Election to decide 7th district Horry County council seat Tuesday

Candidates in the special election to fill the 7th district Horry County Council seat face their final contest Tuesday when voters head to the polls to elect the new representative.

Democrat Harold Phillips and Republican Robert Shelley are vying for the seat vacated by retiring Councilman James Frazier, the first African-American elected to the council and its longest-serving member. The 77-year-old Bucksport native stepped down in March for health reasons.

Polls for the special election will be open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at 18 precincts listed below. Photo identification is required to cast ballots.

Phillips and Shelley won their party primaries in a special May election – Phillips with 51 percent of Democratic votes and Shelley with 58 percent of the GOP support.

Phillips, 68, is the board chairman of the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council. Shelley, 60, is a retired police officer and a supervisor with the state department of motor vehicles.

Both candidates are spending the remaining days of the election going door-to-door encouraging residents to turn out to vote and asking for support.

Shelley took a brief break from campaigning Thursday to watch Coastal Carolina win the College World Series.

“I don’t think anyone wants me bothering them during the ballgame,” Shelley said. “But after the ballgame, I’m right back on it.”

Shelley and Phillips both acknowledged that the biggest challenge they face is voter turnout.

“It’s a bad day, a long holiday weekend when most people are coming back to work, and a lot of people are still out of town,” Shelley said.

Added Phillips: “The day after the 4th, people are not too worried about an election.”

The winning candidate will take office immediately, and attend their first council meeting on July 12.

This story was originally published July 2, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Election to decide 7th district Horry County council seat Tuesday."