House panel will hear election appeal in Jan.

State Rep.-elect Anne Peterson Hutto expects to be sworn in any day now, but it won't be clear until January whether her new colleagues will rain on her parade.

And her November election opponent, Rep. Wallace Scarborough, is facing criticism for appearing last weekend in a Christmas parade on James Island.

Hutto expressed confidence Wednesday that she will prevail early next year, as the state House hears Scarborough's appeal of the State Election Commission's decision to let the Nov. 4 results stand.

Hutto won the District 115 contest by 211 votes, but Scarborough claims more than 300 votes were illegally cast, more than enough to affect the outcome.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell said Wednesday that a House subcommittee could consider the appeal on Jan. 14, and about two weeks later the full House is expected to decide if Hutto will remain in the seat, if Scarborough should return to the seat or if a new election should be held.

Harrell said the Republican majority in the House won't necessarily help Scarborough, a Republican who has held the seat for eight years.

"The members of the House take this duty incredibly seriously," Harrell said.

"This isn't about partisan politics. It's about the institution of the House of Representatives and following the constitution of the state."

Harrell said Hutto will be able to participate fully in the appeal debate.

"The people have spoken," Hutto said. "There are good people in the House, and I expect them to respect the will of the voters."

She and other Democrats didn't like Scarborough's participation in last weekend's Christmas parade.

She said it "shows poor judgment, which in his case is just par for the course."

Scarborough's campaign manager Rod Shealy said Scarborough was invited to participate in the parade months ago, and the parade organizers were the ones who decorated his car with a sign saying, "State Representative."

"He didn't put a sign on his car," Shealy said.

"He is Representative Wallace Scarborough, just like President Bill Clinton is President Bill Clinton the rest of his life. ... The parade organizers did not err.

"This is Democrats continuing the same negative campaign they ran against him in November."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.