David Robinson II

David Robinson II is a U.S. Army disabled combat veteran, father, and third-generation Columbia, South Carolina resident. A veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, he was a gunner in direct combat with the Taliban, surviving multiple IED attacks. Guided by his faith, life experiences, and compassion for helping others, David has dedicated his life to defending our country and standing up for those in need.



David understands the struggles and challenges that both rural and urban families and communities are facing when it comes to the lack of access to quality healthcare, housing, and education.



David and his sister were raised by a single mother, a nurse aide at Columbia Hospital. Despite working around the clock, David’s mother was barely able to make ends meet for her family. She worked late shifts at the hospital, often skipping her own meals to make sure her children could eat.



Determined like his mother and eager to grow up to ease the financial strain on her, David began working at the age of seven. He moved out of the house at 16 years old, taking a job at a grocery store while finishing high school. David earned an academic scholarship to Howard University and moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue a degree in Computer Engineering, but life took an unexpected turn. He returned to Columbia to support his family, later becoming a single parent himself. Suddenly, the young man pursuing his dreams and aspirations found himself making the same choice his mother had made years earlier – putting the needs of his children above his own.



Known for carrying the economy one mile at a time, David started driving trucks, working around the clock to provide for his children. For thirteen years, he built a life in the trucking industry, becoming a small business owner. But after gas prices spiked in 2004, David found himself working seven days a week just to make what he’d earned before, experiencing firsthand how rising costs impact working people and small businesses. David closed his trucking business and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2007. He was assigned to a combat engineering unit and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.



Life presented another unforeseen battle for David after his military service. In 2021, he was confronted with the most devastating news of his life when his son, Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old geologist working in Buckeye, Arizona, went missing from a job site. David immediately relocated to Arizona, jumping into action to find his son. From that moment, David dedicated himself not just to searching for his own son but to helping other families facing the same unimaginable pain through establishing the Daniel Robinson Foundation. While continuing the search for Daniel, David has written state and federal legislation to give families and law enforcement tools to help fast-track efforts to find missing loved ones and looks forward to the legislation being presented in the 2026 legislative session.



David’s life, like many others, has resulted in a series of unexpected casualties – poverty, single parenthood, war, injury, and unthinkable tragedy. But each challenge has forged him into someone who understands that government exists to serve the people, not political parties.



As a representative in the U.S. Congress, he will work with both parties to build our economy, safeguard our infrastructure, and stand up for our democracy and Constitution he swore to protect.