Two Longtime Legislators Bounced From House Seats

Most legislative incumbents fared well in the Midlands

 

Republican State Rep. Kit Spires suffered a sound defeat in his primary re-election bid to Attorney Ryan McCabe. The rural district in Southern Lexington County saw a hotly contested race but in the end, McCabe won by a margin of 55% to 45%. McCabe moves on to the November election where he faces no opposition.

 

Another house member with an even longer tenure who saw his tenure come to an end is Jimmy Bales. Dr. Jermaine Johnson won the rural district in Southern Richland and a portion of Kershaw County in a landslide. Johnson carried all precincts en route to 76% of the vote against Bales, who had recent bouts with illness on the house floor. Johnson also faces no opposition in November.

 

Prosperity Sen. Ronnie Cromer coasted to re-nomination in Senate District 18 against Lexington Dentist Charles Bumgardner. Bumgardner kept the race close with Cromer in the more densely populated Lexington County portion of the district but it was Cromer’s home base of Newberry County that provided him with the strong margin of victory. Cromer captured 89% of the vote in Newberry and 75% from the smattering of voters in Union County. Cromer has a challenge from Democrat Christopher Thibault in the general election in the Republican-heavy district.

 

In perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, Attorney Ben Dunn rolled in the Republican Primary for Senate District 20, which falls in both Lexington and Richland Counties, running from Chapin, Dutch Fork and Irmo all the way to downtown Columbia. Dunn picked up 72% of the vote over businessman Randy Dickey, who spent heavily and started early in the bid to take on incumbent Sen. Dick Harpootlian. For Dunn, the matchup will make it a re-match of the 2018 special election, where Harpootlian won a close race. 2020 looks to be a more friendly year for Republicans in the evenly-balanced district.

 

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey cruised to another term over pro-life activist Susan Swanson. Massey captured 79% in the district which includes Aiken, Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick and Saluda.

 

 

 

Chris Smith earned the right to take on Democratic Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler in November after easily dispatching Perry Finch in the Republican Primary. Smith won 69% in the strongly Republican district that Setzler has held since 1992.

 

Democratic Attorney Rhodes Bailey has moved on to face Republican Rep. Kirkman Finlay in November. Bailey ended up winning the hotly-contested race by a comfortable margin over businesswoman Heather Bauer, 57% to 43%. Finlay, whose closest election was his first, represents a pretty evenly partisan district. Finlay is usually one of the few targets for Democrats and that is likely to be the case this year.

 

 

State House District 88 will have one more round on June 23rd in a runoff. Mike Sturkie and RJ May finished in the top two but did not make it to the 50% +1 threshold to avoid a runoff. Sturkie outpaced May 35% to 26% in the five-candidate field. The district that includes all or portions of Gaston, Pelion, Red Bank and Swansea will be the only runoff in Lexington County.

 

Preston Baines is a political analyst and can be reached at @prestonbaines on Twitter and prestonbaines@gmail.com.

 

 

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