Voters cast ballots for LR5 and Lexington School Board races. Here’s who won
Incumbents fared poorly in the Lexington-Richland School District 5 election Tuesday, but generally did better in other Lexington County districts.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 100% of precincts had reported results in Lexington and 96% had reported results in Richland. Richland County is still counting absentee ballots so no winner has officially been confirmed there.
The question of how schools should respond to the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated all four elections. The winners will serve four year terms.
Here are the vote totals based on the most current results:
Lexington Richland District 5
Divisions among among current Lexington Richland District 5 board members have heightened the stakes of the race. The seven-member board has long been split on issues surrounding a 2008 bond referendum for new school construction, with some voicing criticism for how the projects have been handled and the taxpayers’ money spent. That polarization has since been exacerbated by differing opinions on the best strategy for re-opening schools.
Lexington residents voted to fill two seats and Richland residents voted to fill one seat.
In unofficial results, challengers Catherine Huddle and Rebecca Blackburn Hines won the two Lexington seats, earning 31% and 26% of votes and potentially unseating incumbent Michael Cates. Those wins would flip control of the non-partisan board toward those members who have been more critical of the long-serving board majority’s spending decisions.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Matt Hogan had the most votes in his race for the Richland County seat, with 23 out of 24 precincts reporting. He was nearly 1,800 votes ahead of incumbent Robert Gantt, a former board chairman.
Lexington County:
- April Alsup - 8,278
- Michael Cates (incumbent) - 5,673
- Rebecca Blackburn Hines - 10,951
- Catherine Huddle - 13,305
- Joseph J.J. Lindler - 3,936
Richland County:
- Robert Gantt (incumbent) - 8349
- Matt Hogan - 10132
Jane Westbury - 3847
Lexington District 1
Four seats were available in District 1.
Incumbent Anne Marie Eckstorm Green won with 14.29% of the vote, followed by Kathy Henson with 14.16%, incumbent Brent M Powers with 11.09% and incumbent Mike Anderson with 9.51%.
Mike Anderson (incumbent) - 16,704
Jenn Friedah - 7,546
Anne Marie Eckstorm Green (incumbent) - 25,106
Mike Griffin - 12,462
Kathy Henson - 24,878
Jason Hinton - 9,631
Reese L. McCurdy - 13,473
Brent M. Powers (incumbent) - 19,479
Travis Price- 14,833
Chris Rice- 16,694
Chelsea Amanda Snelgrove - 14,211
Lexington District 2
Residents in District 2 voted to fill four seats.
Incumbents Cindy Kessler and Beth Dickerson Branham took the lead with 17.51% of the vote and 16.92% respectively. They were followed by Liz Chitty Castles, who won 13.60% of votes, and Abbot Bray, who won 10.47%.
Incumbent Kevin Key has been unseated.
Beth Dickerson Branham (incumbent) - 11,008
- Abbott Bray - 6,810
Liz Chitty Castles - 8,849
Joseph C. Hightower - 6,274
Cindy Kessler (incumbent) -11,393
- Kevin Key (incumbent) -6,392
- Robin Milton - 3,999
Johnny Payne - 5,086
- Paige Salonich -4,956
Lexington District 4
There were four open seats in District 4.
Incumbents Lynne B. Fallaw, Chris Pound, and Daniel Martin won back their seats with 24.27%, 22.32% and 18.18% of votes respectively. They were followed by Sadie Kirkland Wannamaker, who won with 17.82%.
Incumbent Quincy Cardell Sutton has bean unseated.
- Lynne B. Fallaw (incumbent) - 3,668
- Daniel Martin (incumbent) -2,748
- Chris Pound (incumbent) -3,373
- Quincy Cardell Sutton (incumbent) -2,527
Sadie Kirkland Wannamaker -2,694
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 3:29 PM.
