2 Lexington County incumbents suffer narrow election night primary losses
One incumbent trailed by a mere 20 votes on election night as another colleague suffered a similar tight re-election defeat in Tuesday’s primary races in Lexington County.
Voters on Tuesday headed to the polls to choose the candidates for three Lexington County Council seats and one countywide office, with all four races taking place in the Republican primary.
Here’s who finished on top in the contested races in Lexington County.
Council District 2
Challenger Ted Stambolitis appears to have narrowly unseated County Councilman Larry Brigham on Tuesday. The incumbent had 49.7% to 50.2% in unofficial returns when all precincts in the west of Lexington County reported by 10:20 p.m. The difference between the two candidates was a mere 20 votes on election night.
Stambolitis is the owner of Lexington’s Flight Deck restaurant and previously served on Lexington Town Council from 2004 until 2018, when he moved outside the town limits.
District 2 covers the western part of Lexington County, including Gilbert, Summit and Batesburg-Leesville
Council District 7
Councilwoman Beth Carrigg trailed her challenger, Jason Guerry, by a wider margin of 47% to 52%, a difference of 162 votes.
Carrigg had served on the council since 2019, including a stint as the council chairwoman, and was previously Lexington County’s clerk of court. Guerry owns a remodeling business and in 2024 was the Republican nominee in S.C. Senate District 26, losing to Democrat Russell Ott. His wife Tina Guerry is the Lexington County register of deeds.
District 7 covers the north side of Lexington around the Lake Murray dam and the St. Andrews area north of the Saluda River.
District 8
Councilman Glen Conwell is up by a wide margin against West Columbia realtor Evelio Duque in District 8, 84% to 15% with 93% of precincts reporting as of 10:20 p.m. Conwell is running for a third term in a district runs from West Columbia up Sunset Boulevard to the northeastern corner of Lexington.
Probate judge
Brian Eckstrom was leading in the only countywide race on Tuesday, with 66% of the vote for probate judge to 33% for Cammie Campbell in unofficial results.
Eckstrom is an attorney for the firm Moore Bradley Myers, but he’s also a familiar name to Lexington County voters: his father Dan Eckstorm has served as probate judge for 36 years, but is stepping down after this fall’s election. The younger Eckstrom will face Campbell, currently the senior paralegal at the Lexington County Probate Court and a former estate clerk for the Richland County Probate Court.
None of the winners of Tuesday’s primary races will face a Democrat or third-party challenger in November’s election, essentially guaranteeing a victory on Tuesday. Council incumbent Todd Cullum in Cayce-area District 9 was unopposed in both the primary and the general election.
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 8:35 PM.
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