This was a very interesting campaign season. I want to congratulate all our candidates for having the heart and the interest to get in the civic arena. We’ve shown that there is a space for independent progressive politics in the state.
Our candidates with previous local campaign or activism experience generally did well in contested races…but certainly we could have done a lot of things differently. We have to take some lessons from this campaign and learn how this political party can best serve the people of South Carolina.
The Clements for Senate campaign has run the most successful statewide progressive race in South Carolina history. With more than 120,000 votes and 9% of the overall vote, Tom Clements has far exceeded any previous statewide campaign operating without support of the two major parties.
Other notable results include the 1,186 votes earned by Eugene Platt running in SC House District 115. Eugene’s 9.62% is the highest percentage result in a three way contest. Incumbent Anne Peterson-Hutto went down in defeat against Republican Eugene McCoy by a margin of less than 5%. In 2008, the State Election Commission threw Green Party nominee Eugene Platt off the general election ballot after he lost the Democratic Primary to Hutto. In 2006 while running as a Democrat, Eugene had come within a handful of votes of defeating the Republican in this district.D.C. Swinton ran his first campaign for SC House District 24 as a Green/Democratic fusion candidate while a student at Winthrop University. D.C. earned 3,390 votes or 25% of the total in a two person race against an entrenched incumbent. His result is the best overall percentage result by a candidate who ran as a Green.
Christopher Jones received 11.76% in a two-person race in SC House District 74. Leslie Minerd and Dorthea Bull each received around 2%. Gubernatorial candidate Morgan Reeves received 1.16%. Against local prosecutor Troy Gowdy and an array of right wing minor parties C. Faye Walter’s vote in the 4th Congressional District was 1.18%. Robert Dobbs similarly earned about 1.16% running in the 1st Congressional district against six other candidates. Nammu Mohammed received about 1% of the vote against Democratic Congressional Whip Jim Clyburn of the 6th District.
I want to draw your attention to the results for Amendment 2 and the SC House District 69 contest. The success of Amendment 2 puts “secret ballot” union elections into the state constitution. It passed with 86%, so card-check union elections are now forbidden by the SC constitution. Brett Bursey of the SC Progressive Network ran as the Labor Party candidate in SC House District 69, the first time this party has ever sought elective office anywhere in the country. He received 3% against a Democrat and a heavily favored Republican incumbent.
Full results follow. My thanks to all the SC Green Party candidates.
Source: http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/19077/39378/en/summary.html#
U.S. Senate
Tom Clements (GRN) 9.22% 120,508
Jim DeMint (REP) 61.45% 803,193
Alvin M Greene (DEM) 27.66% 361,471
WRITE-IN (NON) 1.67% 21,807
Total 1,306,979
SC Governor:
Morgan Bruce Reeves (GRN) 0.93% 12,283
Nikki R Haley (REP) 51.33% 678,937
Vincent A Sheheen (DEM) 46.94% 620,831
Morgan Bruce Reeves (UNC) 0.57% 7,579
Write-In (NON) 0.23% 2,981
Total 1,322,611
Total for Morgan Bruce Reeves (Green + United Citizens): 19,862
Attorney General:
Leslie Minerd (GRN) 2.02% 26,544
Alan Wilson (REP) 53.68% 704,227
Matthew Richardson (DEM) 44.26% 580,645
Write-In (NON) 0.03% 453
Total 1,311,869
State Superintendent of Education
Doretha A Bull (GRN) 1.57% 20,488
Mick Zais (REP) 51.20% 669,327
Tim Moultrie (LIB) 2.66% 34,769
Frank Holleman (DEM) 43.17% 564,433
Tony Fayyazi (IND) 1.36% 17,844
Write-In (NON) 0.04% 507
Total 1,307,368
US House of Representatives District 1
(Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Horry):
Robert Dobbs (GRN) 1.44% 3,316
Tim Scott (REP) 65.31% 149,882
Keith Blandford (LIB) 1.17% 2,688
Ben Frasier (DEM) 28.73% 65,943
Rob Groce (WFM) 1.77% 4,054
M E Mac McCullough (UNC) 0.43% 996
Jimmy Wood (IND) 1.07% 2,455
WRITE-IN (NON) 0.07% 160
Total 229,494
US House of Representatives District 4
(Greenville, Spartanburg, Union, part of Laurens)
C Faye Walters (GRN) 1.18% 2,553
Trey Gowdy (REP) 63.48% 137,189
Rick Mahler (LIB) 1.39% 3,000
Paul Corden (DEM) 28.77% 62,175
Dave Edwards (CON) 5.09% 11,005
WRITE-IN (NON) 0.08% 180
Total 216,102
US House of Representatives District 4
Nammu Y Muhammad (GRN) 0.74% 1,286
Jim Pratt (REP) 37.01% 64,696
James E Jim Clyburn (DEM) 62.21% 108,749
WRITE-IN (NON) 0.04% 65
174,796
State House of Representatives District 24
D C Swinton (GRN) 1.75% 242
Bruce Bannister (REP) 75.35% 10,394
D C Swinton (DEM) 22.82% 3,148
WRITE-IN (NON) 0.08% 11
Total 13,795
State House of Representatives District 74
Christopher Jones (GRN) 11.74% 866
J Todd Rutherford (DEM) 87.92% 6,486
WRITE-IN (NON) 0.34% 25
Total 7,377
State House of Representatives District 115
Eugene Platt (GRN) 7.75% 955
Peter McCoy (REP) 47.01% 5,795
Eugene Platt (PET) 1.87% 231
Anne Peterson Hutto (DEM) 43.32% 5,340
WRITE-IN (NON) 0.04% 5
Total 12,326
Amendment 2
Yes (NON) 86.16% 1,072,811
No (NON) 13.84% 172,319
Total 1,245,130
SC State House of Representatives District 69
Rick Quinn (REP) 72.03% 10,360
Jan Steensen Crangle (DEM) 24.83% 3,571
Brett Bursey (LAB) 3.06% 440
WRITE-IN (NON) 0.08% 11
Total 14,382