FOCUS: Lots of elections coming to the Lowcountry

Staff reports |  You can tell election time is nearing.  Just witness all of the political advertising clutter between newsbreaks on the local television stations.  This year, there are more competitive elections than in recent memory, likely because of the increasing inter-party sniping and overall partisanship, rants and social divides impacting the state and nation since the 2016 national election.

So we thought it would be helpful to provide you with an early guide to  the elections on the ballot in federal, statewide, legislative and county offices in Charleston County so  you can figure out who you might want to vote for and which primary you’ll make your picks.

You can see a sample ballot based on where you live by checking your voter registration through SCVotes.org.

Following is a list of elections linked to candidate websites when we could find them:

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

Federal offices

DEM: U.S. House, District 1

• Joe Cunningham
• Toby Smith

Statewide offices

DEM: Governor

• Phil Noble
• James Smith
• Marguerite Willis

Charleston County primary races

DEM: Probate Judge

• Stephanie Ganaway-Pasley
• Kelsey Willey

DEM: Register of Deeds

• Patrick H. Bell
• Michael Miller

Advisory questions, Democratic primary

1:  Do you support passing a state law allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients?

2:  Do you support passing a state law requiring the governor of South Carolina to accept all federal revenues offered to support Medicaid and Medicaid expansion efforts in the state?

REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

Federal offices

GOP: U.S. House, District 1

• Katie Arrington
• Dimitri Cherny
• Mark Sanford

Statewide offices

GOP: Governor

• Kevin Bryant
• John Yancey McGill
• Henry McMaster
• Catherine Templeton
• John Warren

GOP: Secretary of State

• Nelson Faerber
• Mark Hammond
• Joshua Putnam
• Kerry Wood

GOP: Attorney General

• Todd Atwater
• William D. Herlong
• Alan Wilson

Legislative races

 (NOTE:  There are 18 different ballot styles, each reflecting the single member districts in which voters live.  You will only be able to vote for the candidates in these races that represent your home district.)

GOP: S.C. House of Representatives, District 15 (part of North Charleston area)

• Samuel Rivers Jr.
• Steven Smith

GOP: S.C. House of Representatives, District 94 (part of North Charleston area)

• Con Chellis
• Evan Guthrie
• Glenn Zingarino

GOP: S.C. House of Representatives, District 110 (Peninsular Charleston, part of Mount Pleasant)

• William S. Cogswell Jr.
• Will Freeman
• Russell Guerard

GOP: S.C. House of Representatives, District 112 (Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, part of Mount Pleasant)

• Jason Clouse
• Mike Sottile

GOP: S.C. House of Representatives, District 116 (Hollywood, Ravenel area)

• Charles A. Glover
• Carroll O’Neal

GOP: S.C. House of Representatives, District 117 (Part of North Charleston)

• Bill Crosby
• Jordan Scott Pace

Charleston County primary races

GOP: County Council, District Two (East Cooper area voters only)

• Joe Bowers
• Dickie Schweers

GOP: County Council, District 8 (John’s Island, part of James Island)

• Joe Boykin
• Jackie Todd

GOP: County Council, District 9 (Most of James Island)

• Jenny Costa Honeycutt
• Joe Qualey

GOP: Register of Deeds

• Dan Gregory
• Tom Hartnett

Advisory questions, Republican primary

1. Do you believe that voters should have the option to choose to affiliate with a political party when they register to vote or change their voter registration in South Carolina?
2. Do you believe that South Carolina’s tax code should be brought into conformity with the new Trump tax cuts in the federal tax code for maximum simplification and to lower the overall tax burden on South Carolina taxpayers and businesses?

• Have a comment? Send to:  charlestoncurrents@gmail.com