Pinckney gets Democratic nod for Senate; House nomination goes to runoff

By BRANDON HONIG
bhonig@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5532

RIDGELAND -- Incumbent Clementa Pinckney again will represent the Democratic party in the November race for the Senate District 45 seat, but the Democratic race for House District 122 will go to a runoff because none of four candidates was able to garner 50 percent of the vote Tuesday.

In the Senate race, Pinckney pulled in 78 percent of the vote, defeating Bobby C. Mayes, who received 13 percent and Richmond Truesdale Jr., who had 9 percent, according to unofficial results.

Senate District 45 includes all of Jasper County and a large portion of the Sea Islands in Beaufort County.

In the House race for District 122, incumbent Curtis Brantley pulled in 45 percent of the vote. Thayer Rivers Jr., who held the seat from 2000-06, received 31 percent of the vote, while Keith Horton received 22 percent and Libbie Henry-Green received 3 percent.

A runoff election between Brantley and Rivers will be June 24.

"It looks like a pretty substantial majority of the voters did not want Brantley, the incumbent," Rivers said after results were announced. "I feel very good about that. I'll be cranking up tomorrow to do some more campaigning."

Brantley could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

District 122 includes all of Jasper County and a small portion of northern Beaufort County.

Rivers has accused Brantley of being in the pocket of lobbyists who support private schools. Brantley, who introduced a bill that would provide tax credits for parents who pay tuition for their children, has said he simply thinks all children deserve a quality education.

A former superintendent of Jasper County schools, Brantley has said improving education is a top priority. Bringing quality jobs to his district and preparing the area for development and growth are also priorities.

Rivers has opposed the "explosive growth" seen in parts of Beaufort and Jasper counties and said that "well-planned, well-thought-out growth" would be a top goal of his tenure in the House, if elected.

Pinckney, a minister for the African Methodist Episcopal Church, has served as senator since 2001. He was the House representative for District 122 from 1997-00.

Among his achievements in office, Pinckney pointed to his efforts to bring a port and a commercial park to Jasper County and legislation that gave greater property rights to owners of heirs' properties.