In other SC election news
Sanford wins GOP primary in 1st Congressional District
Congressman Mark Sanford defeated state Rep. Jenny Horne Tuesday in the 1st Congressional District, which includes parts of Charleston, Berkeley and Beaufort counties. Sanford received nearly 56 percent of the votes.
Sanford, South Carolina’s governor from 1993 to 2001, has represented the district since 2013. He previously held the seat from from 1995 to 2001.
Horne, an attorney who has represented Summerville in the Legislature since 2008, received national attention last summer when a video of her emotional anti-Confederate flag speech went viral. Speaking to the state House after the Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, she said that anything less than removing the flag would be an insult to the nine victims’ families.
Sanford will face Democrat Dimitri Cherny in November. Cherny made headlines earlier this year when he expressed support of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders by getting the Vermont senator’s name tattooed on his arm.
Libertarian candidate Michael Grier and American Party candidate Albert Travison also filed for the seat.
Incumbent Mulvaney handily wins GOP nomination
U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney handily defeated Ray Craig in Tuesday’s Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District. With all but two precincts reporting, Mulvaney received 78 percent of the votes cast.
Mulvaney, who previously served in the State Senate, was initially elected to Congress in 2010. He has been re-elected twice.
Craig is a Clemson graduate who has worked with pastoral ministries in India and Uganda. He currently works as grocery store clerk, according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
Mulvaney will face Democrat Fran Person, a former aide to Vice President Joe Biden, in November. Person worked for Biden for eight years before leaving for a job at USC as an assistant to president Harris Pastides and athletics director Ray Tanner.
Two American Party candidates filed to run for Mulvaney’s seat: Rudy Barnes, an attorney from Little Mountain, and IT manager Larry Gaither from Winnsboro.
The district includes York, Fairfield, Kershaw and Sumter counties.
Bjorn leads Democratic primary in 2nd Congressional District
Columbia writer Arik Bjorn was ahead late Tuesday night in the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District.
With 86 percent of the precincts reporting, Bjorn had about 51 percent of the votes. Small business owner Phil Black from Lexington had just under 49 percent.
The winner will challenge incumbent Joe Wilson in November. Wilson has held the seat since 2001.
During the campaign, Bjorn accused Black of being a “fake Democrat” because of Black’s support of traditional Republican positions, including opposition to gay marriage, support for requiring welfare recipients to take drug tests, and calling for a smaller federal government.
Black is a former Republican and semi-retired hardware store owner. He suffered landslide losses to Wilson in the 2008, 2010 and 2012 Republican primaries.
Bjorn is a librarian in Richland County.
Eddie McCain, a retired Army sergeant, filed to run as an American Party candidate.
The Midlands district includes parts of Richland County as well as Lexington and Aiken counties.
This story was originally published June 15, 2016 at 12:12 AM with the headline "In other SC election news."