Mace wins Republican Primary
Wed, 12/06/2017 - 10:16am
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Faces Boatwright in House District 99 special election
By:
KATIE ESTABROOK
After receiving the most votes in the Republican primary election on Nov. 14 for the South Carolina State House District 99 open seat, but falling just short of the majority to win, candidate Nancy Mace once again came out on top in last week’s runoff.
Of the 2,711 total votes cast between Berkeley and Charleston counties, candidate Mark Smith received 1,012 votes, or 37 percent, and Mace received 1,685 votes, or 62 percent. The average voter turnout among Daniel Island’s four precincts was approximately 11.8 percent.
Although Smith won Charleston County with 534 votes versus Mace’s 460, Mace obtained an astonishing 1,235 votes in Berkeley County compared to Smith’s 478, ultimately securing her spot as the candidate to take on Democratic contender Cindy Boatwright in the special election set for Jan. 16, 2018.
Mace, a Daniel Island resident, explained in a press release following the runoff that she is excited to move on to the next phase of the election.
“I’m truly honored with tonight’s win,” said Mace. “I want to thank those who ran in this primary – particularly Shawn Pinkston for his support. The vision I shared with voters, whether it’s getting ahead of our infrastructure needs, improving roads, being a fiscal conservative, or recognizing [that] tax dollars are sacred will continue to be my message as we move forward to the General Election in January. I will continue to meet with families and small business owners and listen about the issues that are important to them.”
Smith congratulated Mace on her win in a post to his Facebook page the evening of the election and offered his gratitude to those who supported his campaign.
“To our incredible supporters who gave time, talent and resources to our effort - I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” wrote Smith. “Your prayers and encouragement during this campaign have meant more to Elayne, the boys and me than you will ever know. While we won Charleston County and added 300 votes to our total from the primary, we came up short overall. That said, we can all be proud of the campaign we ran. We honored all of our commitments to the public. And, we focused all of our efforts on the issues.”
Smith also noted that he plans to continue to serve the community through multiple service organizations and his role with the South Carolina Office on Aging.
In response to Mace’s runoff win, Boatwright released a press statement of her own, calling her new opponent “totally unfit” for office, citing a video that recently resurfaced of the Republican candidate at what appears to be a party.
“…The video currently circulating online of Nancy Mace is shocking, and it demonstrates her immaturity, irresponsibility and lack of fitness for public office,” stated Boatwright. “I have had to adhere to a strict code of ethics in my profession, and I will bring those standards into my work and conduct in all Statehouse responsibilities.”
Prior to Boatwright’s press release, the video was shared via The Charleston Democrat’s Twitter and Facebook accounts on Nov. 28. The video, which Mace said is over two years old, shows the Republican candidate taking a shot of a beverage and passing it to another person by mouth, who then shares it in similar fashion with others.
Following Boatwright’s press release, Mace explained that the video should not be, in any way, associated with the election.
“The video has nothing to do with the issues,” said Mace. “When politicians, candidates or groups start looking at or doing these kinds of personal attacks, this is the reason why good people don’t get involved in politics and get in it for the right reasons…And for the record the video isn’t new.”
For more information about the election in January or to register to vote, visit https://www.berkeleycountysc.gov/ drupal/voters.
Of the 2,711 total votes cast between Berkeley and Charleston counties, candidate Mark Smith received 1,012 votes, or 37 percent, and Mace received 1,685 votes, or 62 percent. The average voter turnout among Daniel Island’s four precincts was approximately 11.8 percent.
Although Smith won Charleston County with 534 votes versus Mace’s 460, Mace obtained an astonishing 1,235 votes in Berkeley County compared to Smith’s 478, ultimately securing her spot as the candidate to take on Democratic contender Cindy Boatwright in the special election set for Jan. 16, 2018.
Mace, a Daniel Island resident, explained in a press release following the runoff that she is excited to move on to the next phase of the election.
“I’m truly honored with tonight’s win,” said Mace. “I want to thank those who ran in this primary – particularly Shawn Pinkston for his support. The vision I shared with voters, whether it’s getting ahead of our infrastructure needs, improving roads, being a fiscal conservative, or recognizing [that] tax dollars are sacred will continue to be my message as we move forward to the General Election in January. I will continue to meet with families and small business owners and listen about the issues that are important to them.”
Smith congratulated Mace on her win in a post to his Facebook page the evening of the election and offered his gratitude to those who supported his campaign.
“To our incredible supporters who gave time, talent and resources to our effort - I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” wrote Smith. “Your prayers and encouragement during this campaign have meant more to Elayne, the boys and me than you will ever know. While we won Charleston County and added 300 votes to our total from the primary, we came up short overall. That said, we can all be proud of the campaign we ran. We honored all of our commitments to the public. And, we focused all of our efforts on the issues.”
Smith also noted that he plans to continue to serve the community through multiple service organizations and his role with the South Carolina Office on Aging.
In response to Mace’s runoff win, Boatwright released a press statement of her own, calling her new opponent “totally unfit” for office, citing a video that recently resurfaced of the Republican candidate at what appears to be a party.
“…The video currently circulating online of Nancy Mace is shocking, and it demonstrates her immaturity, irresponsibility and lack of fitness for public office,” stated Boatwright. “I have had to adhere to a strict code of ethics in my profession, and I will bring those standards into my work and conduct in all Statehouse responsibilities.”
Prior to Boatwright’s press release, the video was shared via The Charleston Democrat’s Twitter and Facebook accounts on Nov. 28. The video, which Mace said is over two years old, shows the Republican candidate taking a shot of a beverage and passing it to another person by mouth, who then shares it in similar fashion with others.
Following Boatwright’s press release, Mace explained that the video should not be, in any way, associated with the election.
“The video has nothing to do with the issues,” said Mace. “When politicians, candidates or groups start looking at or doing these kinds of personal attacks, this is the reason why good people don’t get involved in politics and get in it for the right reasons…And for the record the video isn’t new.”
For more information about the election in January or to register to vote, visit https://www.berkeleycountysc.gov/ drupal/voters.