Richland County Council runoff election results: 2 incumbents swept away
Two incumbents on Richland County Council lost bids to retain their seats in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoffs. Another councilman succeeded in fending off a challenger.
Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy and Councilwoman Dalhi Myers were swept away by their opponents.
In District 7, Kennedy lost by more than 1,000 votes to Gretchen Barron, an educator and consultant who finished second to Kennedy in the June 9 primary. Barron won by an almost three-to-one margin in the runoff.
In District 10, Myers fell to Cheryl English, a social worker and minister. Just 25 votes had separated the two candidates on June 9, with English edging out Myers. On Tuesday, English won with 63% of votes.
Councilman Chip Jackson will retain his seat in District 9 after defeating challenger Jonnieka Farr.
In a contest of two newcomers in District 8, attorney Overture Walker bested businessman Hamilton Grant by just fewer than 500 votes. Walker will face Republican Gary Dennis in the November general election, with the winner succeeding retiring Councilman Jim Manning.
With Manning’s retirement and losses by Kennedy and Myers on Tuesday, the 11-member county council will likely have four new faces. Two weeks ago, Derrek Pugh defeated incumbent Joyce Dickerson in the District 2 Democratic primary.
Voting in Tuesday’s primary runoff election went much smoother than two weeks prior in Richland County, when polling places were plagued by long lines and confusion.
With fewer races, lighter overall voter turnout and more poll workers staffing each voting site, there were no known complaints of extraordinary wait times or major issues Tuesday.
Interim elections director Terry Graham took a step back during Tuesday’s runoff, calling in sick while he awaits the results of a COVID-19 test.
Here are the runoff results for each council district, all Democratic races:
District 7
100% of precincts reporting
Gretchen Barron: 72.4% (1,726 votes)
Gwen Kennedy: 27.6% (658 votes)
There are no Republican challengers for this seat on the November general election ballot.
District 8
100% of precincts reporting
Overture Walker: 58.71% (1,669 votes)
Hamilton Grant: 41.29% (1,174 votes)
Walker will face Republican Gary Dennis in the November general election in a bid to succeed retiring Councilman Jim Manning.
District 9
100% of precincts reporting
Calvin “Chip” Jackson: 53.86% (1,095 votes)
Jonnieka Farr: 46.14% (938 votes)
There are no Republican challengers for this seat on the November general election ballot.
District 10
100% of precincts reporting
Cheryl English: 63.42% (1,626 votes)
Dalhi Myers: 36.58% (938 votes)
There are no Republican challengers for this seat on the November general election ballot.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 9:50 PM.
