SC’s State House seats are up for grabs. Who’s running in the Lexington, Richland?
On Tuesday, every South Carolina State House seat will be up for grabs.
Several incumbents representing parts of Richland or Lexington counties are facing competitive races.
Here’s what Midlands voters need to know before heading to the polls.
Online at thestate.com/voter-guide: Check out The State’s 2020 Voter Guide to read an exclusive Q&A with candidates in each of the following races. Enter your address to see which candidates will appear on your ballot.
S.C. House District 41
S.C. Rep. Annie McDaniel, D-Fairfield, will face off against challenger Jennifer Brecheisen, a Republican and a wedding photographer, for the House seat that represents parts of Chester, Fairfield and Richland counties.
McDaniel just completed her first term at the State House after winning the seat in 2018. To win the seat, McDaniel defeated incumbent MaryGail Douglas — who represented the district since 2013 — by about 13.5 percentage points in the Democratic primary and Fred Kennedy, from the United Citizens Party, by about 57 percentage points in the general.
McDaniel, who worked as a business consultant before she was elected to the House, introduced several bills during her first term, including a bill on prohibiting people who donate to campaigns from running for office within four years and a bill requiring schools to compile a report on bullying each quarter. McDaniel is also in favor of expanding Medicaid and allowing women to make their own decisions regarding abortion.
Brecheisen has not run for office before. Her stances include being anti-abortion, anti-affirmative action, pro-off shore drilling and against Medicaid expansion. She also believes the state should not have shut down due to the coronavirus.
In all, McDaniel raised about $15,580 for her reelection bid through October, all of which came from individual contributions, according to the State Ethics Commission.
In contrast, Brecheisen only raised about $780, all of which came from individual donors giving $100 or less.
S.C. House District 71
S.C. Rep. Nathan Ballentine, an eight-term Republican from Richland County, faces two challengers this election: Libertarian Lawrence Lee and Democrat Terry Seawright.
Ballentine has largely run unopposed during previous general elections, and none of the candidates running in the district, which includes parts of Lexington County above Lake Murray, faced opponents during this year’s primary. Ballentine did face Republican challengers in 2018 and 2016, but handily defeated each of his challengers by at least 45 percentage points.
In the latest legislative session, Ballentine sponsored legislation aimed at limiting access to the state health and dental plans and retirement benefits for lawmakers convicted of certain crimes. He says he believes Medicaid should not be expanded and that he is anti-abortion.
Lee, an engineer, has never run for office before. His stances include being for getting rid of excuse requirements for absentee voting, against legislating when it comes to abortion, and in favor of selling state-owned utility Santee Cooper. He also believes that the state should not have shut down due to the coronavirus.
Seawright did not answer a questionnaire provided to him by The State.
In all, Ballentine has fundraised more than $66,000 this cycle, most of which came from individual contributions. Lee did not raise any money, and funded his campaign through a $200 loan. Seawright reported bringing in no money throughout the campaign.
S.C. House District 73
S.C. Rep. Chris Hart, a Richland Democrat who’s represented the district since 2007, faces a Republican challenger, Myron Samuels. The district includes the Harbison area and parts of Irmo.
Neither Hart nor Samuels faced a primary challenger in June.
In 2018, Hart handily bested Republican challenger in the general election, beating Ralph Bell by more than 50 percentage points. In the few elections prior to 2018, Hart ran unopposed.
During the last legislative session, Hart introduced bills on banning phone use while driving unless it’s hands free, mortgage grace periods and requiring electric companies to bury new power lines.
Neither Hart nor Samuels did not answer a questionnaire provided by The State. He also did not submit fundraising report to the State Ethics Commission.
Hart brought in about $18,350 this cycle, $10,000 of which came from a loan.
S.C. House District 74
S.C. House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, a Richland Democrat who’s represented the district since 1999, will face off against Republican challenger Vimalkumar Jariwala on Tuesday. The district includes parts of Columbia north of downtown.
Rutherford, the most powerful Democrat in the House, has faced occasional challengers during his time in office and has bested them each by securing a vast majority of the vote. For example, in 2018, he defeated United Citizens Party candidate Michael Block 9,681 to 1,018.
Rutherford made national news this year after he called on former Vice President Joe Biden to disavow S.C. Sen. Dick Harpootlian — one of Biden’s supporters — after the senator questioned why head of the Legislative Black Caucus, Jerry Govan, was paid more than $43,000 by the Tom Steyer campaign. Steyer later took up Rutherford’s call during a Democratic debate.
The Columbia Democrat was also selected to deliver the rebuttal to Gov. Henry McMaster’s State of the State address this year, in which he called out the governor for the state of the state’s education system and several crises at state agencies.
Jariwala did not answer a questionnaire provided by The State. His campaign website did not mention any specific stances.
Jariwala reported bringing in no money this campaign cycle. In all, Rutherford brought in more than $61,000, mostly from individual contributions.
S.C. House District 75
S.C. Rep. Kirkman Finlay, R-Richland, and Columbia lawyer Rhodes Bailey, a Democrat, have seen one of the most contentious elections this year. The district includes the east side of Rosewood and Shandon, much of Forest Acres and the Fort Jackson area.
Democrats are hoping to pick up Finlay’s seat this year. Finlay, a former Columbia city councilman whose businesses include farming and restaurants, is one of very few Republican lawmakers representing the area.
Bailey, an attorney in the public defender’s office, has raised questions about a business deal that Finlay had with Florida-based power company NextEra, a company interested in buying state-owned utility Santee Cooper. Finlay has defended himself, saying he has taken no votes that benefit the company and instead voted to push the company to bring a better deal to the state.
Finlay, who has been in office since 2013, introduced several pieces of legislation during the most recent session, including a proposal in favor of paper ballot voting and a bill that would allow the governor to appoint an interim board of elections if a local election board is removed entirely.
Bailey’s stances include being in favor expanding Medicaid in the state, allowing judges to take in account hate-related motives during sentencing and allowing women to make their own choices when it comes to abortion.
In all, Bailey raised more than $135,000 this election cycle, while Finlay raised more than $195,000.
S.C. House District 77
First-term S.C. Rep. Kambrell Garvin, a Democrat, will defend his seat in a rematch against Libertarian Justin Bishop Tuesday. The district includes Northeast Richland County around Blythewood.
Garvin wrestled the seat away from incumbent Joseph McEachern in 2018 after besting him by nearly 40 percentage points in a primary run-off. The win came after McEachern initially outpaced Garvin in the primary by just seven votes.
Garvin went on to defeat Bishop in the general election by 70 percentage points or by about 11,611 votes.
During his first term at the State House, Garvin proposed legislation including one bill aimed at increasing the state minimum wage and a bill that would require the Department of Corrections to inform released inmates about their voting rights.
Bishop did not respond to a questionnaire provided by The State.
Garvin raised more than $16,800 this cycle, while Bishop reported bringing in no cash.
S.C. House District 78
Democrat S.C. Rep. Beth Bernstein, first elected to the House in 2013, is facing off against Republican Viresh Sinha, who works in IT project management. The district includes Arcadia Lakes and the area around Fort Jackson.
An attorney, Bernstein ran unopposed in 2018 and 2016, but in 2014, she easily defeated Republican Jeff Mobely by a margin of about 2,500 votes.
During the most recent legislative session, Bernstein introduced several pieces of legislation including an update to the Youth Access to Tobacco Prevention Act of 2006 that strengthened the age verification requirement for online sale of tobacco products. Bernstein is also in favor of passing hate crime legislation and expanding Medicaid.
Sinha has not run for public office before. His stances include believing that women should only have access to abortion in “extreme cases,” that the state should consider expanding Medicaid, depending on the budget and is in favor of banning off-shore drilling.
During the election cycle, Bernstein raised $61,000, while Sinha raised $550.
S.C. House District 79
Democratic S.C. Rep. Ivory Thigpen, who’s represented the district since 2017, will face off against Libertarian Victor Kocher. The district lies between U.S. 1 and I-77 in Northeast Richland County.
This year’s election marks a rematch between the pair. In 2018, Kocher challenged Thigpen for his seat. Ultimately, Thigpen beat Kocher by 76 percentage points, or about 11,500 votes. Kocher also tried to take on Thigpen and Republican Donald Miles in 2016, but came in a distant third place with only 354 votes.
Thigpen initially ran for the seat in 2016 after incumbent Mia McLeod made a run for the State Senate, a seat she won.
During the latest legislative session, Thigpen introduced a bill that would allow law enforcement to seize the guns and ammo of someone who is an immediate threat to themselves or others and bills aimed at deterring unfair trade practices, among others. Thigpen is in favor of adopting hate crime legislation and repealing the Heritage Act, <a state law that protects some historic monuments, such as the Confederate flag that flew on the State House grounds until lawmakers voted to remove it in 2015.
Kocher is in favor of reforming civil asset forfeiture laws and supports repealing the Heritage Act, and he’s against the adoption of hate crime laws. He also believes the governor should not have shut down parts of the state to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Throughout the election cycle, Thigpen fundraised $6,700, and Kocher raised $100.
S.C. House District 80
Both Democrat Jermaine Johnson and Republican Vincent Wilson — political newcomers — are running to fill a the House seat that was formerly held by S.C. Rep. Jimmy Bales, who held the seat since 1999.
Johnson defeated Bales during the primary, beating the incumbent representing Lower Richland by about 50 percentage points or about 2,400 votes.
Johnson, who told The State he was inspired to run after seeing national protests of people calling for the end of racism and police brutality after the death of George Floyd, is in support of passing hate crime laws and for repealing the Heritage Act. He is also in favor of expanding Medicaid and that the choice to get an abortion should be up to individual women.
Wilson is only in favor of abortion in cases of incest or rape. He is for banning off-shore drilling, and against repealing the Heritage Act.
During the election cycle, Johnson raised about $16,500, and Wilson raised no money.
Noncompetitive races
S.C. House District 39: Cal Forrest (R)
S.C. House District 69: Chris Wooten (R)
S.C. House District 70: Wendy Brawley (D)
S.C. House District 72: Seth Rose (D)
S.C. House District 76: Leon Howard (D)
S.C. House District 85: Chip Huggins (R)
S.C. House District 87: Paula Rawl Calhoon (R)
S.C. House District 88: R.J. May (R)
S.C. House District 89: Micah Caskey (R)
S.C. House District 93: Russell Ott (D)
S.C. House District 96: D. Ryan McCabe (R)
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 4:54 PM.
