InvestmentNews reported on November 6 that Wes Climer, a financial advisor affiliated with LPL Financial, has been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The outlet also noted that one of LPL's corporate campuses is located in Climer's new district, which it described as a coincidence. According to the Associated Press, the race was called for Climer on November 3.
Climer, a Republican, won South Carolina's 5th Congressional District. Citywire RIA reported on November 5 that, with nearly all votes counted, he had won the seat. A live results tracker cited by our research, at 98.6% of votes reported, showed Climer with 151,553 votes (52.8%) to 135,157 (47.1%) for Democrat Mallory Dittmer. The Hill reported that Decision Desk HQ projected the race for Climer after he led with 51% at 78% reported, and that the race was rated safe for the Republican Party.
Climer succeeds Ralph Norman, who ran for governor and then for the U.S. Senate and endorsed Climer, according to Wikipedia. Climer, a state senator from Rock Hill, launched his House campaign on July 31, 2025, at a York County Republican event, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. He announced on February 7, 2026 that he would resign his state Senate seat in November 2026, and The Hill reported that the resignation took effect on Election Day. Wikipedia cites federal campaign finance filings showing the campaign had raised $790,548 as of May 13, 2026.
According to the Daily Gazette, Climer held a staff role in Congress between 2006 and 2011, after which he moved into financial consulting. His firm biography says he was previously a financial consultant at Wells Fargo before joining LPL in 2023 to form Climer Wealth Management Group.
That firm move was announced by LPL in a press release dated September 11, 2023. The release said Michael and Wes Climer, a father and son, joined Linsco by LPL Financial to launch the group. It reported about $280 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets, which the team brought from Wells Fargo Advisors. InvestmentNews described the Climers as the 45th team to join Linsco by LPL Financial. The release quoted Wes Climer calling LPL a hometown firm in the county where he lives, but it did not identify any campus location.
The firm's website states that Michael and Wes Climer are registered representatives offered through LPL Financial and are members of FINRA and SIPC. A York County Chamber of Commerce directory lists the firm's office at 6101 Carnegie Boulevard in Charlotte, North Carolina. We were unable to confirm the location of any LPL campus in the Fifth District from the sources available to us, so the campus detail in InvestmentNews's report rests on that outlet's account.
LPL is the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States, according to its FY2025 annual report filed with the SEC, which says the firm supports more than 32,000 financial advisors. The same filing says LPL services and custodies about $2.4 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets, a measure of client assets rather than revenue. Its principal executive offices are in San Diego, according to a 2023 SEC filing, and its shares trade on Nasdaq under the symbol LPLA.
The firm has been active in acquisitions. LPL announced its acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network in 2025, and its 2025 annual report says it expects to convert Commonwealth's assets in the fourth quarter of 2026. LPL completed its acquisition of the Waddell & Reed wealth management business in April 2021, according to an SEC filing.
The sources do not say when Climer will take office in Washington, or how his LPL affiliation will be handled once he serves in Congress. Those questions will determine whether his role at the firm changes, and the sources we reviewed do not address them.