Newberry County Election Results

NEWBERRY — The Newberry County Board of Voter Registration and Election Commission certified the General Election results on Nov. 6 and 18,787 of 26,220 registered voters cast their ballots in Newberry County.

This gave Newberry County a 71.65 percent voter turnout, this is only slightly under the state turn out — according to scvotes.org, 2,532,995 registered voters in South Carolina cast their ballot for a 72.10 percent voter turnout.

During the election certification, 13 provisional ballots were not counted due to not meeting the guidelines, seven were counted as was one failsafe ballot. Due to a less than one percent difference in the County Council District Five race, a recount was triggered; however, the outcome did not change.

Here are the results from the local contested elections:

State Senate District 18:

(Incumbent) REP Ronnie Cromer: Newberry County: 12,437, total: 45,982 (winner)

DEM Christopher Thibault: Newberry County: 6,116, total: 17,606

Write-In Totals: 9

“I would like to thank all of the supporters in District 18 who came out and supported me in this election, also for all the past support they gave me. Special thank you to the Election Commission in South Carolina, and most especially Lexington, Newberry and Union counties, they had the results to us in two and a half hours after the polls closed. Thank goodness we’ve all worked hard in South Carolina to provide good voting practices and that held true in this election — especially with all the new voting machines. Happy the folks who worked the polls and election officers pulled of such an amazing feat,” Cromer said.

County Council District Four:

REP Robert Nick Shealy: 1,613 (winner)

“I want to give everyone in District Four here in Newberry a heartfelt thank you for your support in the general elections on November 3. It is my honor and privilege to serve as not only the councilman for District Four, but for the entire county. There are many challenges that lie ahead, such as an overall tax review, incentive grocery stores and family style restaurants that may be interested in coming to our area, attract and promote calculated residential growth, among many other pressing issues. I will work hard to make Newberry a place where you want to work, live, and raise your families. Again, thank you for entrusting me to be your voice on County Council and I look forward to serving you, the people of our great county,” Shealy said.

(Incumbent) DEM Kirksey Koon: 1,063

Write-In Totals: 1

“I would like to thank everyone who supported and worked for me during the November 3, 2020, election. It has been an honor and privilege to serve on County Council for the past 12 years. You, the people of Newberry County, have given me a gift that I will cherish for the rest of my life. My service has never been about me, but the people I represent. I have never put politics or a political party before your best interest. My prayer for the four newly elected council members is for God to guide them and give them the knowledge and wisdom to make the best decisions for the people of Newberry County. Thank you so much for allowing me to serve. God Bless all of you, our country and Newberry County,” Koon said.

County Council District Five:

REP Les Hipp: 1,167 (winner)

“I want to thank those that gave of their time and resources to support my election bid; and also the voters that entrusted me with their vote. But the election is over and now I work for all citizens within Newberry County, regardless of who they voted for, regardless of party, and regardless of district lines. I look forward to helping make Newberry County an even better place to call home. Thank you,” Hipp said.

(Incumbent) DEM Harriet Rucker: 1,150

Write-In Totals: 2

“I have had the honor and privilege of serving District Five on County Council these past four years. I have met many wonderful people in my service to the county for which I am grateful. During my tenure on council, we have enjoyed many accomplishments for the betterment of the county that make me proud.

“Samsung joined us and brought about opportunities of jobs for our citizens as well as becoming a vital force within the community. Along with Samsung, other suppliers have joined our community to support Samsung as well as other industries. These, to, have provided additional jobs. Some of our existing industries have expanded providing additional job opportunities too.

“We have managed the budget so that our taxes are the lowest they have been a number of years. This year we were able to work with Sheriff Foster to increase the pay for our road deputies to get their pay on a competitive scale of our surrounding counties without raising taxes.

“There are numerous things I could talk about with the successes of council, but I will close by saying a special thank you to our Newberry County Council, our administrator, our county employees, and other elected officials, and our volunteers for their hard work and ability to work well together to build a better Newberry County. We are fortunate to have this team of wonderful people working hard every day for Newberry County.

“I would also like to express my appreciation to the City of Newberry. They, too, work hard and work well with the county as we try to find ways to make our city and county they best we can be. Currently, we are working together to bring a new grocery store to Newberry.

“A special thank you to all our citizens who supported me in this election. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please join me in continuing to be active and to join in all efforts to help Newberry grow and proposer. We live in a wonderful place, a county with so much potential. Thank you for inviting me into your homes and being so gracious. I look forward to seeing each of you again. Please stay in touch with me. God bless each of you.,” said Rucker.

School Board District Three:

Leila M Caldwell: 987

(Incumbent) Lucy Anne Meetze: 1,112 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 17

“I would like to thank all those who supported me and I look forward to continuing to serve on the Newberry County School Board. I will continue to do my part in ensuring that our school district continues to provide all that our students need and require in order to have a bright future,” Meetze said.

Mayor Whitmire:

(Incumbent) Billy Hollingsworth: 374 (winner)

Tomekia R Means: 234

Write-In Totals: 0

“I’m very appreciative of the citizens of Whitmire for reelecting me for a third term. I’d like to continue with the projects we have and serve all citizens of Whitmire as their mayor. I will try and continue to make Whitmire better, and make Whitmire grow. Thanks to all of those who voted for me, I’m very appreciative of that,” Hollingsworth said.

The following were the results for the non-contested local elections:

State House of Representatives District 40:

(Incumbent) REP Rick Martin: 14,024 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 330

Solicitor Circuit 8:

(Incumbent) REP David Stumbo: Newberry County: 13,928, total: 71,760 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 222

Sheriff:

(Incumbent) DEM Lee Foster: 15,778 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 296

Clerk of Court:

(Incumbent) DEM Elizabeth P Folk: 14,657 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 195

Coroner:

(Incumbent) REP Laura G Kneece: 14,316 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 165

Auditor:

(Incumbent) DEM Donna W Lominack: 14,643 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 170

County Treasurer:

(Incumbent) DEM Karen Lindler Smith: 14,905 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 193

County Council District One:

REP Todd A Johnson: 2,176 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 19

County Council District Two:

REP Mary C Arrowood: 3,604 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 42

Soil and Water District Commission:

(Incumbent) Doug Heydt: 11,418 (winner)

Write-in Totals: 119

School Board District One:

(Incumbent) Ike Bledsoe: 1,797 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 31

School Board Four:

(Incumbent) Jody M Hamm: 1,771 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 32

School Board District Six:

(Incumbent) Jessie M Reeder: 1,302 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 26

Mayor Little Mountain:

(Incumbent) Jana W Jayroe: 121 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 12

Town Council Little Mountain:

Vote for 2

David C Bowers: 107 (winner)

Laura H McLeod: 103 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 5

Town of Pomaria:

Vote for 2

(Incumbent) William C Fanning Jr: 55 (winner)

(Incumbent) James R Redden: 52 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 2

Town Council Whitmire:

Vote for 3

Johnathan Ammons: 368 (winner)

(Incumbent) Dwight Lane: 457 (winner)

(Incumbent) Marty McMurtury: 410 (winner)

Write-In Totals: 55

State and national elections:

President and Vice President:

GRN Howie Hawkins | Angela Walker: Newberry County: 60, State: 6,906, National (AP): 354,942

REP Donald J Trump | Michael R Pence: Newberry County: 11,443, State: 1,385,093, National (AP): 71,069,904

ALN Roque Rocky De La Fuente | Darcy G Richardson: Newberry County: 18, State: 1,862, National (AP): data not shown

LIB Jo Jorgensen | Jeremy Spike Cohen: Newberry County: 152, State: 27,916, National (AP): 1,744,671

DEM Joseph R Biden | Kamala D Harris: Newberry County: 6,958, State: 1,091,537, National (AP): 75,664,338

U.S. Senate:

CON Bill Bledsoe: Newberry County: 277, State: 32,845

REP Lindsey Graham: Newberry County: 11,239, State: 1,369,128 (winner)

DEM Jamie Harrison: Newberry County: 7,094, State: 1,110,822

U.S. House of Representatives District Two:

REP Jeff Duncan: Newberry County: 2,458, State: 237,544 (winner)

DEM Hosea Cleveland: Newberry County: 968, State: 95,712

U.S. House of Representatives District Five:

REP Ralph Norman: Newberry County: 9,433, State: 220,006

DEM Moe Brown: Newberry County: 5,650, State: 145,979