Who won SC House races in Beaufort, Jasper counties? The results are in
S.C. House incumbents in Beaufort and Jasper counties swept their elections Tuesday night.
Republican Reps. Jeff Bradley, Bill Herbkersman and Shannon Erickson each won by a 2-1 margin, as did Democratic Rep. Michael Rivers. And Democratic Rep. Shedron Williams beat his challenger by a nearly 14-point margin.
Mail-in absentee ballots were still being counted in Beaufort County late Tuesday, according to Marie Smalls, director of Beaufort County’s Board of Elections and Voter Registration. That means some election results may change with the reporting of those ballots.
Results
District 118 winner: Bill Herbkersman
District 120 winner: Weston Newton
District 121 winner: Michael Rivers
District 122 winner: Shedron Williams
District 123 winner: Jeff Bradley
District 124 winner: Shannon Erickson
District 118
S.C. Rep. Bill Herbkersman, a Republican, was reelected handily Tuesday with about 63% of the vote in a Bluffton-centric district that spans Beaufort and Jasper counties.
With 100% of precincts reporting in Jasper County and 91% of precincts reporting in Beaufort County, Herbkersman beat Democratic challenger Mitchell Siegel for the District 118 State House seat. Siegel garnered roughly 36% of the vote.
Herbkersman, who previously owned and managed seven restaurants across three states, is also a developer. He was first elected in 2002 and faced a scrappy primary challenge for the first time this past spring.
District 118 includes Bluffton and Hardeeville.
Herbkersman said the re-election of local State House incumbents is a vote of confidence.
“We’re a really good team. We are the strongest delegation now because Charleston and Horry have new members,” said Herbkersman, reached by phone Wednesday. “I really think a lot of people didn’t want to diminish that.”
He said his main goal since being elected has been to repatriate money back to Beaufort and Jasper counties because of how much they provide in taxes and services to the state.
Siegel did not immediately respond to a phone call early Wednesday.
Siegel, a political activist and retired health care project manager, has criticized Herbkersman’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
District 121
State Rep. Michael Rivers, a Democrat, held his District 121 seat with roughly 62% of the vote Tuesday. Rivers defeated Republican challenger Eric Erickson, a Beaufort lawyer who garnered about 38% of the vote.
Rivers, of St. Helena Island, was first elected to the S.C. House in 2016. He previously served on the Beaufort County Board of Education.
Earlier this year, he said that access to health care and affordable housing are some of the biggest issues facing his district. He has also said he would support a statewide mask requirement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rivers has been vocal in speaking out on racism and police brutality. Rivers and Erickson did not immediately respond to phone calls late Tuesday.
District 121 includes Fripp Island, St. Helena Island and crosses into Colleton County.
District 122
State Rep. Shedron Williams, a Democrat, fended off his Republican challenger with nearly 57% of the vote as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Republican Ashley Lawton received 43% of the vote for District 122, which is made up mostly by Hampton and Jasper counties.
Williams, of Hampton, was first elected two years ago. He also served on the Hampton County Council from 2010 to 2018.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Williams said he aims to expand broadband access in rural parts of South Carolina and work to improve teacher retention as the state grapples with an educator shortage.
He previously said that he supports providing more funding to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to make sure the agency can protect residents from hazards such as the “Trash Mountain” in Okatie that burned for months in 2019 and caused neighbors to evacuate.
Lawton, of Estill, was a first-time candidate. She is a board member at Personhood South Carolina.
“While I did not win tonight, I am eternally grateful for the love and support I received throughout this campaign journey,” Lawton said in a text.
Williams thought the race was over around 9:30 p.m., but Hampton County’s election office found 3,000 uncounted in-person absentee ballots, so the victory was not confirmed until about 1 a.m., he said.
“We ended up taking most of those as well,” he said of the Hampton ballots. “I appreciate the patience of the people.”
Williams said he respected Lawton’s run and wished her good luck.
District 123
S.C. Rep. Jeff Bradley won his third term representing Hilton Head Island in the State House late Tuesday, after holding off a Democratic challenger.
With 100% of precincts reporting, the Republican incumbent garnered almost 65% of the vote. Democratic candidate Christine deVries, a former nonprofit executive, lost to Bradley with 35% of the vote.
The race was the most expensive S.C. House contest in Beaufort and Jasper counties this election cycle, with Bradley receiving campaign contributions from corporations and PACs, while deVries secured small-dollar donations from states across the country, including California and Hawaii.
Bradley’s campaign highlighted his experience as a two-term lawmaker. He said he brought attention to the state’s underfunded pension system and advocated for reducing regulations.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Bradley said he is looking into how to improve the poor conditions at the Sandalwood Apartments on Hilton Head, after reporting from the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette revealed quality of life issues.
District 123 encompasses all of Hilton Head and Daufuskie islands.
District 124
Voters in Beaufort are sending S.C. Rep. Shannon Erickson back to the State House following an early Tuesday night election win.
Erickson, a Republican who has represented District 124 for nearly 15 years, won with roughly 66% of the vote, with 100% of precincts reporting. Her Democratic challenger, Barb Nash, had about 34% of the vote. Erickson first won the seat, which encompasses Beaufort and Port Royal, in a 2007 special election.
Reached by phone, Erickson said she is excited to get back to work and refocus on legislative priorities pre-COVID-19: securing funding for teachers, renovating the Hunting Island Lighthouse and repairing the Robert V. Woods Memorial Bridge.
“We’re going to take some of our priorities and fund them in the coming months,” Erickson said. “(We need to focus on) things that work and make our area special.”
Nash, who spent her career as an advanced practice registered nurse, criticized her opponent for being a “Republican seat filler,” according to her campaign website.
Reached by phone Tuesday night, Nash congratulated Erickson on her win.
Erickson said she’s honored voters in Beaufort and Port Royal sent her back to Columbia for another term.
“I hope there’s a good level of trust,” she said. “I work hard every day, I do my best to communicate well with what’s going on.”
District 120
State Rep. Weston Newton, a Republican incumbent who ran unopposed for the District 120 seat, was reelected Tuesday. He was first elected in 2012.
Newton, of Bluffton, chairs the House Legislative Oversight Committee. District 120 includes parts of Bluffton and Okatie.
Voter turnout
Just under 85,600 ballots were cast in Beaufort County during the 2020 general election, according to state data current as of 11 a.m. Wednesday. About 14,480 ballots were cast in Jasper County.
In 2016, the last presidential election year, 79,571 ballots were cast in Beaufort County, state data show. That was roughly 71% of registered voters, at the time. About 11,500 ballots were cast in Jasper County in 2016, which represented just over 64% of registered voters.
This story has been updated to correct that S.C. Rep. Bill Herbkersman previously owned and managed seven restaurants across three states.
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 1:03 AM.
