] |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (Before 2013) |
| Spouse | Sue |
| Children | Adam, Jeff, Nathan, and Siri |
| Residence | Fairfield County, South Carolina |
| Alma mater | University of Toledo, (B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D.) |
| Occupation | Educator |
Jim Rex (born November 21, 1941, in Toledo, Ohio) [2] was the 16th South Carolina Superintendent of Education. He ran for the position in 2006 as a Democrat, against Karen Floyd, a Republican.[2] Rex defeated Floyd by only 455 votes, the closest margin of victory in a statewide election in South Carolina's history.[3] 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 2021, he is the last Democrat to have been popularly elected to a statewide office in South Carolina. While Yancey McGill briefly held the office of Lieutenant Governor for 7 months in 2014, 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.