Horry County SC Procrastinator’s Guide: What to know about the 2022 primary election
Horry County voters face some big decisions on Tuesday as voters head to the polls for 2022’s primary elections.
For one, they’ll decide who their representative in Congress is: Incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, or one of his six primary challengres.
And they’ll decide who will lead Horry County Council — incumbent Chairman Johnny Gardner or one of his three challengers — as well as who will lead the Horry County Board of Education, an open seat. Additionally, voters in Surfside Beach, Forestbrook and Carolina Forest will send two new faces to the Statehouse in Columbia — thanks to one open House seat and another newly-drawn House seat.
In deep-red counties like Horry, where Republicans dominate, primary elections often serve as de-facto general elections meaning the candidates voters pick on Tuesday will most likely take office early next year.
We have your Procrastinator’s Guide to this year’s primary elections:
First things first, how can you vote in the primaries?
By this point, it’s too late to register to vote. The deadline was last month, 30 days before the election.
Early voting, too, is also closed.
That means you’ll need to visit scVotes.gov to check your registration and find your polling location.
When you show up to vote — polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. — you’ll need to bring your voter registration card, or a photo ID if you don’t have your card.
Acceptable forms of ID include: An SC Driver’s License, an SC Department of Motor Vehicles ID Card, a SC Voter Registration Card with Photo, a Federal Military ID or a US Passport.
If you are in line to vote at 7 p.m. you are allowed to stay in line and vote.
Which candidates you can vote for in the primary election:
These are the races everyone in Horry County will vote for:
- Governor of South Carolina
- Secretary of State
- Attorney General
- State Superintendent of Education
- Commissioner of Agriculture
- U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District
- Horry County Council Chair
- Horry County Board of Education
And here are some races that you may see on your ballot but others may not:
- U.S. Senate (Democratic voters only)
- Statehouse District 106
- Statehouse District 61
- Statehouse District 55
- Horry County Council districts 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 11
- Horry County Board of Education districts 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10
Who are the candidates running the 2022 primaries?
U.S. Senate:
Sen. Tim Scott is up for re-election this year, and faces no Republican primary challengers.
If you vote Democratic, you’ll choose between Catherine Fleming Bruce, Angela Geter and Krystle Matthews to face Scott in November.
Governor:
Governor Henry McMaster will face primary challenger Harrison Musselwhite.
On the Democratic side, former U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham and state Sen. Mia McLeod, along with Calvin CJ Mack McMillan, William H. Williams and Carlton Boyd are running to face the Republican winner in November.
Secretary of State:
Incumbent Secretary of State Mark Hammond will face Republican challenger Keith Blandford on Tuesday.
There are no Democratic challengers.
Attorney General:
Attorney General Alan Wilson, the brother of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, will face Republican challenger Lauren Martel in Tuesday’s primary.
No Democrats are running for Attorney General.
State Superintendent of Education:
The race for State Superintendent of Education is one of the more heated statewide races this year after Molly Spearman said she wouldn’t seek re-election.
On the Republican side, Travis Bedson, Bryan Chapman, Kizzi Gibson, )Lynda Leventis-Wells, Kathy Maness and Ellen Weaver are all vying for the job. Weaver has emerged as a frontrunner, but the State Superintendent of Education must have a Master’s degree, which Weaver does not have. She’s said she’ll have one by Election Day in November.
On the Democratic side, Gary L. Burgess, Lisa Ellis and Jerry Govan are vying to face the Republican nominee in November.
Commissioner of Agriculture:
Incumbent commissioner Hugh Weathers will face two Republican challengers, Bill Bledsoe and Bob Rozier.
No Democrats are running for the position.
U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District:
The race for Congress is the highest-profile race for Horry County voters. No Democrats are running this year, so Tuesday’s election will decide who goes to Washington, D.C. in January to represent the district anchored by Myrtle Beach and Florence.
In this race, incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Rice faces a crowded field of Republican challengers because of his January 2021 vote to impeach former President Donald Trump for his unwillingness to stop the violence during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Trump himself has taken aim at Rice and other Republicans who have crossed him, and has urged candidates to run against him for voters to run him out of office. In many ways, the race has become one of Trump’s “proxy wars” as he fights to remain the leader of the Republican Party.
Trump has endorsed Rice challenger state Rep. Russell Fry, and rallied with him in Florence in March. Fry touts himself as an “America First” Republican who would stick by Trump’s side through thick and thin.
But some Horry County conservatives have said they disagree with Trump endorsing Fry.
Other candidates in the race include Horry County Board of Education Chairman Ken Richardson, Cheraw physician Dr. Garrett Barton, Christian speaker Barbara Arthur, pharmacist Spencer Morris and former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride.
Horry County Council Chair:
Perhaps the second highest-profile race for Horry County residents, voters will choose who will lead the county council in Tuesday’s primary.
Incumbent Chairman Johnny Gardner is running for re-election. He took office in 2019 after ousting former chair Mark Lazarus. Gardner had a rocky start to his term, as he pursued the termination of former County Administrator Chris Eldridge. Eldridge later resigned.
Since then, Gardner has led several efforts to curtail the influence of developers in fast-growing Horry County. Last year, he led the passage of new building standards for construction in flood zones, as well as impact fees, a new charge on developers for new building.
Gardner has also supported non-binding rezoning moratoriums on S.C. 57 in the North Myrtle Beach area, and S.C. 90 outside of Conway, as well as changes to the zoning code that removed leverage used by developers.
His top challenger, Mark Lazarus, is running to get his old seat back. Lazarus, during his term, pushed for county funding for Interstate 73, a move that later got the county into a lawsuit with Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and other municipalities. Lazarus was also responsible for implementing the RIDE III program, which widened Carolina Forest Blvd. and is currently widening U.S. 501.
At his campaign launch, Lazarus said he wouldn’t let residents who want to “shut down” new building projects stop developers. “That’s not going to happen,” he told developers and others in March.
Gardner faces two other challengers, council member Johnny Vaught and Little River resident Katrina Morrison.
Vaught has said he’d take a balanced approach to residents opposed to new building and developers wanting to build. Morrison has said she’d do more to hold developers accountable.
Horry County Board of Education:
Because Richardson is running for Congress, his position leading the school district is open.
Republicans David E, Cox, Darrell Ricketts and Helen Mason Smith are all vying for the position.
No Democrats are running.
Other races voters may see on their primary ballots
There are several other important races happening on Tuesday, but where you live depends on if you’ll vote for them.
Statehouse District 107:
State Rep. Case Brittain is running unopposed as a Republican to keep his seat.
Statehouse District 106:
Because Fry is running for Congress, the legislature seat he’s held since 2015 is open.
Republicans Val Guest, Brian Sweeney, Howard Barnard and Bruce Bailey are all running for the position.
Democrat Ryan Thompson is also running.
Statehouse District 105:
State Rep. Kevin Hardee is running unopposed as a Republican to keep his seat.
Statehouse District 104:
State Rep. William Bailey is running unopposed as a Republican to keep his seat.
Statehouse District 103:
State Rep. Carl Anderson is running unopposed as a Democrat to keep his seat.
Statehouse District 68:
State Rep. Heather Ammons Crawford is running to keep her seat as a Republican.
She’ll face Democrat Ernest Carson in November.
Statehouse District 61:
This newly-drawn district, thanks to Horry County’s rapid growth and redistricting, has two Republicans and one Democrat running.
Republicans John Cassidy and Carla Schuessler are both running for the open seat.
One of them will face Democrat Ashlyn Preaux in November.
Statehouse District 58:
State Rep. Jeff Johnson is running unopposed as a Republican to keep his seat.
Statehouse District 57:
State Rep. Lucas Atkinson is running unopposed as a Republican to keep his seat.
Statehouse District 56:
State Rep. Tim McGinnis is running unopposed as a Republican to keep his seat.
Statehouse District 55:
Incumbent State Rep. Jackie “Coach” Hayes is running as a Democrat to keep his seat.
He’ll face Democratic challenger Jamal Campbell on Tuesday.
On the Republican side, Robert Norton and Tracy Pelt will face off to face the Democrat in November.
And Michael Copland is running as an Independent.
Horry County Council District 1
In the county’s North Myrtle Beach-area council seat, incumbent council member Harold Worley, the longest-serving member, is facing primary challenger Jenna Dukes.
Dukes is backed by several high-profile developers, which has become an issue in the race.
No Democrats are running for the seat.
Horry County Council District 2
In one of the council’s two Myrtle Beach-area seats, incumbent Bill Howard is facing primary challenger Dean Richardson.
No Democrats are running for the seat.
Horry County Council District 5
Incumbent council member Tyler Servant is running unopposed to hold onto his Surfside Beach-area seat.
Horry County Council District 7
Incumbent council member Orton Bellamy, the council’s only Black member, is running to hold onto his Conway-area seat. He’ll face challenger Jeanette Spurlock, who was previously one of Rice’s challengers for Congress.
Horry County Council District 8
With Vaught running for council chairman, his Forestbrook-area seat is open.
Republicans Shannon Grady, Brandon Skipper, David Ellis and Mikey “Mash” Masciarelli are all running to fill the seat.
No Democrats are running.
Horry County Council District 11
Aynor-area council member Al Allen is running unopposed to keep his seat.
Horry County Board of Education District 1
Republican David Koch is running unopposed to keep his seat.
Horry County Board of Education District 2
Republican incumbent board member Sherrie Todd is defending her seat against Republican challenger Debbie Edmonds. No Democrats are running.
Horry County Board of Education District 3
Republican incumbent board member Terry Winters is defending her seat against Republican challenger Lorraine Mallon. Winters was appointed to the seat last year after her husband, Ray Winters, who previously held the seat, died.
Horry County Board of Education District 6
Incumbent board member Helen Smith is running for chair, meaning her seat is open. Republicans Lyn Bondi, Pam Dawson and Steve Witt are running to fill the seat. No Democrats are running.
Horry County Board of Education District 8
Incumbent board member Melanie Wellons, a Republican, is defending her seat against challenger Republican James W. Berry. No Democrats are running.
Horry County Board of Education District 10
Incumbent board member Neil James, a Republican is defending his seat against Republican challenger David Warner. No Democrats are running.
