U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson fends off Democratic challenger, Boroughs concedes
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson declared victory Tuesday night in his race against Democratic challenger Adair Ford Boroughs, his toughest competitor in years.
“How proud is South Carolina, South Carolina could not be bought. $150 million and still the people of SC stood up for what’s right — limited government (and) expanded freedom,” he said, speaking to Republican supporters at the state GOP’s election night party.
Wilson declared himself the victor around 10:15 p.m. with just 27% of precincts reporting, but at the time, he had a sizable lead over Boroughs in those returns.
About an hour later, the Associated Press called the race for Wilson.
The Boroughs campaign conceded the race Wednesday morning as more vote counts poured in across the district. At about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, with only six precincts left to report, Wilson held about a 50,000 vote lead over Boroughs, according to the State Election Commission.
In a Facebook live to her supporters, Boroughs said she called Wilson to congratulate him on the win.
“The worthy fights are not the easy ones. The worthy fights are not the sure wins,” Boroughs said. “I am so proud of the race we ran and all we accomplished.”
Boroughs thanked supporters for reaching out to her Tuesday night as Wilson and the Associated Press called the race.
“I will never have regrets about taking risks, going all in and giving my everything at a chance to build that world,” Borough said.
Boroughs, a former Justice Department attorney, also offered any assistance she could provide to Wilson’s office.
“Whatever happened yesterday, a better tomorrow is possible,” Boroughs said. “We’re going to continue to work for a better world tomorrow.”
The win sends Wilson back to the U.S. House for a 10th full term representing the district, which includes parts of Aiken, Barnwell, Lexington, Orangeburg and Richland counties.
Wilson has faced a well-funded challenger for the first time in years. Boroughs consistently raised more money than Wilson, campaigning as a moderate Democrat who ran on her small town roots and history of public service.
Throughout the race, it was unclear where Wilson and Boroughs stood with voters as no significant polling was released publicly on the race, and traditional campaigning was curbed by COVID-19.
Wilson has consistently been favored to win the traditionally red district, though. It’s voters hadn’t sent a Democrat to the U.S. House since 1965, and the district went for President Donald Trump over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 by almost 18 percentage points.
Wilson also has publicly supported Trump, appearing next to him at campaign events in the Palmetto State and standing by the president’s initiatives. During Trump’s impeachment hearings in the House, Wilson stood by the president, calling the effort a “hoax” and the proceedings “insulting.”
During the campaign, Boroughs threw punches at Wilson, specifically pointing out that the congressman has only successfully passed one bill on which he was the primary sponsor. Wilson hit back, reminding voters that he has successfully included his initiatives in larger bills, like the National Defense Authorization Act.
Wilson also ran on his record of performing constituent services. The congressman has always been known in the district as someone voters and local lawmakers can turn to to help get something done, such as expediting citizenship papers or helping South Carolinians abroad return home.
Wilson is one of several incumbents running for the U.S. House that kept their seat Tuesday, including U.S. Reps. Jeff Duncan, William Timmons, Ralph Norman and Tom Rice.
Reporter Christina L. Myers contributed.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 10:44 PM.
