CHARLESTON — Thurmond wins S.C. Senate GOP primary in Charleston

Former Charleston County Councilman Paul Thurmond has won a special Republican primary runoff for a state Senate seat.

Thurmond, 36, won 71 percent of the vote Tuesday, defeating state Sen. Walter Hundley of Charleston. Hundley was elected earlier this year to complete the term of state Sen. Glenn McConnell of Charleston, who became lieutenant governor when Ken Ard resigned.

Tuesday’s voting was to select a GOP candidate for the November general election to serve a full term. But the special primary has been challenged in federal court, with a hearing scheduled for Oct. 16. If a three-judge panel agrees the special primary runoff was proper, Thurmond, a son of the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, will face former Charleston City Councilman Paul Tinkler in November.

Thurmond originally was kicked off the ballot because of improper paperwork.

Online voter registration is a hit, Election Commission says

In less than 24 hours, more than 3,000 voters signed up to vote on South Carolina’s new online voter registration system, the state Election Commission said Wednesday.

The online registration system went public at 2 p.m. Tuesday. By 10 a.m. Wednesday, 3,102 applications had been submitted, the commission said.

The deadline to vote in the November general election is Saturday. To register online, go to scvotes.org. Online registration requires a S.C. driver’s license or state Department of Motor Vehicles ID.

Speaker appoints representative to Education Oversight Committee

Philip Bowers of Six Mile has been appointed to the S.C. Education Oversight Committee.

Bowers, who has worked at Duke Energy for more than 30 years, was appointed as the speaker of the House of Representative’s business representative to the committee. The appointment was made by Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. Bowers fills the unexpired term of Terry Brown, set to expire in 2015.

Bowers is chairman of the Pickens County Republican Party. From 2008 to 2011, he was on the state Board of Education.

The Oversight Committee, made up of 18 educators, businesspersons and elected leaders, was created in 1998.

From Staff and Wire Reports