McLeod avoids runoff, beats 2 challengers outright for Sumter school board District 6 seat

Matthew “Mac” McLeod is poised to keep his seat on Sumter school board’s District 6 seat.

According to unofficial election results from Tuesday’s general midterm election, McLeod remains in the seat after defeating Venitia Reebel and Robby Robinson with 56.49%, or 1,515, of the votes. Non-partisan challengers Robinson received 27.70%, or 743, of the votes to Reebel’s 14.77%, or 396 votes.

Votes will be made official on Friday, according to the Sumter County Voter Registration and Elections Office, once failsafe votes are considered, though those are not often more than a handful. Absentee and early votes are already included in Tuesday’s totals.

The redrawn District 6 runs through the western portions of McCrays Mill Road, Pinewood Road, Kolb Road and Bethel Church Road and has borders of Wedgefield Road to the north, St. Paul Church Road to the west, U.S. 15 South to the east and Avin Road and Poole Road to the south.

The Sumter school board moved to nine single-member districts for this election and moving forward. Previously, the board had seven single-member districts and two at-large seats. 

A native to Sumter, McLeod has taught at Thomas Sumter Academy for 11 years. He previously served nearly five and a half years as a trustee on the former Sumter School District 2 board before the two school districts consolidated in 2011 and won a seat on the board four years ago in November 2018.

He is the only school board candidate to win a race outright with more than two people running, meaning he won a majority of the votes.  Four races will see the top two vote-getters face off in two weeks, while four others were decided tonight between two candidates. All nine seats were up for election this year.

Eight of the nine current school board members sought reelection. Four either lost outright or did not make their runoff, two are in a runoff, and two won outright Tuesday.

McLeod did not return calls from The Sumter Item Tuesday night for comment.