Richland voters sought to elect Mickey Mouse, Tupac, Joe Exotic, Trump to local offices
Mickey Mouse, Tupac, a goldfish, Kanye West and a man named “Carl” were among a long list of hopefuls chosen for Richland County sheriff during the November general election, according to a list of nearly 13,000 write-in candidates obtained by The State Media Co.
The compilation of potential candidates stretched across all races, as voters also sought to elect Dracula and Godzilla for coroner, Japanese Emperor Naruhito and a fish to the Richland 1 School Board, a “used piece of toilet paper” and Optimus Prime for clerk of court, Baby Yoda to the state Senate and Darth Vader, Cookie Monster and Jesus to the state House of Representatives.
No race, however, featured more protest votes than the sheriff’s race, with submissions such as “Defund The Police,” “Marijuana,” “All Cops Are Bad,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Ivan My Dog” and “Haha” in addition to some creative vulgar submissions.
The State’s reporter David Travis Bland also obtained a vote for the county’s top law enforcement job, as did Kobe Bryant and Andrew Lincoln’s zombie skull-smashing character from The Walking Dead, Rick Grimes.
Sheriff Leon Lott, or as one voter called him, “Imperial Wizard Leon Lott,” has held the office 24 years. He sealed his victory with 71% or 36,558 votes during his primary race with no Republican challenger during the general election. He said the write-in votes didn’t bother him. Rather, he found them amusing, adding had LeBron James’ name been on the ballot, he probably would have voted for the four-time NBA champion, too.
A breakdown of candidates show Lott’s toughest election opponent, however, wasn’t James. And it wasn’t Jesus, God, Homer Simpson, Boaty McBoat Face, Fidel Castro, or the plethora of superheros and villains.
It was Mickey Mouse, who received hundreds of write-ins across all races, more than anyone else.
“The Mickey Mouse Club was my favorite show growing up,” Lott said. “I’m honored that Mickey Mouse was one of the top go-getters, and I definitely can’t argue against God and Jesus.”
There were no write-ins for president since election laws restrict doing so, but that didn’t stop several voters from placing their favorite politicians’ names for other races.
Coming off an unsuccessful presidential re-election bid, Richland County voters added Donald Trump to every local race, including the county’s soil and water conservation district. Even the president’s children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, picked up votes for school board and county coroner, despite never launching a campaign. Eric Trump received no votes.
“Trump Baby No Dems Ever” also received multiple votes, including one for sheriff, while another voter wanted “Turdburglar” for coroner.
U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott each received votes for state Senate and Richland County’s clerk of the court, while former South Carolina Govs. Mark Sanford and Nikki Haley saw multiple votes in different races. Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris each saw votes as well.
Instead of voters researching which candidates seeking office were registered to their preferred political party, “Republican” was submitted more than 100 times for various offices, including in nonpartisan races.
President-elect Joe Biden earned votes for clerk of court, while his son, Hunter Biden, picked up support in the state Senate, as did “a dirty sock,” Daffy Duck and someone named “Bob.”
If football doesn’t pan out for Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, he could always find success in the state Senate, or at least some had hoped. The coach saw multiple votes for office, as did his star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and former Heisman winners Joe Burrow and Tim Tebow.
Swinney also received a vote for Congress, as did Jesus, Elmer Fudd, Scooby Doo and Post and Courier reporter Avery Wilks. Other notable write-ins included Dawn Staley, Tom Brady, The Rona, State reporters Chris Trainor and Andrew Caplan, John Wick, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Barney the Dinosaur, Kim Jung Un, Michelle Obama, Danny McBride, Luke Skywalker and Minnie Mouse.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 10:23 AM.