Redrawn Senate district draws 3 challengers to Cromer

Former WIS-TV anchor Kara Gormley Meador has been away from TV long enough so some people can’t remember why they recognize her.

“I usually say, ‘The wanted sign at the post office,’ ” Meador joked.

Now Meador hopes people will see her as something else: state senator. Meador is one of three Republicans challenging incumbent state Sen. Ronnie Cromer in Senate District 18, which includes portions of Lexington, Newberry and Saluda counties. The other GOP challengers are Rich Bolen, the former chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party, and Alan Hunter, a retired engineer who now restores antique boats.

Cromer has been raising money for the race for three years, amassing $78,000 in contributions with $50,000 available to spend. Bolen has raised $14,000 but has taken out a $40,000 loan, leaving him with $37,000 to spend.

Meador has raised $1,600, while Hunter says he will not ask anyone for a campaign contribution.

Cromer was first elected in April 2003 in a special election to complete the unexpired term of Andre Bauer, who had been elected lieutenant governor. Since then, Cromer has had no Republican opposition. He has defeated Democratic challengers in general elections.

But this year, Cromer’s district was redrawn. It had been evenly divided between Newberry and Lexington counties, but now Lexington County makes up the majority of the district. That presents a challenge to Cromer, who lives in Newberry County, and a potential advantage to his challengers, all of whom live in Lexington County.

“I want to make sure Lexington has another resident senator,” Bolen said. “I just feel like I have an opportunity to make an improvement on the way things are done in the state.”

Cromer says the biggest issues facing the district are jobs and, in Lexington County, roads. If re-elected, Cromer says he will work to find money to complete the traffic plan in the town of Lexington and to finish S.C. 48 in Chapin, where Cromer said “all the congestion is occurring right now.”

And Cromer said he would try to find more state money to give the state Commerce Department so it can offer incentives for companies to come to South Carolina and hire people.

“A lot of people are opposed to giving any incentives to businesses, but that’s part of the game that the other states play,” Cromer said. “So if we are not in the ballgame with them, then we don’t get those jobs here in South Carolina.”

Cromer’s challengers have painted him as a fiscal liberal, pointing to his recent vote to authorize South Carolina to borrow up to $120 million, if needed, to dredge the Charleston port. Advocates say the money is needed to keep the Charleston port, the heart of the S.C. economy, competitive.

Bolen says it does not make sense to borrow $120 million when lawmakers have an extra $1 billion to spend this year. “We’re going to create a debt that will, of course, incur interest when we could just invest that money that we have,” he said.

Bolen, a New York state native who has lived in Lexington since 1989, has not been afraid to challenge the state’s Republican leadership. In 2004, after Nikki Haley defeated the longest-serving Republican House member in a primary, Bolen tried to get on the ballot against Haley as a petition candidate — despite the state party lining up behind Haley. He fell 33 signatures short.

In 2010, while chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party, Bolen abstained from a vote that officially censured U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for being too moderate. Bolen later defended the county party’s vote in a letter to the editor that was published in The State newspaper.

“I’ve managed to alienate tea party people and the establishment, every faction you can” while Lexington County GOP chairman, Bolen said. He said he interpreted that as a sign he had done a good job.

Meador is the former anchor of WIS Sunrise. Her most publicized political encounter thus far was an on-air exchange with former state Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston, who told her she was “not very bright” for asking questions about a domestic violence bill that critics said was too lax. Meador had planned to run against state Sen. Jake Knotts, but had to abandon those plans because she does not live in Knotts’ newly redrawn district.

Meador says the most important issues are education, making lawmakers’ pensions the same as regular state workers and term limits for lawmakers. “The longer folks are in is a chance they may owe somebody a favor,” she said.

Hunter, who worked for 10 years in the state Adjutant General’s office, described his political philosophy as “common sense.”

“The government gets way too involved in people’s personal business,” he said. “They treat people like idiots; most people, generally, try to get up every day and do the right thing.”

The primary election is June 12. A runoff election, if needed, will be June 26. No Democrat has filed for the seat.

This story was originally published April 29, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Redrawn Senate district draws 3 challengers to Cromer."