Former Dorchester County Sheriff Ray Nash is the latest Republican to enter the race for the vacant First Congressional Seat.

Nash is currently serving as the Criminal Justice Adviser for the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. He posted a statement on his Facebook page announcing his intention to fill the seat vacated by Tim Scott's appointment to the Senate. His statement reads as follows:

"Ray Nash, former Sheriff of Dorchester County, is resigning his position as the Criminal Justice Adviser for the US Embassy in Kabul to announce his candidacy for the First Congressional Seat vacated by Tim Scott. "Due to the recent attacks on our Constitutional freedoms, I was gravely concerned that I would no longer recognize my country upon my return," said Sheriff Nash, ret. "Then I realized I had a clear opportunity to do something about it by running for Congress."

Sheriff Nash will curtail his mission in Afghanistan, where he has served the government reform effort for the last three years, and return to the Lowcountry to campaign. "I am uniquely qualified to represent the citizens of the First District due to my 34 years in the law enforcement profession, over 20 years of executive leadership, my service as an elected Sheriff for 12 years, and my foreign service experience here in Afghanistan. I've been preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution for over three decades. Now I have a chance to do it from a different perspective. I just need to wrap up a few things here, then I'll be home in a few days!"

Ray and his wife are both native South Carolinians and have lived in the Lowcountry for the last 26 years.

According to Sheriff Nash, our nation is facing a number of moral and constitutional crises, such as fiscal irresponsibility, unbridled government expansion, and assaults on 2nd Amendment protections. He believes solutions can be found in the principles of constitutional conservatism and he urges the voters of the First District to "send a Sheriff to Congress...!"

The filing period opens this Friday and continues to January 28 at noon.

Here's a look at who's entered the race so far.