Hutson Wins House District 94 Seat

Republican Heyward Hutson has won former Rep. Converse Chellis’ House District 94 seat. Hutson was unopposed due to the Democratic challenger bowing out earlier in the race.

House District 94 covers the southwest corner of Dorchester County, but also spills into Charleston County in two precincts. Voter turnout was very low due to Hutson running unopposed.

Candidate	Charleston	Dorchester	Total	Percent
Heyward Hutson, Republican WINNER	8	705	713	97.7%
Write-in	1	16	17	2.3%

Florence to Receive Loan for Downtown Improvements

According to the Florence Morning News, Pee Dee Electric has helped the City of Florence obtain a $300,000 loan for downtown improvements. The loan will help provide money towards an Evans St. Breezeway and parking for the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center.

The City of Florence has been working on bringing its residents back to its downtown area for several years. We look forward to taking advantage of these improvements in years to come.

To read more about this story visit:

Florence Morning News 

What’s Happening in the Pee Dee?

Florence

The long-awaited US 301 Bypass has now been opened. SC Senator Hugh Leatherman was on hand with Florence Mayor Frank Willis to open the new bypass. SCNow.com states, “The bypass now is complete with a $15.5 million, 3½-mile extension of Freedom Boulevard from Pamplico Highway to National Cemetery Road. The two-year project takes the boulevard from South Irby Street to East Palmetto Street at the Florence Flea Market, less than two miles from Francis Marion University.”

Myrtle Beach

The Interstate 73 project received key approval from state and federal officials recently. The interstate will connect Myrtle Beach to Michigan. It is hoped that the interstate will provide more tourism dollars for South Carolina. To learn more about I-73 visit:

www.I73inSC.com

Voters Encouraged to Register or Update Information Prior to Presidential Primary

To help ensure the upcoming presidential primaries run as efficiently as possible, the S.C. Election Commission wants to remind everyone of upcoming voter registration deadlines and urge those already registered to update their registration information.Those who wish to vote in the Republican primary must register or update their information no later than Dec. 19. Those who wish to vote in the Democratic primary must register or update their information no later than Dec. 26.

S.C. Election Commission Executive Director Marci Andino said voters can help ensure a smoother voting process for themselves- and other voters- by making sure their registration information is up to date and correct before these specific deadlines.

“Having accurate records helps ensure all South Carolina voters cast ballots at the appropriate locations,” Andino said. “If a voter updates his registration information, he can reduce the potential for delays when he signs in on Election Day-and that could have a significant impact on wait time for all voters.”

Andino said all registered voters should check their voter registration cards to ensure their information is correct. Voters may also check their record by calling or visiting their county voter registration offices. Contact information can be found at www.scvotes.org/howtoregister. Voters may also check their information online at http://www.scvotes.org/your_voter_registration.

Voters needing to register to vote have the following options:

• Stopping by their county voter registration office.
• Downloading the Voter Registration form from the Voter Information section of www.scvotes.org. The form should be printed, completed and mailed to the voter’s county registration office.

Voters needing to update their registration information have the following options:

• Calling or stopping by their county voter registration office.
• Downloading the Voter Registration Update form from the Voter Information section of www.scvotes.org. The form should be printed, completed and mailed to the voter’s county registration office (not applicable to those who have moved to a new county).
• Updating the information on the back of their voter registration card and mailing the card to their county voter registration office (not applicable to those who have moved to a new county).

David Mays Drops Out of House Race

The Democratic candidate for House District 94 has withdrawn from the contest. This will probably leave either former State Rep. Heyward Hutson or Realtor Jenny Horne as the unofficial winner of the seat. Hutson and Horne are scheduled to meet in a Republican primary runoff on October 30th.

Florence County Sheriff Changes Parties

In a somewhat predictable turn of events, Sheriff Kenney Boone decided to switch political parties. He is switching from Democratic to Republican. SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Florence Senator Hugh Leatherman were on hand to give Sheriff Boone their support.

Some, in Florence County, may have seen this coming. Sheriff Boone will be up for election soon and there has been talk that former Florence County Sheriff Jimmy Gregg may decide to run again. Gregg is a Democrat. Even though we feel that politics should not come into play in these types of races it will be interesting to see how the votes fall. Currently, Florence County only has one publicly elected Republican - Treasurer Dean Fowler.

To keep up with events in Florence County visit:

Florence Morning News 

2008: A Political Odyssey

2008 is poised to be a very political year - especially in South Carolina. So, far we’ve seen a few things transpire. We’ll try to recap everything that’s happened thus far.

SC General Assembly Pass Legislation Requiring SC State Election Commission to Conduct Presidential Preference Primaries

The General Assembly passed legislation that moves the responsibility for conducting the Presidential Preference Primaries from the SC Republican and Democratic parties to the SC State Election Commission. This legislation now requires taxpayers to essentially pay for the parties’ primaries. Governor Sanford vetoed this legislation but the General Assembly overturned his veto. To view the legislation in its entirety click on the link below:

Presidential Preference Primary Legislation

SC Republican Party Moves Primary Date Forward

The SC Republican Party chose to move their primary date to January 19th to be the first in the South. Traditionally, South Carolina Republicans have chosen the next president based on their primary results. So, moving their date to be more prominent, they claim, not only helps South Carolina rake in campaign cash, but also places a spotlight on the political process in the state.

SC Democratic Party Thinks About Moving Their Primary Date Forward

So, far the SC Democratic Party has not officially moved their primary date from January 29 to the proposed date of January 26. But, nonetheless, Chairwoman Carol Fowler has publicly spoken about asking the Democratic National Convention to let her do so. The SC Dems had thought, albeit briefly, about moving the date to the 21st or even the 19th, but had decided against doing so. So, now the SC Dems have to certify their date to the SC State Election Commission soon or they will be voting on January 29th.

Stephen Colbert Decides to Run for President in South Carolina

In a previous story, we explained that Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report, has stated publicly that he is running for president in his home state of South Carolina. Many media outlets are reporting that he may face possible fines from the Federal Election Commission. We’ll just have to see what happens with this story.

Next year promises to be an interesting year with the spotlight turned on South Carolina. Let’s hope for the best.

Gamecocks Lose to Vanderbilt

The Gamecocks have slipped to 16 in the BCS Standings. USC was recently enjoying their #6 spot until falling to Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Gamecocks could only stop the Commodores from scoring more points. Vanderbilt put their 17 points on the board in the first half of the game.

On the Steve Spurrier Show, the Old Ball Coach spoke about how his team failed to rally and blamed himself for some bad play calling. The Gamecocks need to rally soon. Their schedule gets tougher from here on out. Even though they lost, we still support our Gamecocks.

Go Gamecocks! 

Stephen Colbert on Meet the Press

Stephen Colbert, of The Colbert Report, appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning. Colbert appeared on the political program due to his intention of running for president in South Carolina. Colbert has stated that he plans to run for president in South Carolina’s Presidential Preference Primary as a Democrat and a Republican.

Earlier this week on his own program, Colbert showed that he had received the official filing papers from both the South Carolina Republican and Democratic parties. On Russert’s Meet the Press, Colbert stated that he would feel that he won if he only garnered one delegate from the Democrats. He further stated that he would give that delegate up if the Democrats allowed him to speak at their national convention; again, if he won the delegate.

This promises to showcase South Carolina’s Presidential Preference Primaries even more. With both the Republican and Democratic primaries being conducted on separate dates from each other as well as separate from all other states, national media attention will be on South Carolina. We’ll see how far Colbert takes his pledge to run as president. For further information on Colbert’s intentions see the links below:

Colbert Nation

Comedy Central - The Colbert Report 

Meet the Press

We’re Back!

We’re back from a long hiatus. We apologize for the absence. This site will be back up and running stories about South Carolina shortly. Thanks for you patience as we get back to the business of South Carolina.