DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Republican Lewis Brown defeated incumbent Robbin Brock for the Darlington County Council District 7 seat. Lewis won with 72.29 percent of the vote.
“I’m looking forward to the transition and working with members of county council to put a plan in place for Darlington County,” Brown said. Brock served Darlington County with a passion and interest, and Brown said he wants to thank him for his term as a council member. “Secondly, I’d like to thank my support team, starting first with my family, all those friends and supporters,” Brown said. Joyce Wingate Thomas defeated incumbent Wilhelmina P. Johnson on Tuesday for the District 3 seat. She received 615 votes, or 51.99 percent. Thomas said she previously served on the Darlington County Board of Education for eight years, was a member of the emergency medical commission for eight years and the county commission for four years. After she is sworn into office in January, Thomas said, she would like to see the council become a cohesive team and work together to get things accomplished. “I think one of the most important things we need to do is to print a county directory so our constituents and people will know who’s in the chain of command, what facilities we have, what goes on,” Thomas said. She said a directory of county personnel is important so residents can keep in touch. In the race for Darlington County auditor, Margaret Ross Rogers defeated Brenton Dana with 51.50 percent of the vote. According to results from election officials, L.C. Knight wins the primary for the Dorchester County sheriff’s race. Because only three candidates filed for office, all on the Republican ticket, Knight has no challengers for the general election Nov. 8 and will enter his third term as sheriff come January.
“I won this because of those people,” Knight said pointing to a crowd of cheerful supporters Tuesday night outside the Miler Country Club in Summerville. “I had an army of help. I’m proud of every one of them; every one of them contributed in some way or another. I’m glad people of Dorchester County looked at the facts, followed the facts and gave me enough votes to serve them another four years.” According to scvotes.org, Knight (52.1 percent) beat candidates Ray Nash (42.1 percent), former Dorchester County sheriff, and Robert Biddle (about 6 percent). According to Summerville resident Chris Connelly, Knight deserved his vote because he said the law enforcement leader’s “been doing a good job with the budget.” Gary Scilabro, also of Summerville, echoed Connelly’s praise of the incumbent’s financial responsibility. “I don’t know any of the candidates (for sheriff), but I know Nash went over budget,” he said. Knight is already looking ahead to his next term, which will be his third term. He said after getting the new jail opened and inmates moved in, he wants to consider building a weapons training facility for his agency, whose deputies currently don’t have their own and have to share ones belonging to other law enforcement agencies in neighboring counties. “After we get calmed down from all of that,” Knight said, “I’d like to work with the county to see if we can’t build a training facility ... because right now I have to borrow ranges and stuff for my guys to go out and shoot on, which causes us to burn a lot of overtime, a lot of scheduling, and if we have our own range, we can work around our schedule.” Knight admitted he “was hoping he could pull” out a win, but said Nash has three terms of previous experience as sheriff. In the end, Knight gained the coveted title. “They tried everything, they did everything they could, and my staff and my group worked as hard as we could,” Knight said. In a statement Nash released late Tuesday night, he congratulates Knight and expresses his hope for the county going forward. “It is my hope and prayer that the citizens may come together for the betterment of the county after such a hard fought campaign,” he said. After learning of Knight’s victory, Nash thanked friends and family for their commitment to his campaign. “We’ll see what door opens up next for me and my family,” he said. Though looking forward to holding the title of sheriff once again, he said the voters spoke otherwise and “that’s what the process is all about.” Before leaving the Kings Grant clubhouse where his campaign gathered election night, he circled with supporters to pray. The coroner’s race remained tight the entire night as precincts reported votes. Of the three candidates, Paul Brouthers and Mike Giglio took the top two spots and will battle again for votes during a runoff election on June 28. Brouthers received 36.5 percent of votes and Giglio received nearly 33 percent of votes, according to scvotes.org. Candidate Wayne Reeves received 30.6 percent of the vote and a third place finish. He will not be in the runoff. Katie Arrington and Sen. Sean Bennett both took top spots in Statehouse races. Arrington, who sustained 59.3 percent of votes, beat County Councilwoman Carroll Duncan, with 40.7 percent of votes, for the House District 94 seat. Arrington considered herself an underdog, especially winning a race in which her opponent was endorsed a week earlier by Gov. Nikki Haley. “Nobody believed in me,” she said. “I am so humbled and honored.” Arrington also praised Duncan for her public service and promised to work “tirelessly for the people of Summerville to change Columbia.” With 63.3 percent of votes, Bennett beat out Evan Guthrie for the Senate District 38 title. Guthrie received 36.4 percent of votes. Bennett thanked the people in District 38 “for their trust and confidence in allowing” him to continue representing them in the state Senate. “We have been making a great deal of progression changing the way things are done in Columbia, and I am looking forward to continuing that positive momentum,” Bennett said. “It’s also my hope that the divisiveness of this community will subside so that we can move forward together. There is too much at stake, and too much potential to squander.” Final results for all races will be certified by the elections board and posted Thursday morning. Other than hot temperatures, the day’s theme centered on voter turnout — particularly its low numbers. According to election officials, only one precinct in the county witnessed between 30 and 40 percent voter turnout. A majority of precincts had between 10 and 20 percent, and some less than 10 percent. Poll workers at various town and county locations said they, too, noticed minimal amounts of voters trickling in throughout the day, especially odd for polling locations covering multiple precincts. By 4:30 p.m. only 10 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots at Summerville High School, a polling location serving six precincts, said poll worker Peggy Bangle. http://www.journalscene.com/archives/knight-wins-dorchester-county-sheriff/article_d2b40ea6-eda4-522a-b348-85736dc89609.html NEW ORLEANS, LA – Charleston-based, Republican political consulting and communications firm UPT Strategies has been awarded two coveted Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), the industry’s highest honor bestowed upon political consultants at the national and international level. UPT Strategies was recognized for the Best Get Out the Vote Program in the country in 2014. UPT lead the efforts for the Republican Party of Maine, which had the highest percentage voter turnout of any state in the country. UPT Strategies was also recognized for the Best Use of Illustration for a mail design in a municipal election in New Jersey. With over 2,400 entries, this year’s contest was the largest in AAPC history. “It’s exciting to see the growth of the industry reflected in the Pollie Awards,” said AAPC President Art Hackney. “We continue to refine categories, making the contest easier to enter – yet harder to win. This year’s winners represent the very best in the business of politics.” “We are excited that our hard work was honored by our peers across the country – Republican and Democrat,” said Michael Mule’, President of of UPT Strategies. “Our team’s top goal is achieving victory for our clients; to do that while also winning the highest honor in our industry is extremely rewarding.” The AAPC announced this year’s winners at the 2015 Annual Pollie Awards & Conference over the weekend in New Orleans. The Pollie Awards (Pollies) are bipartisan honors awarded annually by the AAPC to members of the political advertising and communications industry who have demonstrated superior work on behalf of their candidates and causes. A blind jury of their peers selects Pollie Award winners. Esquire magazine has dubbed the Pollies as “the Oscars of political advertising.” http://crbjbizwire.com/upt-strategies/
Katrina Shealy upended Lexington County politics Tuesday, ousting legendary state Sen. Jake Knotts to become the only woman in the state Senate.
Shealy’s win was remarkable in that she beat Knotts in a district that the Republican incumbent drew for himself. Shealy also won despite getting tossed off the Republican primary ballot, along with about 200 other candidates, for not filing the proper paperwork. But Shealy fought her way back into the general election as a petition candidate. Still, her victory was a long shot, given that she had to overcome the deluge of straight-Republican Party ticket voting that occurs in each presidential election year. The state Republican Party suspended its rules so it could endorse Shealy – an unprecedented move, especially against a sitting Republican. And a political action committee affiliated with GOP Gov. Nikki Haley poured money into the race for Shealy to defeat Knotts, a Haley critic and opponent. Knotts, while beloved by many for his constituent services, was unable to overcome several high-profile stumbles, including a fine by the Senate Ethics Commission for violating state ethics laws and referring to Haley, then a candidate for governor, as a “rag head.” Attempts to reach Knotts and Shealy were unsuccessful Tuesday night. However, Knotts was the only incumbent state senator who appeared headed to defeat. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Larry Martin, R-Pickens, and Senate Ethics Committee chairman Wes Hayes, R-York, both defeated well-funded petition candidates. www.thestate.com/latest-news/article14414222.html http://www.postandcourier.com/politics/mccoy-has-slim-lead-over-hutto/article_cd800d08-8552-52ac-9fe8-923a023c9931.html
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December 2016
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