Who won the elections for Cayce mayor, City Council?

Voters in Cayce Tuesday decided to stick with their mayor for a fifth term, even as they appeared ready to go in another direction in one City Council district.

Incumbent Cayce Mayor Elise Partin faced a challenge from Lexington 2 school board member Abbott “Tre” Bray in a race that became heated with accusations of underhanded tactics.

But on Tuesday, Partin was winning a fifth term in the mayor’s office in Cayce with just over 52% of the vote after all ballots had been countedTuesday, topping her challenger who had 47% of the vote, as reported by the S.C. Election Commission on SCVotes.gov.

In addition to the mayor’s race, voters decided two City Council seats. Councilman James “Skip” Jenkins faced Marie Brown and Byron Thomas. Councilman Phil Carter faced Melvin Fields and Marcy Hayden.

In District 2, Byron Thomas emerged with 36% of the vote, just five votes ahead of incumbent councilman Jenkins. A third candidate, Marie Brown, won another 27%. If Thomas holds on to his lead, his first-place finish would add him to the city’s town council.

In District 4, meanwhile, incumbent Councilman Phil Carter won 67% of the vote to 28% for Marcy Hayden and 4% for Melvin Field, results showed.

This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 8:50 PM.

Bristow Marchant

The State

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Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2024 education reporting award.  Support my work with a digital subscription