Incumbent SC state lawmakers win runoffs, only one to face November challenger
Three State House incumbents faced off against challengers Tuesday as South Carolina voters headed to the polls to vote in a run off.
By 9:45 p.m., all three incumbents — S.C. Sen. Luke Rankin, Rep. Neal Collins and Rep. Bill Chumley — handily defeated their challengers.
Two of the races — the run off for Rankin’s seat and for Collins’ seat — will likely be decided Tuesday night. The two winners will not face a Democratic challenger come November, which means they will win the seat barring a long-shot bid from a petition or write-in candidate. Only Chumley will face a Democrat come November — Helen Pendarvis, who ran unopposed in the primary.
Senate District 33
Rankin, the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who has represented Horry County since 1993, was facing challenger John Gallman, whom he outpaced in the June primary by about seven percentage points.
Since the primary, Gallman has faced domestic abuse allegations, according to court records obtained by The State’s sister newspaper The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News. Those records, the Sun News reported, alleged that Gallman dragged his ex-wife by her hair and broke her finger. The documents also alleged that the candidate harassed court witnesses during his divorce and child custody proceedings.
Gallman denied the accusations to The Sun News.
With all Horry County precincts in the district reporting Tuesday, Rankin bested Gallman 6,222 votes to 4,430 in the runoff.
House District 5
Collins, a Pickens County Republican, has represented his district since 2015. At about 9:45 p.m., Collins defeated challenger Allan Quinn, who he bested in the primary by nearly 1,000 votes, or about 15 percentage points.
With all precincts reporting, Collins lead Quinn by about 4.6 percentage points, or about 200 votes.
Quinn has run for office several times, but never successfully. In 2018, he ran against Collins, and lost the runoff by about 750 votes. He also ran against S.C. Sen. Rex Rice in 2016, but was only able to secure about 10% of the vote.
House District 35
Chumley, a Spartanburg Republican who has served in the House since 2011, defeated challenger Chris Bennett. With all precincts reporting, Chumley lead 1,440 votes to 1,255.
During the June primary, Chumley outpaced Bennett by 900 votes, or about 14 percentage points.
Bennett is a trustee on the Spartanburg District 4 School Board. On the campaign trail, Bennett focused on his push to cut down on government spending while also advocating for improving infrastructure and access to broadband.
Chumley clinched all precincts in the Greenville section of the district, but the race was much closer in the largest Spartanburg County area.
The district 35 race is the only one where an incumbent faces a Democratic challenger come November.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 9:15 PM.
