7 key takeaways from the South Carolina primary elections
The primary elections in South Carolina on Tuesday were a mixed bag of upheaval and expected results.
From wins and losses for candidates backed by former President Donald Trump, to surprise upsets in several races and a planned challenge to results for a state House seat, the primaries were nothing if not eventful. The elections even signaled the end of the line for a few long-time politicians.
Here are seven key takeaways from what happened on Tuesday.
Trump-backed Fry wins outright
South Carolina State Rep. Russell Fry easily defeated U.S. Rep. Tom Rice in his bid for Congress. Rice, a five-term incumbent, voted to impeach Trump last year after the Jan. 6 riot.
“You ran a great race and you’re going to make a great congressman,” Rice told Fry in a brief phone call. “I’ll do anything I can to help. Good luck, buddy. Good luck.”
Fry, the 37-year old Majority Whip for Republicans in Columbia, emerged as a front runner against Rice shortly after announcing his challenge in August last year.
Trump flew to Florence in March to rally with Fry, a move that helped swing the race for him.
Trump-backed candidate loses to incumbent
GOP U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace defeated former state House Rep. Katie Arrington in a hotly-contested primary race. Trump had endorsed Arrington in February and had referred to Mace, 44, as an “absolutely terrible candidate.”
Mace worked for Trump’s campaign in 2016, but the two have been at odds since Jan. 6, 2021, when Mace criticized the former president’s response to the Capitol riot and voted to certify the 2020 presidential election.
She will face Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews, the Democratic candidate who ran unopposed, in November.
Rita Allison loses reelection
Rep. Rita Allison, R-Lyman, lost her seat to Rob Harris, 34 of Wellford. It was a surprise upset for Allison, 80, the chairwoman of the House Education and Public Works Committee who served two stints spanning 28 years in the House of Representatives.
Allison ran her reelection campaign on the issues of education, economic development, taxes and safety.
Harris, a first-time political candidate, ran on the issues of abortion, immigration and roads.
Results challenge for SC House seat
Rep. Wendy Brawley, D-Richland, plans to challenge the results of the District 70 House election. She ran against another sitting Richland County Democrat, Rep. Jermaine Johnson.
Brawley and Johnson previously represented District 70 and District 80, but those were consolidated when the state passed new redistricting maps last year. As such, both had to face off Tuesday for a single seat.
Richland County’s unofficial results have Johnson winning the election with just over 50% of the vote, beating Brawley by 121 ballots. Brawley received just under 48% of the total. A third candidate, Bridgette Jones Larry, received 2% of the vote.
Brawley said those results may not be accurate and claims the unofficial results at two county precincts differ from results posted by precinct clerks on Tuesday. She said the difference should be enough for a run-off.
2 Republicans who flipped Democrat seats gone
Two Republicans who flipped Democrat-held seats in 2020 won’t return after the Tuesday primary, one because she decided against running for reelection and the other because he lost outright.
Rep. Sandy McGarry, R-Lancaster, previously said she would not run for reelection after being drawn into a district represented by one of her political mentors, Rep. Richie Yow, R-Chesterfield, who holds the District 53 seat.
McGarry, who in 2020 defeated four-term Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell, a former Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, had said moving on after a single term will be difficult, but that she had no interest in campaigning against Yow.
“It’s hard going from that super win of 2020 to being thrown out of the House,” she said. “Because that’s what it feels like.”
Meanwhile Rep. Vic Dabney, R-Kershaw, lost to Ben Connell-R for the District 52 seat. Dabney was also drawn out of his district. Dabney had previously won election and flipped a Democrat-held seat in 2020.
Long-time incumbent Brian White loses in upset
Rep. Brian White, who has served in the state House for 22 years, was defeated by April Cromer for House District 6. Since there is no Democrat in the race, Cromer is the presumed winner in the November General Election.
Along with being a long-time incumbent, White also once served as House budget chairman until he lost the position in 2018.
Long-time House lawmaker loses superintendent race
Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, failed to snag the Democrat primary win for state superintendent. Govan, 64, was first elected to the House in 1992 and sat on the chamber’s Education and Public Works committee and Operations and Management committee.
He announced his candidacy for superintendent after he lost his state House seat due to redistricting.
However, despite being a long-time politician, Govan came in last in a three-person race for superintendent with Lisa Ellis and Gary Burgess.
Currently, Ellis, a teacher and student activities director at Blythewood High School in Richland 2, appears to have eked out a majority of the vote.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 2:03 PM with the headline "7 key takeaways from the South Carolina primary elections."
