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SC Governor's Race: And Then There Were Three
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South Carolina primary voters took to the polls on July 12 to select the candidates they want to represent the Republican and Democratic parties in the November general elections. Political analysts had their eye on South Carolina as another litmus test for Trump-endorsed candidates in a state he safely won in 2016, as well as a barometer for Democratic turnout in the general election.
While Catherine Templeton and Gov. McMaster both aligned themselves with President Trump and his policies, McMaster was the only one to receive the president's official endorsement and ultimately won the most votes in the Republican gubernatorial primary. However, McMaster did not receive the required 50-percent-plus-one vote majority to avoid a runoff, so he will be meeting challenger John Warren at the polls on June 26. Warren now assumes the mantle of the "outsider" candidate, which proved to be a successful position in the 2016 presidential election. This runoff is certainly not a slam-dunk for South Carolina's sitting governor.
On the Democratic side, Rep. James Smith cruised to a decisive win in the primary with more than 60% of the vote, snuffing out the hopes of challengers Marguerite Willis and Phil Noble. Democrats have been energized by President Trump's low approval ratings but will still need to turn-out in big numbers in November to have a chance in this race. While higher turnout was reported this year than previous primaries with about 20% of registered voters, 240,000 Democrats voted in the gubernatorial primary compared to 368,000 in the Republican primary.
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Congressional Elections Bring Surprises
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Congressman Mark Sanford's loss to fresh-faced State Rep. Katie Arrington was undoubtedly the biggest headline out of the South Carolina primary elections this year. Weakened by the scandals that tainted his governorship and public defiance of President Trump, Congressman Sanford gave his first concession speech ever as a political candidate in South Carolina.
It was a close race with Rep. Arrington taking just over 50 percent of the vote and meeting the threshold to win the Republican nomination without a runoff. She will face Democratic candidate Joe Cunningham, who won his nomination in a landslide with more than 70 percent of the primary vote.
South Carolina's congressional primaries brought another surprise with the resurgence of conservative firebrand Lee Bright. The former state senator finished atop the list of Republican candidates to replace Trey Gowdy in South Carolina's 4th Congressional district but will face a difficult runoff challenge in State Senator William Timmons.
It will also be interesting to see how the Bright and Timmons runoff in the 4th Congressional District will enhance voter turnout for gubernatorial candidate John Warren, who is from Greenville. Upstate voters who turnout in support of Bright will likely support John Warren over incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster. |
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State House Runoffs
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True to form for South Carolina, there were not a great deal of upsets in statewide races or the SC House of Representatives. Attorney General Alan Wilson came close to securing the Republican nomination to remain in office with 49 percent of the vote and will face Rep. Todd Atwater in the June 26 runoff. Rep. Atwater is the former CEO of the South Carolina Medical Association.
And some State House candidates will also have to wait two more weeks to learn their fate as runoffs continue in races that didn't achieve the votes necessary to secure their party's nomination:
- SC House 5 Republican Primary: Neal Collins (incumbent) vs. Allan Quinn
- SC House 77 Democratic Primary: Joe McEachern (incumbent) vs. Kambrell Garvin
- SC House 87 Republican Primary: Paula Rawl Calhoon vs. Todd Carnes
- SC House 110 Republican Primary: William Cogswell (incumbent) vs. Russell Guerard
The primary runoffs will take place on June 26. To learn more about the 2018 SC primary results, visit www.scvotes.org. |
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Democratic Primary Voters Overwhelmingly Support Medicaid Expansion
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Depending on which party's primary you voted in for 2018, you were asked very different polling questions to gauge interest on hot-button issues. Republican voters were asked two questions:
- Do you believe that voters should have the option to choose to affiliate with a political party when they register to vote?
- Do you believe that South Carolina's tax code should be brought into conformity with the new Trump tax cuts in the federal tax code for maximum simplification and to lower the overall tax burden on South Carolina taxpayers and businesses?
These two questions on closing primaries only to registered party voters and conforming to the Trump administration's tax cuts were decidedly approved by Republican voters by 82% and 92%, respectively.
On the Democrat side, primary voters were asked questions related to medical marijuana and Medicaid expansion:
- Do you support passing a state law allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients?
- Do you support passing a state law requiring the governor of South Carolina to accept all federal revenues offered to support Medicaid and Medicaid expansion efforts in the state?
And much like the ballot questions on the Republican side, Democrats voted overwhelmingly in favor of these measures. Primary voters approved the medical marijuana question with 82 percent support, and 93 percent of Democratic voters supported the Medicaid expansion question. While these results have no statutory impact, they do help each political party prioritize issues for their policy agenda.
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June 15, 2018
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