Clerk of court keeps seat handily

By MICHAEL WELLES SHAPIRO
mshapiro@islandpacket.com
843-706-8142

Beaufort County Clerk of Court Elizabeth Smith easily fended off two Republican challengers Tuesday to win a third term in office.

Smith, who's held the position since 2001, won convincingly with 66.9 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.

Challengers Randy "Radar" Caulder, a Beaufort private investigator, received 16.7 percent of the vote, while Warren Alston, an Okatie life insurance agent, came in third with 16.3 percent.

"I'm delighted," said Smith as she celebrated her win at Boundary Street Pizzaria in Beaufort.

"It was a challenging race and I'm delighted to not have to do this for some time," she said.

The race became contentious at several points and the challengers frequently pointed to what they saw as Smith's inability to communicate with other county department heads.

Caulder and Alston couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.