Fire heavily damages home of Lowcountry politician

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Fire has heavily damaged the home of Robert Barber, a Charleston area politician who has run for several statewide offices including lieutenant governor and, last year, comptroller general.

Barber’s home on Bowens Island near Charleston caught fire Wednesday and about 40 percent of the house was damaged. Authorities say the blaze started in a clothes dryer.

The home is a short distance from Barber’s Bowens Island Restaurant that burned in 2006 when he was running for lieutenant governor.

The former Democratic state representative has also run for Congress.