Campbell wins District 44 seat in state Senate

Republican easily tops West in voting to replace Mescher

MONCKS CORNER — Republican Paul Campbell beat Democrat John West by a 58 to 41 percent margin Tuesday to become the next District 44 state senator, unofficial results show.

The retired Alcoa executive will fill the seat vacated by the April death of Sen. Bill Mescher. The unexpired term runs out next year.

"I'm honored to be selected as a senator, and I'm honored to follow Bill Mescher," Campbell said after the results were announced.

"Bill Mescher was a friend and he was excellent at constituent service."

The 60-year-old Goose Creek resident said he plans to continue that level of constituent service and finish some of the projects Mescher started.

He thanked his supporters for helping him win his third race in less than two months. He was the top vote-getter in a three-way Republican primary and won the runoff by a substantial margin.

"I had a lot of supporters who did a lot of work," Campbell said. "This wasn't about Paul Campbell. This was about a lot of people getting behind me and pushing me. This was a team effort."

Campbell also praised the work of another friend — West. The Moncks Corner attorney, who served as the town's mayor for three years, dominated his four home precincts, but it wasn't enough in a predominantly Republican district.

"John is an outstanding person," Campbell said. "One of the hardest things about this race was running against John West."

West, 50, congratulated Campbell on his victory and thanked his supporters.

"We're very pleased with the effort of the folks who so faithfully worked on our campaign," West said.

Campbell won 20 of the 27 precincts in a race that saw more than 13 percent turnout.

The turnout nearly equaled that of the Republican primary and the runoff combined.

The final results were delayed by about an hour Tuesday night because of a glitch in one of the machines.

The final results will be certified at 10 a.m. Thursday

West and Campbell ran similar campaigns that focused on controlling illegal immigration, managing growth and improving education.

Campbell touted his experience in business and his devotion to constituency service.

West, a former vice president and chief legal officer for Santee Cooper, said he had a history of working with Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Both men said they had strong backgrounds in developing partnerships between schools and businesses to help fund schools.

Reach Andy Paras at 745-5891 or at aparas@postandcourier.com.