The SC Democratic Party took a longtime Lowcountry lawmaker to court. Here’s why

A longtime state lawmaker faces legal action from his own party to keep him from pursuing his seat after he lost a primary in June.

The S.C. Democratic Party filed for a temporary restraining order and injunction against state Rep. Bill Bowers - D, Hampton - to keep Bowers from campaigning as a write-in candidate for House District 122, Beaufort County court records show.

Bowers lost the Democratic primary for the seat in June to Hampton County Councilman Shedron Williams. The court documents were filed Oct. 26.

Bowers mailed constituents a letter in recent weeks that made it clear he was seeking write-in votes, said John Polk, a state Democratic Party committee member in Hampton County.

“He’s been in this business long enough; he knows better,” Polk said. “We need to win Democrats in office. We don’t have time to fight amongst ourselves.”

Bowers denied campaigning, telling a reporter he was only responding to constituents who asked how they could vote for him on Nov. 6. He said he was clear he was not soliciting votes and that doing so would be against the rules.

He noted that his primary campaign included television and radio spots, billboards and robocalls.

“If I was in a campaign, you’d see a campaign,” he said.

A hearing on the motion was Thursday morning, and the case is awaiting a judge’s ruling.

Williams earned 52.5 percent of the vote— 2,903 votes — in the June 12 primary while Bowers finished at 47.5 percent with 2,624 votes. Bowers was first elected in 1997.

The House district includes parts of Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties.

The court papers say Bowers has been actively campaigning and violated a pledge he signed when he filed for the primary to accept the results of the primary and authorizing an injunction if he offered himself as a write-in candidate or campaigned as a write in for the seat or any other party office.

Bowers was served Tuesday night while teaching a class at USC Beaufort, he said.

Polk called Bowers last week to tell him party officials, including Hampton County party chairman Williams, planned to seek the legal action, Bowers said.

Bowers said in addition to the letters he wrote, some have advocated on social media for his write-in candidacy but that he as not control over their posts.

On Saturday, Chris Jones Carson posted a flier to Facebook urging voters to write-in Bowers on Nov. 6, along with a list of his policy positions. Bowers was tagged in the post.

Another post from Carson on Tuesday also advocated for Bowers as a write-in candidate while sharing a news release of Bowers presenting $300,000 in local grants.