Daniel Byron Verdin III (born May 9, 1964) is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing District 9 (Greenville and Laurens Counties). In November 2008, he was chosen majority whip.[1]
Born in Alexandria, Louisiana to Dr. Daniel B. and Eloise Watts Verdin, Danny Verdin was reared in Greenville County, where his father was a veterinarian. In 1986, Verdin graduated with a B.A. in history from Bob Jones University. He served as Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisor to Governor Carroll Campbell, 1987–89. In 2000, Verdin ran for the District 9 S. C. Senate seat as a conservative Republican and defeated a 16-year Democratic incumbent, Jim Bryan, in an upset election. Verdin serves as the Chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He was unopposed for reelection in 2008.[1]
In 2005–06, Verdin voted in the interest of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce 89% of the time and in the interest of the South Carolina Sierra Club and South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride association, zero percent of the time. In 2006 the S.C. Farm Bureau named Verdin Legislator of the Year; and in 2007, Verdin was named Legislator of the Year by the S.C. Veterinarians Association. Verdin is the owner of Verdin’s Farm & Garden Center in Laurens, South Carolina, which also serves as an NRA Second Amendment Activist Center. In 2004, Verdin was rated A+ by the NRA Political Victory Fund.[2] In announcing Verdin's selection as majority whip, Majority Leader Harvey Peeler said that in the current political environment, the Republican caucus needed "to return to core conservative values".[1]
Verdin is a member of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, and he has served as South Carolina Division Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, 1998–2000. In 1987, Verdin married Kimberlee Owens; they have four children.