The S.C. State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday afternoon certified S.C. Rep. Deon Tedder, D-North Charleston, as the winner of a tight Democratic state Senate primary runoff. A recount showed he got just 11 more votes than Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston.
After the recount in the District 42 race, Gilliard told the Charleston City Paper that he will take the weekend to determine whether to challenge the result with the S.C. Democratic Party which has the ultimate decision on who will be its candidate.
“I’m having a meeting with my team because there’s a lot of things that took place that shouldn’t have taken place,” said Gilliard, a longtime political presence in Charleston and former union organizer.
On Tuesday, unofficial results showed Tedder had an 11-vote lead with 2,092 votes to Gilliard’s 2,081 votes in the district, which includes 54 precincts in Charleston County and one in Dorchester County. Just under 8% of the district’s 52,771 voters cast ballots.
On Wednesday in a note to supporters, Tedder said, “if yesterday’s results show us anything, it’s that every vote counts. Every single person who decided to go and vote for me and told others to do so pushed us over the edge to victory.
“I will be forever grateful,” adding that he was already working to win the heavily Democratic-performing seat in the Nov. 7 general election against Republican Rosa Kay.
Results certified twice
On Thursday morning, the state Election Commission certified the results and found each candidate actually received an additional vote – 2,093 for Tedder and 2,082 for Gillard.
But because the margin was less than 1%, the commission called for a recount. Around 4 p.m. Thursday after the new count, the commission said the outcome it certified earlier was accurate, said SEC spokesman John Catalano.
“If a candidate wants to protest the results, state law allows them to file a protest with the political party,” Catalano said. “Any protest or contest must be filed in writing to the political party by Monday, Sept. 25.”
Gillard said he would make a decision on next steps by Monday.
Jay Parmley, executive director of the S.C. Democratic Party, today said its governing committee would meet next Thursday, if necessary, to hear a challenge by Gilliard.
“They could just uphold the election and say your protest was denied, or they could, if they find there is wrongdoing in any way, order a revote in simply a precinct, a complete do-over,” Parmley said. “The state committee has full power.”
Previous coverage
- 9/18/23: Gilliard, Tedder receive backing ahead of Tuesday’s special election
- 9/6/23: Gilliard, Tedder headed to Sept. 19 runoff in Senate 42 race
- 9/4/23: Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in Senate 42 primary
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.