Primary election results

By Annie Rigby

The primary election ended on Tuesday, June 9, at 7 p.m. The votes were tallied and posted at the two precincts in Loris and in Conway.

Voting in person was quick and painless with social distancing following the marks on the floor and entering in one door and out another, using a cotton swab to touch the screen and carrying the ballot to the box to be drawn in to be electronically counted. Things went pretty smooth at the polls. With a record number of absentee ballots to be counted there was a delay in reporting from some of the precincts. The unofficial vote counts follow.

For Loris District 9 for Horry County Council candidates Mark Causey (1,236) with 41% votes, Terry Fowler (995) with 33% votes, Rome Prince (690) and Marshall E. Russell (116). A run-off election will be held on Tuesday, June 23, between Causey and Fowler. The winner will take the seat with no challenger.

Horry County Council District 10 Candidates Danny Hardee (2,273) with 73% votes and Stephen Whisnant (838) with 27% votes. There is no challenger. Hardee will take the seat.

U.S. Senate Lindsey Graham (28,216) received 67.4% of the votes for the Republican Primary. The Democratic Party Chair Jaime Harrison will be on the November ballot.

U.S. House of Representatives, District 7, Melissa Ward Watson received (26,569) 51%; Robert Williams (21,715) 42% of the vote at 11 p.m. Not all precincts had responded. There may be a possibility of a run-off between Watson and Williams. The winner will face Tom Rice in November, he is seeking his fifth term in office.

A preliminary count for S.C. Senate District 33 Luke Rankin (4,355) 41% vote and John Gallman (3,501) 33%. The count is at 82 percent reported for the district seat and a run-off election may be the next step.

S.C. House District 105 Kevin Hardee (3,094) received 63% of the reported votes with 92 percent of the precincts reporting. There will be no Democratic challenger in the November election.

Horry County Auditor with 92 percent reporting, Beth Calhoun (11,604) with 40% votes and R. A. Johnson (10,550) with 37%. A run-off election may be held in two weeks. There is no challenger in November.

Your vote counts in the primary election. Those who voted in person, early vote or absentee have decisions to make in the run-off elections that will be held on Tuesday, June 23, to have their voice counted.