Myrtle Beach mayor candidate bests incumbent, city council heads to runoff election

The votes are in, and based on preliminary results, Mark Kruea is poised to serve as the next mayor of Myrtle Beach from January 2026 to 2030.

“Obviously, what we’ve talked about for the last six months resonated. There is a level of dissatisfaction with the status quo, and that came out at the ballot box,” Kruea said. “They said, ‘We need to change direction, and this will be that change in direction to get us back on track.’”

Voters also elected one council member to serve the same four-year term — with three others headed for a runoff election for the remaining two council seats.

Based on unofficial results, Kruea garnered more than 51% of the votes with all precincts reporting.

After a contentious race, former city spokesperson Mark Kruea beat out incumbent Mayor Brenda Bethune, former Mayor Mark McBride and outsiders Daniel Aumen and Eva Perez Rigney to serve as Myrtle Beach’s mayor until 2030.

“I don’t look at the last eight years as a loss. I was blessed to serve my community that I love so much, and to me that’s a major win,” Bethune said in a text Thursday. “I will continue to work hard serving to do all I can to make Myrtle Beach the best it can be.”

Although Kruea isn’t an incumbent, he has plenty of experience in Myrtle Beach government. After 26 years as a city spokesperson, he retired last April. But Kruea’s retirement from city government didn’t last long.

“We aren’t paying attention to the details, and I think the city’s reputation is at stake if we aren’t more common sense about the things we do,“ said Kruea.

In his campaign, Kruea criticized what he described as overfunding and focus on the downtown area at the expense of the city as a whole, promised to work with the General Assembly to revisit the Tourism Development Fee, emphasized the importance of working with businesses and vowed to boost transparency.

For his first term as mayor, Kruea also plans to increase government transparency.

“That looks like fewer executive sessions, easier FOIA process, sharing ideas before they’re accomplished, so that people understand the thought process and have a chance to put some input into it, working with the businesses and building a great visitor experience,” Kruea said.

With 21,242 total council votes, each candidate needed at least 3,541 votes to automatically win a seat.

Incumbent Mike Lowder, who garnered 3,854 votes, was the only council contender to meet that threshold.

Lowder ran for reelection on a campaign of continuing his first term’s work, touting infrastructure improvements, safety accomplishments and renovations. His platform included improving public safety and balancing residents’ concerns with commercial growth.

That means the three candidates who got the next-highest votes — Jackie Hatley, Nick Vaugh and Phil Render — will compete in a runoff election on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

After two terms in office, incumbent councilwoman Jackie Hatley won 3,280 votes Tuesday night, roughly 15.44% of the vote.

Her platform focused on public safety, government transparency and sustainable growth, while highlighting votes to support police and first responders, implement the downtown revitalization program and support the Tourism Development Fee and hospitality fees.

Newly elected businessman Nick Vaugh was the only Myrtle Beach City Council first-timer to make the runoff. With 2,922 votes, Vaugh got about 13.76% of the vote.

Vaugh is the co-founder of the Vaugh Spadaccini Hospitality Group, with restaurants like Sol y Luna Cantina and Crave Italian Oven and Bar. In his council campaign, Vaugh spoke about zero-based budgeting, privatizing major venues, aggressive and proactive policing, expanding healthcare access and supporting small businesses.

Former councilman Phil Render amassed 20 years of Myrtle Beach City Council experience before opting not to seek reelection in 2023. In his return to city politics, he garnered about 13.41% of votes with 2,848 ballots.

In this campaign, Render said the city must continue consistent police patrolling, judiciously deploy law enforcement resources, listen to businesses and encourage lawmakers to elect firm and fair judges to address public safety, his top issue.

Although the preliminary numbers are in, the election results aren’t yet official. Voters will cast ballots in the council runoff election on Nov. 18, and the Horry County Voter Registration and Elections Board will meet to certify the mayoral election results Thursday, Nov. 6, at 10 a.m.

This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 9:09 PM.