Down ballot races draw attention in SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — In an election year topped by races for governor and both U.S. Senate seats, several down-ticket races are also drawing attention in South Carolina as Democratic challengers question the ethics of some Republican incumbents.

Democrat Ginny Deerin has made an issue of Secretary of State Mark Hammond’s 183-mile round-trip commute from Spartanburg to Columbia in a vehicle paid for by taxpayers.

Democrat Kyle Herbert is calling for more integrity in the office of comptroller general. The State Ethics Commission earlier this year concluded that incumbent Richard Eckstrom did nothing wrong using campaign money to attend the 2012 Republican National Convention in Florida in which he had no official role.

A third race generating attention is the contest for superintendent of education where three candidates remain from an original 13.