Tim Scott claims victory in 3-way battle
Mic Smith
The Post and Courier
Tim Scott speaks with supporter Shelley Campbell, a high school friend, at the Sticky Fingers in North Charleston after it became clear that he would win the three-way Republican primary for the S.C. House Dist. 117 seat.
Charleston County Council Chairman Tim Scott won a three-way primary for the District 117 seat Tuesday, virtually assuring that a black Republican will serve in the Statehouse for the first time since Reconstruction.
Scott captured about 53 percent of the vote in the district, which covers Berkeley and Charleston counties. Berkeley County Councilman Bill Crosby was second with 26 percent of the vote, while former state Rep. Wheeler Tillman had 21 percent, according to unofficial results.
Scott avoided a runoff by capturing both his home county and predominantly white Berkeley County, where 65 percent of the district's residents live. He faces no Democratic challenger in November, so the seat is essentially his.
Scott, who has served 13 years on Charleston County Council, was one of five black members of the GOP running for House and Senate seats this year. He is the only House candidate from that group without opposition in November.
Scott, 42, thanked God and a large team of diverse, hard-working volunteers for helping him win the contest. He said his election illustrates that the GOP is more interested in issues than race.
"What it says is that the Republican Party and the voters of the Republican Party are moving forward, and have been for a long time," he said. "This is merely a manifestation of that."
State Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson called Scott's win a "momentous election for South Carolina."
Crosby could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Tillman, a lawyer who served three terms in the District 117 House seat in the 1970s, said it was tough to compete in a "big-money, lopsided race" where Scott had all the cash.
Scott, who was endorsed by Gov. Mark Sanford, raised roughly 14 times the combined total of what Crosby and Tillman took in, or about $70,000, according to campaign finance reports.
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Comments
This article has 10 comment(s)
Posted by 10216340 on June 11, 2008 at 9:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations Tim! I have followed your career for years and was glad I could finally cast a vote for you for a state office.
Posted by greyrider on June 11, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You heard it here first. One day, Tim Scott will be governor of South Carolina...and a good one.
Posted by lou9 on June 11, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't live in Mr. Scott's district but I had the pleasure to meet and talk to him. I think he will make a fine representative. Congratulations, Tim.
Posted by devster on June 11, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great Job!
Posted by hillbilly on June 11, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Way to go Tim...You are a good man.
Posted by CyndiJustMe on June 11, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Scott won because he was the best candidate, not because he had the most cash. I chose him over the other two candidates because I have been very happy with what I've seen him do in Charleston County over the years, I appreciate his stance on many of the important issues, and frankly, I prefer a younger representative who will have to live with the consequences of his decisions for a very long time. And for the record, I am a white, staunch Republican living in Berkeley County.
Posted by sj301 on June 11, 2008 at 2:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Tim Scott headed to the House! What a great day for South Carolina! Congratulations Mr. Scott!
Posted by mosinfan on June 11, 2008 at 3:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Way to go Tim! Take some fiscal sanity to Columbia and help out Governor Sanford in his efforts to reign in spending.
GodSpeed!
Posted by Riptide on June 11, 2008 at 4:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
An individual defined by the issues and the content of his character. Keep focused on the issues and the ideas to solve them. Good luck Tim.
Posted by BeenFranklin on July 17, 2008 at 7:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Republican Party has no African American elected to any national office. Not one Governor, not one Congressman, not one US Senator. It hasn’t for closer to a decade than not and it looks like that fact won’t change after this next election cycle either. And with what is being paraded as an immigration debate by the GOP even more people of color, Hispanics in particular, seem to be being “put in their place” so much so that even Florida Senator Mel Martinez stepped down as RNC general Chairman over the heated immigration rhetoric. Replaced by, you guessed it, a white male. This is just yet another example the Republican Party fails miserably at. It’s called, minority recruiting. The party’s members seem to be just fine with president Bush being the first president since Warren G. Harding not to meet with the NAACP. With their party’s Presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, voting against celebrating the national holiday we call Dr Martin Luther King Day. The GOP’s big issue today, illegal immigration, seems to be just a smokescreen for hate speech against people of color.While being conservative or liberal does not denote a skin color, one thing seems to be very clear; conservatives of color are no longer welcome in the party of Lincoln.
Sources –http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans_in_the_United_States_Congress
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news...
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/u...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/...
http://www.justabovesunset.com/id249.htl...
http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2...
http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2008...