Brawley finishes a strong first, faces Hill in SC House runoff

Democrats in a Midlands district will need a runoff to decide their candidate for an S.C. House seat, but one candidate still scored a strong result in Tuesday’s special election primary.

Wendy Brawley was the clear leader in the Democratic primary, finishing with 40 percent of the vote and running well ahead of Heath Hill, who ended up in second place with 24 percent of the vote.

Brawley and Hill will face each other for the nomination in a May 16 runoff.

The seat came open in February with the death of longtime state Rep. Joe Neal, D-Richland.

 

Neal, a pastor and champion of civil rights, had been in the House since 1992 representing District 70, which covers Lower Richland and the western part of Sumter County.

Brawley received the endorsement of Neal’s family, as well as the S.C. Progressive Network and members of the State House’s Progressive Legislative Caucus, a group Neal co-founded.

A Hopkins resident, Brawley is publisher and chief executive of IMARA Woman magazine. She is a former chair of the Richland 1 school board and previously unsuccessfully challenged state Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, in the Democratic primary.

Hill, an Eastover farmer, is president of the Tri-County Electric Cooperative board of directors.

Other candidates in the Democratic primary were Norman Jackson Jr., Patrick Morris, Harry Reese Sr., Levola Taylor, Jermaine Walker and George Wilson.

Republican Bill Strickland of Sumter will face the winner of the Democratic race in the June 20 general election.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Brawley finishes a strong first, faces Hill in SC House runoff."