Hilton Head Monthly Magazine

Hard-fought campaign generates big turnout.

Once again, after another arduous, rancorous, and seemingly endless presidential campaign, the words of the late President Gerald R. Ford come to mind: “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

When the dust finally settled, Senator Barack H. Obama (D), of Illinois, emerged as president elect of the United States of America over Senator John McCain (R), of Arizona.

The result left Democrats elated, some Republicans throwing each other under the bus, and many others sighing, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Irrespective of party affiliation or lack thereof, let us all wish Mr. Obama the best of luck, as he assumes the Oval Office during times that could be described as perilous for our country.

Meanwhile, some feathers flew in one of our local votes down here in little old Beaufort County, South Carolina. In the race to fill two seats on the Bluffton Town Council, incumbent Fred Hamilton and Allyne Mitchell prevailed on November 4. However, candidate Jeff Fulgham protested the count after polling errors left some Bluffton residents unable to vote, and the county board of elections decided to throw out the result and hold a special election. Due to an appeal by the winning candidates, the special election was postponed until after press time.

While  the  hype,  hysteria  and  mudslinging tend to turn off many voters, an apparent residual benefit of the rhetoric and bellicosity that marked the presidential race was reflected at the polls — at least locally — in voter turnout.

Although it was not our greatest showing, “ We had the second highest voter turnout in this election since I’ve been here,” said Agnes Garvin, executive director of the Beaufort County Board of Elections. Garvin compared last month’s 73 percent turnout to the 2000 general election’s 78 percent.

Garvin also noted that 20,000 absentee ballots were cast in this election, more than tripling the previous record of 6,000. She attributed the increase to the popularity of early voting.

So, for whom did all of these folks vote? Here is a summary of some of the notable local race results:

U.S. House of Representatives District 2
Joe Wilson (R) def. Rob Miller (D)

State Senate District 45
Clementa Pinckney (D) ran unopposed

State Senate District 46
Tom Davis (R) def. Kent D. Fletcher (D)

State House of Representatives District 118
Bill Herbkersman (R) ran unopposed

State House of Representatives District 121
Kenneth F Hodges (D) def. N. Bonnie Adams (R)

State House of Representatives District 122
Curtis Brantley (D) ran unopposed

State House of Representatives District 123
Richard Chalk (R) ran unopposed

State House of Representatives District 124
Shannon Erickson (R) def. Jim Brown (D)

County Council District 5
William L. McBride (D) ran unopposed

County Council District  6
Gerald Dawson (D) ran unopposed

County Council District 8
Herbert Nathaniel Glaze (D) ran unopposed

County Council District 9
Brian E. Flewelling (R) def. Katherine Hatchett (D)

County School Board District 3
Wayne Carbiener ran unopposed

County School Board District 4
Laura Bush ran unopposed

County School Board District 6
Earl Campbell ran unopposed

County School Board District10
George R. Wilson ran unopposed

Mayor, town of Bluffton
Lisa Sulka def. Charlie Wetmore

Mayor, city of Beaufort
Billy Keyserling def. Donnie Ann Beer, Mike Brant, and Mike Sutton

Beaufort city Council (2)
Gary B. Fordham and Mike McFee def. John Gentry, Carl Harper, and Harley Laing

For more Beaufort County election results and information, contact the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections at 1 (866) 851-8683 or bcgov.net/VoterReg/.