Davis ousts Ceips from Senate seat

Former governor's chief of staff Tom Davis will be the Republican Party's nominee in the November general election for state Senate District 46 after ousting incumbent Sen. Catherine Ceips in Tuesday's primary.

With 87 of 89 precincts counted, Davis won 56 percent of the vote to Ceips' 44 percent, according to unofficial election results. The results are expected to be certified Thursday.

At his campaign party at the Inn at Town Center, Davis delivered a victory speech with his three daughters and wife at his side.

"If you're a serious individual who recognizes the needs of this county -- roads, schools, quality of life ... If you're serious and you articulate that ... then that is what really matters," he said. "Then that's going to overcome a negative message." Davis paid respect to Ceips in his victory speech, too, acknowledging the low pay, foregone financial opportunities and long hours tied to the "thankless job" of public service. Davis singled out Ceips' dedication in constituent service.

"The dedication, the zeal she puts in, I can learn from that. ... She's been consistent on that," he said. "I want to replicate that service" that everyone should receive regardless of who they voted for.

Ceips, who joined the House in 2003 then moved to the Senate in a special election last year, was not as gracious.

"It appears Mr. Davis has won. I will be calling him later tonight. It appears the out-of-state money won," she said from her Bay Street home. She declined further comment.

Ceips' parting dig appears unfounded, as the vast majority of Davis' campaign contributions came from individuals within the Senate district, according to campaign finance disclosure forms filed May 20. Unlike Davis, Ceips' campaign took money from several political action committees and many out-of-district and some out-of-state donors, as well as local donors, according to her finance documents filed May 26.

Her parting shot was a continuation of a tone she had taken in the final days of the campaign. Her gloves came off Thursday during a candidate forum when she hurled accusations of Davis' connections to a "pornographic" Web site, a fraudulent securities trader and political groups a black state Supreme Court justice characterized as "the new face of the Klan."

The connections, which were repeated in television ads that led up to the primary, mischaracterized Davis' role as the registered agent for the securities trader and the Web site's umbrella company.

From the beginning of Davis' candidacy, he said he would challenge Ceips on policy issues, though Ceips characterized his policy attacks as dishonest, "negative, nasty mudslinging."

In his victory speech, Davis reiterated his pledge to stick to issues and run honorably in the Nov. 4 general election. He will face Bluffton Democrat Kent Fletcher, a Marine and Iraq veteran who introduced Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama when he spoke at Battery Creek High School last year.

Davis said important local issues such as roads, schools and controlling growth are nonpartisan, and he welcomed the support he received from Democrats in his campaign.

"There's a lot more at the local level that unites us than divides us," Davis said.