District 104 going to a recount. Official results say Bailey won by 18 votes

A recount of the close state House District 104 race will happen Friday but the results will most likely stay the same, according to Sandy Martin, head of Horry County elections.

Challenger William Bailey won a narrow victory over incumbent Greg Duckworth in the South Carolina House of Representatives District 104 race.

The District 104 race was decided by a difference of 18 votes. Bailey received 2,312 votes compared to Duckworth's 2,294, according to the official results.

"We're moving closer and closer to knowing exactly what the out come will be," Bailey said outside the Horry County voting office Thursday morning. "We're real confident it will work out the way we think it will."

District 104 includes North Myrtle Beach up to the state line and west toward Longs.

Bailey said he respects Duckworth for serving the public for so long and wants to represent everyone well despite the divided district.

"I think our issues are going to pull everyone together," he said. "It's about helping out."

Bailey served as the public safety director for North Myrtle Beach for 20 years. He website, bailey4house.com, says "he protected us for 20 years in North Myrtle Beach... Now let him protect us from politicians in Columbia."

Toward the end of his tenure, he was suspended from his position following a missing gun scandal that began in 2009.

In December of 2009, Horry County Police responded to a call from Bailey saying his truck was broken into. Among the things stolen was is gun, which he claimed was locked in the glove compartment.

He was later accused of lying when it was revealed his car's glove compartment did not have a lock.

In 2014, The Sun News reported that Bailey retired in April of 2010 after the former North Myrtle Beach City Manager John Smithson gave him an ultimatum to retire or be fired.

Bailey said then that he believes this happened because Smithson needed a scapegoat for problems the city faced, according to the Sun News report.

Martin said the official results matched the original vote count and she does not expect any changes in the recount.

No Democrats will be running against Bailey in the 2018 general election.

This story was originally published June 14, 2018 at 12:38 PM with the headline "District 104 going to a recount. Official results say Bailey won by 18 votes."