Harold Phillips wins 7th district Horry County Council seat

Democrat Harold Phillips beat out Republican Robert Shelley Tuesday in a close race for the Horry County Council District 7 seat vacated by retiring Councilman James Frazier.

The candidates were neck-and-neck as results from the 23 precincts filtered into the election office Tuesday night. Phillips secured an early lead, then Shelley, then Phillips, then Shelley again, until Phillips finished as the top vote-getter.

Phillips netted 924 votes (57.57 percent) of the 1,622 ballots cast in the day-after-the-July-4th-holiday election that was plagued by a voter turnout of less than 10 percent. Shelley secured 681 votes (42.43 Percent), according to unofficial results.

“It’s been a struggle but I’m happy,” Phillips said Tuesday night. “It just hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Phillips says he felt blessed about the election results and was looking forward to starting his new role as county councilman, recognizing the seat left behind by Frazier that he will soon fill.

“I feel good about that. I know I have some big shoes to fill and I’m looking forward to getting started,” Phillips said.

Frazier was 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.

Phillips, of the Bucksport area, and Shelley, of Conway, won their party primaries in a special May election – Phillips with 51 percent of the 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 South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.

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

On Tuesday, Phillips said he had visited nearly all of the 18 polling sites by 7 p.m. He planned to watch the results come in at the Horry County Board of Elections office.

Shelley said he had been in touch with supporters at several polls, who were reporting the low turnout he had expected Tuesday. He said he planned to wait for the results at home with his family.

Both candidates acknowledged that the biggest challenge they faced in the election was voter turnout.

“It’s disappointing that less than 10 percent of the people voted,” Shelley said. “The Democrats turned out and the Republicans didn’t. You can campaign all you want, but if people don’t get out and vote, there’s nothing you can do.”

Shelley said he was proud of the race he ran and added Phillips “ran a good race” as well.

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

This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 8:25 PM with the headline "Harold Phillips wins 7th district Horry County Council seat."