A good day for incumbents

Tuesday was mostly a very good day for incumbents, including U.S. Sen Lindsey Graham, First District Rep. Henry Brown, Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten, and state Sen. Robert Ford, all of whom handily beat their challengers.

Not every incumbent had a good night, however. State Sen. Randy Scott, who was charged with DUI during the campaign, lost a close race to former Sen. Mike Rose for the state Senate District 38 seat.

It was also an election that brought some new blood. Charleston County Council Chairman Tim Scott defeated two challengers for the District 117 House seat, guaranteeing that he will become at least one of the first black Republicans to serve in the Statehouse since Reconstruction. He could be the only one.

Meanwhile, businesswoman and philanthropist Linda Ketner defeated perennial candidate Ben Frasier for the Democratic First Congressional District nomination. On James Island, Anne Peterson Hutto defeated frequent candidate Eugene Platt in the Democratic primary for the state House District 115 seat. She will challenge Republican incumbent Wallace Scarborough in the fall.

In Dorchester County, where turnout was relatively higher, L.C. Knight won the sheriff's position in a GOP primary battle against Terry Boatwright, while J.J. Messervy thumped Teresa Smoak Messex in the auditor's primary just a few days after Messex was fired by outgoing Auditor Brenda Nix because of questionable tax discounts.