WASHINGTON
Twenty-six candidates hoping to represent South Carolina’s seven congressional districts filed by Wednesday’s noon deadline to appear on the June 14 primary ballots.
The Lowcountry seat currently held by Republican Rep. Mark Sanford looks to be the most competitive, with Sanford drawing a primary challenger who’s already raised thousands of dollars.
Nov. 8 General Election. The primary will be held on June 14.
1st District Sanford’s primary challenger is state Rep. Jenny Horne. An attorney who has been a Summerville representative since 2008, Horne received national attention last summer when a video of her emotional anti-Confederate flag speech went viral. Speaking to the state House after the Emmanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, she said that anything less than removing the flag would be an insult to the families of the nine victims, which included Lowcountry Sen. Clementa Pickney. She gave several interviews to national news outlets and announced her intention to run for Congress soon after.
Sanford, a former governor, has held the 1st District seat since 2013, making a political comeback after he vanished to see his then-mistress in Argentina. As of December 2015, he has raised $360,208 to Horne’s $32,070 according to financial disclosure reports.
March 17, 2016 ">
The South Carolina GOP does not plan to endorse a candidate in the primary, chairman Matt Moore said.
“We believe primaries strengthen the debate on policies and ideas,” he said, “and we wish every candidate the best.”
S.C. Rep. Jenny Horne is the only challenger to an incumbent congressman who had raised money for her campaign, as of the last available financial disclosure forms.
Lowcountry activist Dimitri Cherny was the only person to file for the Democratic primary. He has said that he’s most concerned about the “corrupting influence of big money – billionaire money – on our politics.” Cherny made headlines last month when he expressed his support of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders by getting the Vermont senator’s name tattooed on his arm.
Libertarian candidate Michael Grier and American Party candidate Albert Travison also filed for the 1st district.
2nd District Two Democrats filed to compete for the right to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Joe Wilson in the general election – small business owner Phil Black from Lexington and Columbia writer Arik Bjorn, who has run the S.C. SmartState program. Wilson, known for shouting “You lie!” during President Barack Obama’s 2009 State of the Union speech, has held the seat since 2001. Eddie McCain, a retired Army sergeant, filed to run as an American Party candidate.
3rd District Hosea Cleveland filed for the Democratic primary for the position now held by Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan, who has held the seat since 2011. Cleveland also ran in 2014 but was defeated in the primary by Barbara Jo Mullis. As of Wednesday, he had not set up a campaign website or online materials.
$3,480Filing fee paid by each candidate
4th District Spartanburg attorney Chris Fedalai, a Democrat, filed to face Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy in the fall. The 26-year old says his campaign is about “speaking out for marginalized communities within South Carolina.” He has expressed support for the refugee resettlement program that Gowdy has introduced legislation to reform. Gowdy, who became a national figure as chairman of the House special committee investigating the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, was elected over Democratic opponents in 2010 and 2012 by more than 30 percentage points, and ran unopposed in 2014. Constitution Party member Michael Chandler is also running.
5th District Rep. Mick Mulvaney will face a primary challenge from Lake Wylie resident Ray Craig, who in his announcement said that the Rock Hill Republican “largely squandered the five-plus years as a back-bencher even to his own party.” Fran Person, a former aide to Vice President Joe Biden, will seek the seat on the Democratic side. A former University of South Carolina football player from Tega Cay, he worked for Biden for eight years before leaving for a job at USC as an assistant to president Harris Pastides and athletics director Ray Tanner.
March 18, 2016