ELECTION DAY: Midlands residents vote for new and incumbent leaders in municipal races

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — In a year we will elect a president. Tuesday night, many residents in towns across the Midlands elected a mayor.

There were also a couple of Columbia city council seats up for grabs tonight as well here in Columbia. In Soda City, precincts saw modest to low turnouts.

However, over in Cayce, hundreds of residents came out for the mayoral election. 

“It has been terrific today,” said Cayce poll manager Julie Isom. “We have more voters coming before noon than we’ve ever had.”

Cayce residents re-elected mayor Elise Partin. Over in West Columbia, hundreds of residents also turned out to vote. 

“I was able to listen to all of the candidates and I chose the one I thought would do the best job,” said West Columbia resident Diane DeFord. 

While she has only lived in the area a couple of years, DeFord says education and economy are her two main priorities when it comes to choosing a candidate. 

“The fiscal health of the city must be able to support different things that will make the lives of all residents better,” said the West Columbia resident.

West Columbia voters re-elected incumbent mayor Tem Miles. 

Another mayoral election took place in Irmo, where one resident voted despite saying she continues to have her precinct changed. 

“It’s kind of frustrating because they keep changing my precinct and no one is notifying me,” said Irmo resident Hazel Stokes.

Stokes believes the city needs to hold residents more accountable for property upkeep. 

“I think people would take better care of their properties,” Stokes said. “I would like to see more things come to the community for the children to be involved in.”

Irmo voters elected Bill Danielson over incumbent mayor Barry Walker. 

One long term resident says he has seen Irmo change over time thanks to the town’s leadership.

“I’ve seen it grow and become a more livable place over the years,” said Irmo resident Mark Rouse. “That has to do with some of the things they’re doing in the town.”

While incumbent mayor Foster Senn won out in Newberry, Blythewood mayor Bryan Franklin lost his reelection bid to Sloan Jarvis Griffin III.

Voters all across the Midlands headed to the polls for the mayoral races. 

“Folks here are very local and they’re voicing their opinion today,” Isom said.

In the Columbia City Council races, Will Brennan was re-elected to his District 3 seat and Tyler Bailey won the at-large election. Bill McDowell ran unopposed for his District 2 seat.

Check out more election results here.