GOP runoff in state Senate race headed for recount

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Republican primary runoff election in a Greenville County state Senate race will go to a recount, as unofficial results Tuesday show that only 36 votes separate candidates Ross Turner and Joe Swann.

The voting was not as close in Tuesday night’s two other legislative runoff elections, however. Tony Barwick won the Republican nomination in State Senate District 35 and MaryGail Douglas captured the Democratic nod in State House of Representatives District 41.

Under South Carolina law, a recount in an election is mandatory if the difference between the winner and second-place finisher is less than one percent. With all of the votes counted, Turner had 2,784 votes, or 50.33 percent, and Swann had 2,748 votes, or 49.67 percent.

On Tuesday night, Chris Whitmire, a spokesman for the South Carolina State Election Commission, said the State Board of Canvassers would officially call for the mandatory recount on Friday afternoon during its certification hearing. The recount will likely occur on Monday morning, he said.

Tuesday’s contests finish this year’s legislative primaries, which saw dozens of candidates removed from the ballot following a state Supreme Court ruling that all candidates seeking office had to turn in financial disclosure forms at the same time they filed their intention to run. Many first-time candidates and challengers to incumbents had not turned in those forms and were thrown off of the ballot.

Voters in Greenville, Sumter, Kershaw, Richland, Lee, Fairfield and Chester counties were involved in Tuesday’s legislative runoffs.

In State Senate District 8, Turner, president of a Greenville insurance agency, and Swann, founder of Greenville-based Integrated Power Services, are vying for the chance to replace Senate Banking Committee Chairman David Thomas, R-Greenville. Thomas, a seven-term veteran first elected in 1984, came in third in the five-way Greenville County GOP primary on June 12.

Thomas was one of six legislative incumbents who lost their seats two weeks ago.

The winner of the race will not face a Democrat in November.

In Senate District 35, Barwick captured 57 percent of the vote to outpace Wade Kolb. Barwick, who is a real estate developer, will face Democrat Thomas McElveen in November. They are seeking to succeed retiring Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter.

A former fighter pilot and retired brigadier general known for his use of filibusters, Leventis is retiring after 32 years in the state Senate.

Senate District 35 is centered in Sumter County, but also includes parts of Kershaw, Lee and Richland counties.

In House District 41, voters in Fairfield, Chester and Richland counties picked Douglas over Annie McDaniel. Douglas, executive director of the Fairfield County Council on Aging, won 56 percent of the vote. Douglas will not face any Republican opposition in November and becomes the likely replacement to state Rep. Boyd Brown, D-Winnsboro.

November’s general election will feature a number of uncontested races for the state Senate and House, with 105 incumbents not facing any major-party opposition this year.

Throwing so many candidates off of the ballot, however, opened the door for petition candidates seeking election. Four House seats — representing portions of York, Berkeley and Horry counties — have no major-party candidate on the ballot at all.