Republicans were closing in Wednesday on a narrow House majority while control of the Senate hinged on a series of tight races in a midterm election that defied expectations of sweeping conservative victories driven by frustration over inflation and President Joe Biden’s leadership. “The main takeaway is that there was a red wave last night, but it started in Florida and it ended in Florida,” George Washington University Professor Todd Belt told the Associated Press. “The other main takeaway is that you’ve got to look at the Gen Z voters,” he said. “They were highly animated by the issue of abortion, and that really flew under the radar of a lot of the polls that were out there.” Either party could secure a Senate majority with wins in both Nevada and Arizona — where the races were too early to call. But there was a strong possibility that, for the second time in two years, the Senate majority could come down to a runoff in Georgia next month, with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker failing to earn enough votes to win outright.
Almost 50 percent of Orangeburg County’s voters participated in Tuesday’s election, with 26,506 ballots cast.
South Carolina saw almost 51 percent of its voters participate, with 1,713,583 ballots cast
Governor/Lieutenant Governor
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette were re-elected, defeating Democrats Joe Cunningham and Tally Parham Casey, and Libertarians Bruce Reeves and Jessica Ethridge.
Orangeburg County: McMaster 9,491, Cunningham 16,463, Reeves 195
South Carolina: McMaster 980,069, Cunningham 684,935, Reeves 20,652
Secretary of State
Republican Secretary of State Mark Hammond was re-elected, defeating Democrat Rosemounda Peggy Butler.
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Orangeburg County: Hammond 10,055, Butler 15,992
South Carolina: Hammond 1,062,401, Butler 612,099
State Treasurer
Republican Treasurer Curtis Loftis was re-elected, defeating Alliance Party candidate Sarah E. Work
Orangeburg County: Loftis 11,112, Work 4,847
South Carolina: Loftis 1,120,355, Work 278,815
Attorney General
Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson was re-elected. He faced no opposition.
Orangeburg County: Wilson 12,816
South Carolina: 1,212,437
Comptroller General
Republican Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom was re-elected. He faced no opposition.
Orangeburg County: Eckstrom 12,846
South Carolina: 1,219,221
Superintendent of Education
Republican Ellen Weaver won the race that included Patricia Mickel (Green) and Democrat Lisa Ellis, also representing the Alliance Party.
Orangeburg County: Weaver 8,916, Ellis 16,710, Mickel 375
South Carolina: Weaver 929,442, Ellis 714,118, Mickel 27,192
Commissioner of Agriculture
Republican Hugh Weathers of Bowman won a new term, defeating Chris Nelums (United Citizens) and David Edmond (Green).
Orangeburg County: Weathers 11,055, Nelums 2,407, Edmond 2,480
South Carolina: Weathers 1,075,800, Nelums 94,676, Edmond 211,267
U.S. Senate
Republican Tim Scott won re-election over Democrat Krystle Matthews.
Orangeburg County: Scott 10,014, Matthews 16,078
South Carolina: Scott 1,057,341, Matthews 620,239
U.S. House
District 6: Democratic Congressman and House Majority Whip James Clyburn defeated Republican Duke Buckner.
Orangeburg County: Clyburn 12,737, Buckner 5,874
Districtwide: Clyburn 130,547, Buckner, 79,657
District 2: Republican Joe Wilson defeated Democrat Judd Larkins.
Orangeburg County: Wilson 3,773, Larkins 3,712
Districtwide: Wilson 147,092, Larkins 97,780
Rep. Cobb-Hunter re-elected
South Carolina’s longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, Orangeburg Democrat Gilda Cobb-Hunter, won re-election on Tuesday.
Running in the newly drawn District 95 that includes portions of the City of Orangeburg, Orangeburg County and Dorchester County, Cobb-Hunter received 8,029 votes to 5,542 for Republican challenger Jeffrey Cila of Santee.
The Orangeburg County totals were 6,372-3,456 in favor of Cobb-Hunter.
The Orangeburg lawmaker will be entering her 32nd year in the General Assembly. She is the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee and a former House minority leader.
Bamberg wins in District 90
Democratic S.C. Rep. Justin Bamberg of Bamberg County won re-election Tuesday in the newly drawn District 90.
Bamberg defeated Republican Sharon Carter, a school teacher from Bamberg County, 6,840-4,800 to win a fifth term in the House, where he has served since 2014.
District 90 was redrawn during reapportionment to add portions of the City of Orangeburg and the U.S. 301 corridor, replacing areas of Barnwell and Colleton counties. All of Bamberg County remains in the district.
Bamberg won in both counties, 2,349-1,638 in Bamberg and 4,491-3,162 in Orangeburg.
Ott wins in District 93
Incumbent S.C. Democratic Rep. Russell Ott defeated longtime Republican leader Jim Ulmer on Tuesday to win re-election in District 93.
Seeking a fifth full term in the district that includes Calhoun County and portions of Orangeburg and Lexington, Ott got 8,131 votes to Ulmer’s 5,235.
Ott received 3,735 votes in Orangeburg County to Ulmer’s 1,126. Ott received 2,946 votes in Calhoun County, while Ulmer received 2,648.
Ott became a lawmaker in October 2013 to complete the unexpired term of his father, Harry L. Ott Jr. He was re-elected in 2014 and has served since.
Orangeburg County Probate Judge
Democratic Probate Judge Pandora Jones-Glover was re-elected with 19,622 votes. She was unopposed.
Orangeburg County Auditor
Democratic Auditor Audrey Asbury was re-elected with 19,517 votes. She was unopposed.
Orangeburg County Treasurer
Democratic Treasurer Matt Stokes was re-elected with 20,929 votes. He was unopposed.
Orangeburg County Council
Three Orangeburg County Council members, all Democrats, were unopposed in their re-election bids. The council members and their vote totals were: Council Chairman and District 1 Councilman Johnnie Wright Sr. 3,010, District 6 Councilmember Deloris Frazier 2,787, Councilmember Latisha Walker 2,564.
Orangeburg County school board
At Large 9: Incumbent Debora Brunson won a second four-year term by defeating three challengers, getting a total of 7,557 votes. Rose Marie Higginbotham Craft received 2,517 votes, Rose Pelzer got 4,511 and Diedra R. Sharrow totaled 1,770.
District 7: Incumbent Mary Berry Ulmer won a second four-year term by defeating challenger Sam Farlow, 1,126-886.
District 1: Incumbent Betty Macon Pelzer won a second term. She was unopposed on the ballot, winning with a total of 1,977 votes. There were 690 write-in votes.
District 3: Incumbent William O’Quinn was re-elected with 2,044 votes. There were 34 write-in votes.
District 5: Incumbent Idella W. Carson was re-elected with 1,886 votes. There were 48 write-in votes.
Orangeburg County Soil and Water Commission
Benjamin Fogle and Jackie Ryan Fogle were elected with 5,864 and 6,001 votes, respectively. Tom Connor got 5,751 votes.
Hilliard re-elected in Santee
Santee Mayor Donny Hilliard received 163 votes to win a fourth term. Challenger Frederick R. Goodwin got 134 votes.
In the town council race, the top two vote-getters won seats: Shirley P. Small, 153 votes, and Gregory King, 138. Edward Rommie Sheard received 93 votes.
Statewide Constitutional Amendment 1
Orangeburg County: Yes 12,317, No 10,302
South Carolina: Yes 945,031, No 581,938
Statewide Constitutional Amendment 2
Orangeburg County: Yes 13,130, No 10,505
South Carolina: Yes 970,604, No 583,280
Orangeburg County School Bond Referendum
Yes 13,507, No 10,570
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