Tag: special election

Illegal Candidates in SC Senate District 42?

The filing for SC Senate District 42 in the Charleston area has 6 of the 9 candidates in violation not only of the law that got over 200 candidates removed from the ballot in May of 2012, but also in violation of the amendments to the law passed June 2013.

The Republican and Democratic parties received the filings and certified candidates in violation of S.C. Election Law.

Apparently the South Carolina Ethics reform known as Equal Access to the ballot or ACT 61 was just a Photo Op for the Governor and propaganda for the Legislature. Ethics in government continue to be just a campaign issue.

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Mark Sanford Returns to Washington

Republican Mark Sanford will be returning to Washington to again represent the citizens of the South Carolina 1st Congressional District after a nearly 12 ½ year break.

Sanford easily defeated Democratic opponent Elizabeth Colbert Busch in a special election to fill the seat after former representative Tim Scott was elevated to the Senate earlier this year when Jim DeMint resigned to head up the Heritage Foundation.

Despite turning off some voters with his 2009 antics of disappearing for several days to visit his Argentinian mistress while serving as governor of South Carolina, Sanford was never really in danger of losing this election.

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The Mark Sanford Comeback

Everybody has an opinion on whether the latest “trespassing” chapter in the ongoing Mark Sanford political resurrection saga will hurt his chances of winning the May 7th special election for the S.C. 1st Congressional District.

Quick answer – No, Mark Sanford will be going back to Washington.

This is not a criminal trespass charge, but, rather, a complaint reportedly filed by Jenny Sanford’s lawyer to be heard in family court two days after the special election.

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Republican Nomination to Mark Lazarus

Mark Lazarus earned the Republican nomination for Horry County Council chairman Tuesday night defeating Al Allen by a 55% – 45% margin in a special primary election runoff. With no Democratic candidate, Lazarus should be guaranteed a win in the special election April 30, 2013.

I say ‘should be’ because voter turnout was so horrible it’s not beyond the pale that someone could put together a last minute write-in campaign to make general election voting interesting. I don’t expect this to happen, because it would take a candidate who could fire up the voters to make it happen and such a candidate has been sadly lacking in this special election season.

Both of these campaigns certainly underwhelmed voters. Despite estimates that both Lazarus and Allen went over the $100,000 threshold for campaign spending, less than 7 percent of the voters countywide bothered to cast ballots – actually 6.45%.

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Horry Chair Special Election Runoff Hijinks

Republican challengers Mark Lazarus and Al Allen will square off Tuesday March 26th in a special election runoff for the party nomination for Horry County Council chairman.

The election will effectively decide the next council chairman as there is no Democratic candidate and a write-in campaign that could defeat the Republican nominee is not in the cards.

Lazarus led the first round voting with 41 percent of the vote to Allen’s 24.5 percent, which just squeaked out second place over first time candidate Debbie Harwell who finished with 24 percent

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Paying for Special Election Campaign Pledges

The two candidates in a special election primary runoff for the Republican nomination for Horry County Council chairman spoke of the need to continue to address the same issues that brought them this far.

With those pronouncements in mind, Mark Lazarus and Al Allen, the two surviving candidates, owe some explanations to the voters how they will pursue their earlier pronouncements without raising taxes.

Both were very vocal about re-instituting county paid health insurance for retired county employees. County council voted to phase this coverage out as a benefit too costly to continue.

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Special Election Primary – Who Cares?

We are at the weekend before the special election primary for Horry County Council chairman and there is very little buzz “on the street” about the race.

Is it that voters are electioned out or that the five candidates have failed to generate any real excitement about themselves?

I suspect both of the above are part of the problem.

Two things I am hearing on the street from average citizens are no matter who becomes the next chairman, there is little support for giving government money to private businesses in the name of economic development and there is little support for building I-73.

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Little Difference in Special Election Candidates

If I learned anything from Tuesday night’s televised forum of candidates in the special election for the vacant Horry County Council chairman seat, it’s that very little separates these candidates on issues.

Mark Lazarus, Liz Gilland, Al Allen, Debbie Harwell and Fonzie Lewis are not going to raise taxes except in cases of extreme emergency. Yet, all are going to push hard for I-73, the Southern Evacuation Lifeline and other major road projects in the county.

More major road projects with no tax increases.

Things like hospitality fees, road maintenance fees and local option sales taxes, all of which have been added or increased through the years, don’t count as taxes in this thought process.

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SC 1st Congressional District Poll Numbers

Grand Strand Daily received exclusive access to the latest SC 1st Congressional District polling data from a poll commissioned by a private business group.

This poll of 707 likely Conservative voters in the SC 1st Congressional District demonstrates all of the candidates have a lot of work to do before primary day March 19th.

Former Gov. Mark Sanford leads with 17%, surprisingly down from the 25% reported several weeks ago. SC Sen. Larry Grooms, with 5%, is in a tight race for the runner-up position with Charleston school board member Elizabeth Moffly, 4%, and teacher and prodigal son Teddy Turner with 4% of the vote.

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Elizabeth Moffly Declares for SC 1st District

Elizabeth Moffly declared her candidacy for the open 1st Congressional District seat last Thursday to a gathering of her supporters at Geechie Seafood at Shem Creek.

Moffly, currently a Trustee on the Charleston County School Board, combines a history of independent thinking with the courage to speak out on issues.

She told her supporters she considers public service a higher calling – “to be a voice for the people where decisions are being made that have a direct effect on our lives.”

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