SC’s 1st Congressional District race too close to call hours after candidates head home
For the second time in as many years, the outcome of South Carolina’s competitive 1st Congressional District race could come down to Charleston County.
Some five hours after polls closed Tuesday, the battleground race between Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham and Republican state Rep. Nancy Mace had stalled into a cliffhanger with neither campaign able to declare victory.
With 80% of the vote counted just before 1 a.m., Mace held a narrow lead over Cunningham with some 17,000 votes separating them. Early returns showed Mace had secured 52% of the vote to Cunningham’s 48% of the vote share.
The district covers parts of Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, Colleton and Beaufort counties.
However, Charleston County, which is the largest county in the district that was largely responsible for Cunningham’s narrow win in this historically Republican district in 2018, was incomplete.
Some 40% of Charleston County’s precincts were still outstanding.
Additionally, a printing error that affected some 14,600 absentee ballots in Dorchester County was preventing election officials from tabulating those votes Tuesday night.
Hours before Cunningham’s campaign packed up for the night, the first-term congressman projected confidence as he walked up to a podium to address supporters who had gathered for his election night party at Charleston’s Workshop food court. His campaign blasted Lizzo’s “Good as Hell.”
Taking off his face mask, Cunningham flashed a smile to his supporters. Despite the partisan battle at the top of the ticket, Cunningham was convinced his message connected with voters.
“Every vote must be counted. Every voice must be heard. But our objective, our mission, is to win at such a large margin that (the Dorchester ballots) may not affect our votes at the end of the day in our particular race,” Cunningham said.
When Mace arrived at Saltwater Cowboys at 8 p.m., her Election Night party had been raging without her for about two hours. Mace, 42, was greeted by about 150 supporters and a live band.
Wearing a blue seersucker mask with the Palmetto State flag’s iconic tree and moon, Mace bumped elbows and took photos with her supporters. As the early vote counts poured in, Mace said she was “cautiously optimistic.”
“This is going to be a close election year for many candidates, and it’s no different for me,” she added.
Across the state at his victory party in Columbia, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham was more optimistic about her odds.
“Nancy Mace is going to win before this night is over with,” Graham told his supporters at the USC Alumni Center.
When Cunningham became the first Democrat in nearly 40 years to hold the seat, he was elected on the so-called “blue wave” of the 2018 midterms when Democrats picked up 41 U.S. House seats.
Almost immediately, Republicans vowed revenge and identified Cunningham’s seat as a top target on their path to reclaiming a majority in 2020.
Before Cunningham was even sworn into office, the South Carolina Republican Party launched its plans for a 1st District reclamation project.
It was a change of pace for a district that had been drawn to favor Republicans.
At nearly every turn, in ways large and small, Mace built the case that Cunningham was out of step with the historically Republican district he was elected to represent.
On the debate stage, Mace referred to him as “Democrat Joe Cunningham.” On the stump, she said Cunningham voted with Pelosi 90% of the time. She characterized his record as “socialism at its best.”
Mace also reminded voters that Cunningham voted to impeach President Trump in a district that overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2016.
However, Cunningham’s most contentious vote would be overshadowed by unimaginable forces when the nation was faced with combatting a pandemic for the first time in more than a century.
Not only did Cunningham and Mace both test positive for the novel coronavirus, but restrictions on public events forced both campaigns to adjust their messaging tactics.
While Mace was quick to jump back to holding socially-distanced events in-person along with online offerings, Cunningham kept his events mostly virtual until the final weeks.
The pandemic also made TV ads an essential battleground. Mace was able to get on the air with eight spots. Cunningham aired 13.
It wasn’t until early October that both candidates appeared in the same room for a televised debate.
Out-raised and out-spent on TV, Mace took her case directly to voters in the final days of her campaign. Cunningham hosted a socially distanced drive-in rally.
The results will be certified Friday afternoon. It would be up to the state Election Commission to determine if a recount is needed.
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 1:50 AM with the headline "SC’s 1st Congressional District race too close to call hours after candidates head home."
