Clerk, coroner, judge, constable still to be decided
Open races for Marion County chancery clerk, coroner, District 1 justice court judge and District 1 constable will be heading to runoffs from Tuesday’s Republican primary.
Deputy chancery clerks Elisha Prisk Moree and Joy Daley Baughman will face off in an Aug. 27 runoff for chancery clerk after Moree received 2,954 votes (48.1 percent) compared to 1,993 votes (32.5 percent) for Baughman, based on unofficial returns Tuesday night that included machine and absentee votes.
The Aug. 27 runoff will also feature Jessie Graham versus Carla Thornhill for coroner, Joseph Turney and Brandon Rowell for District 1 justice court judge and Krae Morgan and Gary Holman for District 1 constable.
Turnout was 50 percent Tuesday with 8,189 voters coming to the polls in the county. Circuit Clerk Janette Nolan said there were no major problems. Candidates gathered at the courthouse after polls closed at 7 p.m. to see results coming in.
In the chancery clerk’s race, both of the top two vote-getters are deputy clerks under longtime Chancery Clerk Cass Barnes, who did not seek re-election.
There were 89 affidavit Republican votes remaining to be counted, but there were not enough outstanding votes for Moree to get the 50 percent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff.
The Republican nominee will face Democrat Darrick McGowan, a minister and consultant, in the Nov. 5 general election.
In Tuesday’s primary, District 1 Supervisor Randy Dyess ran third with 854 votes (13.9 percent), and Mark Broom, an oilfield engineer, was fourth with 334 votes (5.4 percent).
Here’s a look at the other races heading to runoffs:
Coroner
Thornhill, 49, and Graham, 57, both of whom are nurses, are vying to replace longtime Coroner Norma Williamson, who didn’t seek re-election.
According machine and absentee results Tuesday night, Graham received 2,054 votes (33.7 percent) versus 1,972 (32.3 percent) for Thornhill. It would have required at least 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff.
Alicia Neal Herrington was third with 973 votes (16 percent) followed by Ashley Davis Nibert (763, 12.5 percent) and Bill Pierce (325 votes, 5.3 percent).
District 1 Justice Court Judge
The District 1 justice court runoff will feature Turney, a Columbia lawyer, and Rowell, a nurse at Marion General Hospital. Incumbent Sharon Hatfield Whitfield did not run again. Turney led the crowded race with 724 votes (25.4 percent) compared to 700 votes (24.5 percent) for Rowell.
Turney said Tuesday night that “we live to fight the friendly fight another day.”
Rowell said he’s “absolutely humbled and honored” to be in the runoff and will be even more humbled to be selected by the voters as a resident of District 1. Rowell lives in District 1, while Turney does not. The law does not require Justice Court judge candidates to live in the district they’re running for, but rather only somewhere in the county.
The winner will face Democrat A.D. Lenoir in the November general election.
David Reed was third in Tuesday’s GOP primary with 533 votes (18.7 percent) followed by Winston “Joe” Cox (429 votes, 15 percent), Carlton Thornhill (288 votes, 10 percent) and Henry Sumrall (178 votes, 6.2 percent).
District 1 Constable
For District 1 constable, Morgan and Holman advanced to a runoff for the right to face Democratic incumbent Brian Foxworth in November’s general election.
Morgan received 1,165 votes (41.2 percent) compared to 789 votes (28.2 percent) for Holman. Eli Turnage was third with 517 votes (18.5 percent) followed by Gerald Rowley with 318 votes (11.4%).
