ELECTION 2018: Sumter County primary results
Voters in Sumter County turned out to the polls for primaries on Tuesday to decide who will be their party’s representatives on the ballot in November.
Primary ballots in Sumter featured eight races and four questions. Democrats were asked to choose four candidates (Governor, U.S. District 5 Representative, State District 64 Representative and County Council District 6) and had two questions. Republicans also had four races (Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General and County Council District 2) and two questions.
There are 65,952 registered voters in Sumter County, according to the South Carolina Election Commission. Of the 1,991 absentee ballots that were requested, 1,824 were issued.
Pat Jefferson, director of Sumter County Voter Registration and Elections, said a little over 1,000 absentee ballots were sent back in to be counted, which is lower than normal. Usually, Sumter gets between 3,000 and 5,000. Overall, she said, turnout seems to be lower than normal for a primary.
Candidates must receive 50 percent of the vote plus one vote to win the nomination out right tonight. Races where no candidate does will go to a runoff between the top two vote-getters on June 26.
Following are the current results for races that affect Sumter County. Races that stretch into more than one county reflect the total vote.
DEMOCRATIC RACES
Governor
Phil Noble – 10.66% / 23,447 votes
WINNER: James Smith – 62.27% / 137,003 votes
Marguerite Willis – 27.08% / 59,578 votes
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U.S. House of Representative, District 5
Mark Ali – 13.40% / 3,710 votes
Steve Lough – 9.46% / 2,620 votes
Sidney Moore – 17.16% / 4,753 votes
WINNER: Archie Parnell – 59.98% / 16,610 votes
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U.S. House of Representatives, District 64
Mitch Ellerby – 38.42% / 1,472 votes
WINNER: Robert L. Ridgeway III (incumbent) – 61.58% / 2,359 votes
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County Council District 6
Charlie Jones – 31.17% / 438 votes
WINNER: James T. McCain Jr. (incumbent) – 68.83% / 967 votes
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Question 1
Do you support passing a state law allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients?
YES – 81.41% / 182,755 votes
NO – 18.59% / 41,736 votes
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Question 2
Do you support passing a state law requiring the governor of South Carolina to accept all federal revenues offered to support Medicaid and Medicaid expansion efforts in the state?
YES – 92.53% / 206,473 votes
NO – 7.47% / 16,680 votes
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REPUBLICAN RACES
Governor
Kevin Bryant – 6.06% / 19,245 votes
John Yancey McGill – 1.84% / 5,827 votes
RUNOFF: Henry McMaster (incumbent) – 44.80% / 142,185 votes
Catherine Templeton – 22.31% / 70,811 votes
RUNOFF: John Warren – 25.0% / 79,340 votes
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Secretary of State
Nelson Faerber – 11.82% / 33,984 votes
WINNER: Mark Hammond (incumbent) – 67.49% / 194,121 votes
Joshua Putnam – 12.00% / 34,529 votes
Kerry Wood – 8.69% / 24,999 votes
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Attorney General
RUNOFF: Todd Atwater – 30.35% / 89,872 votes
William D. Herlong – 20.66% / 61,183 votes
RUNOFF: Alan Wilson (incumbent) – 49.0% / 145,109 votes
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County Council District 2
WINNER: Artie Baker (incumbent) – 51.45% / 479 votes
Hazel Evenich – 5.69% / 53 votes
Bubba Rabon – 42.86% / 399 votes
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Question 1
Do you believe that voters should have the option to choose to affiliate with a political party when they register to vote or change their voter registration in South Carolina?
YES – 82.34% / 254,856 votes
NO – 17.66% / 54,667 votes
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Question 2
Do you believe that South Carolina’s tax code should be brought into conformity with the new Trump tax cuts in the federal tax code for maximum simplification and to lower the overall tax burden on South Carolina taxpayers and businesses?
YES – 92.30% / 265,722 votes
NO – 7.70% / 22,180 votes
*58/58 precincts are completely reported.
(Results are from the SC Election Commission. All results are uncertified.)