After Courson resignation, here's when Midlands voters can pick a new state senator

The resignation Monday of longtime state Sen. John Courson has some Columbia Democrats looking at winning the Midlands Senate seat from the GOP in a special election.

Meanwhile, a Republican state representative declined to say Monday whether he might enter the race.

Columbia attorney Dick Harpootlian, a former S.C. Democratic Party chairman, says he is "seriously considering" running for the seat that Republican Courson held since 1984.

He could be joined in the race by Ann Burch Smith, a retired Columbia teacher who says she wants to focus on education and women's issues.

Courson resigned after pleading guilty to a charge of misconduct in office stemming from the long-running State House corruption investigation. Courson was indicted a year ago and suspended from office, leaving District 20 voters unrepresented in the Senate for more than a year.

Courson's resignation Monday triggered a special election that will give District 20 voters in Richland and Lexington counties a new senator.

Because a special election date would come less than 60 days before this fall's general election, state law puts the race to name Courson's successor on the same Nov. 6 ballot as other state races, said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the S.C. Election Commission.

Harpootlian signaled some of the issues he would run on while speaking with The State on Monday. The longtime former prosecutor — now engaged in a legal battle to close several Five Points bars — said, as a state senator, he would work to make the Legislature more efficient and shorten its session.

Lawmakers spend most of their current five-month session enjoying themselves for three days at a week — Tuesdays through Thursdays — in Columbia, Harpootlian said.

"They waste a lot of time," Harpootlian said. "Those of us in private business, we'd go broke if we approached our job like the Legislature. I just don't know that they accomplish anything."

Harpootlian said his recent scuffle with the S.C. Department of Revenue over enforcing state laws governing bars has pushed him closer to running, a decision he said he would make over the next two weeks.

"They've basically conceded that they're not going to enforce the law," Harpootlian said. "That typifies what you see with a lot of state government. There's no accountability. State government has forgotten who hires them, and that's the citizens, the voters."

Smith says she was frustrated by the lack of representation she had in the Legislature this year because of Courson's suspension.

Smith, who previously taught in Richland 1 and worked with the S.C. Department of Education, said she would have wanted to participate in a lengthy Senate filibuster against a proposed abortion ban. That ban fell one vote short of passage in the Senate.

"It's important for women to have their say-so on health care and reproductive rights," Smith said. "A woman's viewpoint can be very valuable.

"Men often don't understand women or even children. I've given birth to children."

Another potential candidate for the seat, state Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Richland, declined to speculate on a possible run. Ballentine faces a GOP primary challenge for his S.C. House seat next week.

"Like many others, I am saddened by the events of the day," Ballentine said of Courson's resignation. "The fact remains that I am in a primary election fight for the State House, and all of my focus and interests are on that race. Any speculation on the Senate seat will have to wait till a later date."

Senate District 20 stretches from the southern neighborhoods of Columbia to the northwestern corner of Richland County, including some communities in the northeastern part of Lexington County.

Filing for candidates will be open from June 22 to June 30.

Party primaries for the special election will be held Aug. 14, with voters choosing a new senator during this fall's general election on Nov. 6.

This story was originally published June 4, 2018 at 11:31 AM with the headline "After Courson resignation, here's when Midlands voters can pick a new state senator."