Showing posts with label election2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election2012. Show all posts

Legislators back Burns in Upstate House GOP run-off

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On Tuesday, Mike Burns missed winning the five-way GOP primary for House District 17 by a mere eight votes - and roughly ten percentage points ahead of Chris Sullivan, who he'll face in a February 5th runoff.

While it's not impossible for candidates to close a ten-point gap in a run-off, Burns is leaving nothing to chance, which is smart considering that Sullivan came within ten points of ousting Senator Mike Fair in the June GOP primary.

Today, we see more evidence of how seriously Burns is taking the run-off challenge - and how seriously he's being taken by others - as he released endorsements from five Upstate legislators. The endorsements include Senator Tom Corbin, who'd vacated the District 17 House seat in November when he was elected to the Senate, along with House members Dan Hamilton, Phyllis Henderson, Dwight Loftis and Phillip Owens - all of whom represent areas near or adjacent to District 17.

According to the endorsement press release:

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Richland County: Where nobody really gets fired

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The Election Day mess in Richland County last year was the worst ever seen in this state in modern times.  The lines, polls with lines hours after the 7pm closing time, a widespread shortage of voting machines and trickle of ballots magically appearing were unprecedented in modern times.

After an investigation and hearings, we were told the person believed to be most responsible for the mess, Lillian McBride, the county's Director of Elections was fired and that a house-cleaning would get the county's election operation back in order.

But we must warn our readers that while the word "fired" in most places means you're gone and a new team comes in to straighten things out, the word seems to have a very different meaning in Richland County.

In Richland County, when you're "fired", that just means demoted with a modest pay cut, because McBride is back as the county's deputy elections director. According to The State:


McBride – who last week agreed to step out of her $89,124-a-year director’s job – would stay in the office, overseeing county voter registration efforts and absentee balloting. That’s the job she held 18 months ago before becoming the state’s highest-paid county elections director and presiding Nov. 6 over the most bungled county election in modern state history. Wednesday night, the four-member county elections commission, which oversees the elections office, passed resolutions urging incoming interim elections director Jasper Salmond to offer McBride the job at that salary.


Go figure.

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Republicans take control in Lancaster County

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The GOP "Majority Makers" (Left to right): Council Vice-Chair Bob Bundy, GOP Chair Sandy McGarry,
Councilman Steve Harper, Chair Larry McCullough, Councilman Brian Carnes

Last night, Lancaster County Republicans celebrated the third milestone of the 2012 election cycle by swearing-in the county's first-ever Republican majority on Council and the election of Republicans Larry McCullough as Chair of Council and Bob Bundy as Vice-Chair.

Council chambers were standing-room only for the swearing-in and officer elections, with most of the attendees from the ranks of the county GOP - another sign of the growing muscle of Lancaster Republicans.

Lancaster County Republicans marked two other historic firsts by electing the county's first Republican courthouse official - Treasurer Carrie Helms - and the first time the county had voted twice in a row for a GOP Congressional candidate - Congressman Mick Mulvaney. 

With Lancaster County now voting more Republican than South Carolina voters on the average, including the last four Presidential election contests, it's likely these historic wins are a sign of things to come. According to county GOP Chair Sandy McGarry, the party is already hard at work in getting ready for the 2014 elections, seeking to capitalize on the county's growing GOP strength.

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Rep. Alan Clemmons: First winner of Election 2012

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One of the biggest victories in South Carolina's elections were won long before votes were cast by Myrtle Beach Rep. Alan Clemmons. Overseeing the redistricting process in the House, his work played a key role for the state GOP's strong showing on election night.

As Chair of House Judiciary Committee's Election Laws subcommittee, Clemmons was the key driver of the hotly-contested effort to place the state's new Seventh Congressional District in the Pee Dee region. While some felt the House plan for the new district, which restored the Pee Dee's long-time congressional district which had been erased in the 1991 redistricting, would give Democrats a chance to pull off an upset win, the race ended up giving Republican Tom Rice a twelve-point victory. 

But the Congressional race wasn't the only slam-dunk scored with the maps that came out of Clemmons' subcommittee. The GOP grew its already-sizable majority in the State House by two seats and put on a strong performance in several other districts in areas where Democrats generally held the upper hand:

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Lawsuit filed by GOP candidate for House 53 seat

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Earlier this month, the race for House District 53 was one of the closest in the state, as Democratic State Representative Ted Vick fended off a close challenge by Chesterfield County Republican Richie Yow by less than four percentage points (5,626 votes to Yow's 5,179 votes). 

Yow filed a lawsuit in state court today, alleging "in excess of 2,000 illegal/improper votes were cast", citing a number of reasons, including voters who no longer resided in the district, illegal absentee ballots cast in the race, potential double-counting of voters and not following procedures which required election officials to allow Republican Party officials to view machines and absentee voting.

Yow's suit asks for the courts to throw the election results out and order a new election to be held for the seat.

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Guest op-ed: Pereira - "Are local debates useful?"

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This guest op-ed was submitted by Lisa Pereira, a Blogland reader who lives in Goose Creek. A former journalist and paramedic who ran for State House Seat 102, she is currently active in Lowcountry GOP circles. You can air your views by emailing your op-ed to earl@earlcapps.org. 

Election season is winding down and candidates are wrapping up their campaigns and taking stock of what they have done and where they stand. This offers us a chance to reflect upon candidate debates and their role in the process of winning elections.

Debates have always been tricky things. One person entering the debate always has more to lose than the other person. Between the debates, meet and greets, fundraisers, and voter phone calls candidates have to make hard choices of the best use of their limited time. I question the value of debates both in terms of getting out the candidates message or in swaying undecided voters in local campaigns and have to wonder if perhaps the time to stop attending debates has come.

Too often debates either have too many candidates to thoughtfully delve into the issues (this year’s 14 candidate school board debates in Charleston County), have little turnout by truly undecided voters or they are carefully chosen venues put on by supposedlyneutral parties (The League of Women Voters) that turn out not to be. In some instances are little more than a vehicle for fringe candidates (yes, even within the Republican party) to call out other candidates like some sort of school yard bully fight.

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2012: South Carolina Republicans gained ground, missed opportunities

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As the dust settles on the South Carolina political landscape, it's clear while that little changed in the balance of power, Republicans remained on top.

Republicans went into the cycle expecting to build on the impressive gains of 2010, especially following last year's redistricting, but much the momentum seemed to have been lost in expensive and time-consuming party-infighting, much of it centered around the SEI filing mess. In the end, a number of opportunities slipped through their fingers, leaving them with much more modest gains than many had expected:

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Walton Cartoon: Obamation

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The False Prophets of "Reform" blow it

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As the dust settles on the 2012 elections in South Carolina, one of the most noted outcomes is the near-total defeat of the so-called “reform” candidates who challenged a number of GOP legislators. 

The only candidate who prevailed was Katrina Shealy, who ran against a Senator who did plenty to sink himself. Others lost handily: Rex Rice went down 2-1 to Senator Larry Martin , Joe Thompson 3-1 to Senator Wes Hayes, and John Steinberger was trounced by House Speaker Bobby Harrell by 4-1. Dee Dee Vaughters got hammered by Senator Nikki Setzler – the only elected Democrat in the Aiken-Lexington region. And the list goes on from there.

These candidates often thumbed their noses at others and refused to work with anyone who wouldn't agree with them lock-stock-and-barrel. Mostly newcomers handicapped by a lack of understanding of the legislative process, they said they'd show the "establishment" something - and by getting their clocks cleaned, I suppose they did just that.

If those who want to change state government want to succeed, they would do well to consider the examples of those who’ve succeeded at winning elections and enacting agendas – and spend more time listening to voters and look at the approaches used by those who’ve actually won elections and implemented reform agendas.

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2012: The GOP's Southern hold deepens

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Two years ago, the GOP sweep of the South was stunning. All but one GOP candidate seeking a statewide office in the South won and the GOP swept into control of many of the remaining Democratic-held legislative chambers. Adding several chambers which tipped since then, the Democrats held just two legislative chambers: the House and Senate in Arkansas, which dangled by slender threads, along with a handful of Congressional seats held by white Democrats.

On Tuesday, they added to their southern political chokehold, taking the last remaining Democratic U.S. House seats in Arkansas and Oklahoma, ousting four of the six white Democrats holding majority-white Congressional districts in the South (three in NC and one in KY) and seizing control of the Arkansas General Assembly, giving them majority control of every state legislative chamber in the South.

Clearly Republicans in the South have come a long way from 1994, when they took their first majorities in Southern legislative chambers.

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Finlay holds House 75 for GOP

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While Republicans were afraid that Democrats had flipped Columbia-based House District 75 last night, it appears that GOP nominee Kirkman Finlay won the seat after all. 

When all absentee ballots were counted, Finlay went from 46 votes behind to 265 votes in the lead, taking the seat with 6,771 votes to 6,506 for Democrat Joe McCulloch.



Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/11/07/2511143/mcculloch-leads-finlay-by-just.html#storylink=cpy

Democrats intend to contest the seat and McCulloch has yet concede defeat, but most recounts don't swing these races more than several dozen votes. Thus we expect Finlay will hold the seat which was vacated when House Judiciary Chair Jim Harrison decided not to seek re-election after holding the seat since 1991.

Finlay owns the well-known Doc's BBQ, a favorite stop for USC game tailgaters and a favorite lunch spot of the Blogland and friends. If you haven't been there, you really need to.

After securing District 75, Republicans have scored a net gain of two House seats by picking up Democratic-held District 11, as well as two Democratic seats which were redistricted to the coast: District 56, now in Horry County, and District 120, now in Beaufort County. They lost House District 78, also based in Richland County. They now how 78 of 124 seats in the state House.

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The Night of the Thurmonds

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Last night was a good night for the Thurmond family.

While Strom Jr. rolled to re-election without opposition in a Midlands region Solicitor's race, his brother Paul returned to politics with a solid win for the Charleston area state Senate seat formerly held by Lt. Governor Glenn McConnell.

Paul's father served in the Senate, representing Edgefield County, for several years before moving on to higher offices. Like Paul, his father took the seat when he was in his thirties, opening the door to a long political career.

While many tell us the Solicitor brother is content to be a career prosecutor in the Thurmond family home region, we see Paul as one to watch in the future. He made it into the GOP run-off for the First Congressional District two years ago and battled through a series of court battles and primary contests for the chance to take on Democrat Paul Tinkler, proving he's a fighter.

Like his father, Senator Thurmond is a likable guy, humble and hard-working. These qualities will do him well in politics - and possibly pave the way for a future bid for a higher office.

Watch this guy. He could be going places.

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A rough road ahead?

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As Election Night fades into the rear-view mirror of history, there's a lot to suggest that taking down an incumbent President was going to be a tough feat. In modern history, Presidents almost always get a second term in office. Since FDR ousted President Hoover in 1932, only three challengers have unseated sitting Presidents: Carter, Reagan and Clinton.

But winning isn't always everything.

History shows that most two-term Presidents in modern history had things head downhill in their second terms. If they don't accomplish what they're after in their first term, they usually won't have much to brag about in their second term:

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Mitt Romney: He can fix our problems

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Ten months ago, the Blogland endorsed the candidacy of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination for President. We expect that few of our readers would be surprised to see that the Blogland stands behind that endorsement. We wholeheartedly stand behind him and encourage our readers to support him - and to get others to cast their votes for him as well.

We've endorsed Mitt Romney because has proven himself to be thoughtful, reasoned and accomplished in a number of areas that qualify him to lead our nation, most notably with regard to creating jobs, fiscal reform, advocating rational policy-making, and boosting national security. Romney is qualified, proven and ready to lead the way to fix the problems at hand and set a more constructive course than we've seen in the last four years.

The issues before the nation in January are still before us today. The economy remains stagnant, unemployment still hovers around the eight percent mark, deficit spending runs unchecked and our weak foreign policies continue to cost American lives and prestige abroad. President Obama has not lived up to his expectations, cautioning that if re-elected, the next four years could well look much like the last four.

That's unacceptable and it's time for a change. Mitt Romney has the track record and experience needed to lead the way for the kind of real and substantive changes that are badly needed.

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The Power and the Pawns: Transparency issue and so-called "conservative" candidates

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One of the key premises of conservative thinking asserts that the laws of the land are to be applied equally and consistently and that no man is above the law. This is why issues such as racial quotas and "hate crimes" are viewed with scorn on the political right - we believe that nobody should be exempted from the laws and standards that apply to everyone else.

Conservatives also say they believe that the ends never justify the means, but in South Carolina, we see blatant hypocrisy on the political right as candidates who rail against legislative incumbents over the need for increased transparency in government turn silent about the lack of transparency by shadowy groups who engage in political attacks on their behalf.

It's conduct we've seen a lot of in recent years and it goes to show how some of those who claim to be the most virtuous may want to take a look at the enemy in the mirror first.

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Ryan Payne's Invasion of the Body Snatchers

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One of the most unusual political moments we've had this year was when we found that Lancaster County state House candidate Ricky ... uh, we meant Ryan Payne, had photoshopped his face onto a professional model, wearing attire we found on a Men's Wearhouse website, and used the photo on the top of his campaign website.

When we pointed out that we had questions about the authenticity of the photo shown on the left, it was quickly replaced with what we'd like to call the "Disco Ricky" photo.

Yeah, that was a big improvement - but at least this political Invasion of the Body Snatchers was ended without any loss of life - although there was considerable loss of taste.

While we're curious if Men's Wearhouse or Ralph Lauren are entitled to any compensation for the use of the photo, we're glad the model got his body back.

In any event, Payne just completed his associate's degree at USC-Lancaster and still lives at home with his family,  hallmarks of a successful community leader who has to be a real hit with the ladies.

If he wants to make friends, he may not be doing too well as his attack on his county's GOP leadership over a resolution that had nothing to do with his candidacy didn't endear him to everyone in local Republican circles.

We're sure he's mastered the unspoken "International Language of Love" too.

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Ted Vick's "The Jerk" moment

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In the movie "The Jerk", Steve Martin's character gets excited over getting listed in the phone book, proclaiming "This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now." 

Likewise, we're sure that getting his name listed in a web story as one of the twenty worst candidates in 2012 will mark a major turning point in the career of Ted Vick, a Chesterfield County Democratic legislator:

10. State Rep. Ted Vick
South Carolina House
“As a trained minister of the Gospel, Ted is a strong believer in traditional Southern family values,” announced Vick’s website earlier this year when he was running for a seat in the House of Representatives. Then he was arrested for drunken driving — in the company of a 21-year-old female college student he’d just picked up at a bar. Still, that really was a pistol in his pocket, and he neglected to mention to the cops that he was packing heat. So the indefatigable Vick is back to spreading his peculiar brand of family values on the local level, as he fights to keep his state Senate seat. Fresh allegations of illegal campaign contributions suggest that he has his work cut out for him.

We're sure Vick's constituents are proud of how he is putting them on the national radar screen. Whether it's pocketing farm subsidy money while living well, taking payments from a Solicitor after giving money to his campaign, or taking money in excess of legal campaign contribution limits, he's a busy kind of guy!

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Radical left wing group for hire goes after Tom Rice in late campaign attack

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The Working Families Party has a reputation for being two things: radically far left and willing to work for the highest bidder. It's brought them under considerable scrutiny in New York and now they're bringing their radical political thuggery to South Carolina.

In their attempt to help Gloria "The Green Quitter" Tinubu win the Seventh Congressional District race, they've produced a yet-to-be-aired ad featuring a Conway resident with a long-time vendetta against GOP nominee Tom Rice.

But there's a lot more to the story that Tinubu and her political allies didn't say in the ad - which probably isn't too surprising since Tinubu's become well-known for trying to hide the political baggage that follows her from place to place around the southeastern United States.

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Fact-checking the attacks against Senator Martin

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There's a new attack ad on the air by the "Liber-Tea Committee", taking more shots at the record of Pickens County Senator Larry Martin on behalf of former State Representative Rex Rice, who is attempting to return to the political arena after losing badly in a 2010 bid for the GOP nomination for Congress.

The attack ad makes two claims about Senator Martin - legislative travel expenditures and a bill which created a legislative pension for legislators over the age of seventy. In examining the facts behind both claims, what was turned up brings the credibility of the ad into question.

The fact-check on this ad will be a bit lengthy and it was a challenge to assemble, but we think the facts speak for themselves. Here's what we found:

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State House races to watch

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This year's House races take place in a very different environment than in years past. Over the last decade, the GOP House caucus' efforts have gradually swept almost every easily-winnable House district into their control, allowing the GOP to move to contest a collection of mostly-rural swing and Democratic-leaning districts.

However, this year's efforts have been complicated by the ballot court ruling, which forced a number of races that might have been settled in the primary to continue into the fall, putting some districts on the fall radar screen that might normally be done deals. In the House contests, petition candidates are playing a more prominent role in the House battleground than for the Senate, probably because the races are easier to work and more affordable than those for Senate districts. In fact, three House races we're watching have no candidates listed on a major-party ballot.

The House doesn't often see members who were elected as petition candidates. Bubba Cromer held a House seat in Richland County as a petition candidate for much of the 1990s and Billy Keyserling, the current Mayor of Beaufort, won a term in 1994 as a petition candidate (Rep. Shannon Erickson presently holds the seat). While Cromer regularly came out on top in three-way contests against Republicans and Democrats, Keyserling was first elected as a Democrat in 1992, barely defeated a Republican and didn't seek another term in 1996.

In looking around the state, we see tough fights worth watching in House Districts 3, 26, 39, 53, 56, 75, 78, 97 and 105:

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