Tea Party candidates to take office

With more than 1 million votes cast on Tuesday, state Rep. Nikki Haley won the state’s highest office to become South Carolina’s first female and the nation’s second Indian-American governor elected.

The Tea-Party backed 38-year-old married mother of two shouldered unproven accusations of infidelity, questions about her finances and experience and the handwringing of business groups, and fellow Republicans worried she will continue Sanford's acrimonious relationship with the state Legislature's GOP leaders.

The heated race came down to the wire as Haley earned 51 percent of the vote compared to Democrat Vincent Sheheen’s 47 percent. Fewer 60,000 votes separated the two. Third party candidate Morgan Bruce Reeves received nearly 20,000 votes.

Sheheen kept the race closer than many had expected he could. Haley raised $3.9 million for the campaign and spent $3.7 million; Sheheen raised $3.9 million and spent $3.8 million.

Both Darlington and Chesterfield counties fell in the Sheheen column. Fifty-eight percent of Darlington County voters and 56 percent of Chesterfield County voters chose the Democrat.

In the hotly contested race for the U.S. House of Representatives District 5 seat, Republican and Tea Party-backed Mick Mulvaney defeated 28-year incumbent Democrat John Spratt with 55 percent of the vote. In Darlington County, the race was much closer with less than 300 votes separating the two. Darlington County preferred Spratt with 51 percent of the vote. In Chesterfield County, the opposite was true as voters favored Mulvaney with 52 percent.

Mulvaney, 43, lived in Charlotte for most of his life before moving a few miles away to South Carolina in 2002. He worked as a lawyer before becoming a real estate investor and developer, spending two years in the state House before running for the state Senate in 2008.

Throughout the campaign, he said he considered Spratt a friend who just fell out of touch with the people in his district.

"Obviously I'm going to vote differently from John. But my staff will make sure the people will not see a drop off in their constituent service," Mulvaney said.

Spratt was first elected in 1982 and managed to keep his seat fairly easily despite the growing Republican tide in South Carolina. His previous closest race came in 1994, when he won with 52 percent of the votes as the GOP again swept control of the U.S. House from Democrats.

Spratt, 68, considered retiring after finding out he had Parkinson's disease but was encouraged to run again by Democrats who hoped hanging on to his seat might help them keep control of the U.S. House.

The Hartsville Tea Party endorsed both Haley and Mulvaney and was happy with Tuesday’s results.

“We’re very heartened by the results, not just here but nationwide,” Hartsville Tea Party organizer Eric King said. He did warn the newly-elected that the Tea Party would be watching to make sure they do what they promised.

“We’re not going to sit on our laurels,” King said. “This fight’s not over. The Tea Party is here to stay.”

Despite several breaking news items about Republican Ken Ard (his son’s DUI and a campaign consultant’s arrest warrant for paying for and organizing automated robocalls), Ard won the lieutenant governor’s office with 55 percent of the vote over Democrat Ashley Cooper. Cooper picked up 51 percent of the vote in Chesterfield, but only earned 27 more votes than Ard in Darlington County.

Ard, 46, is a Florence County councilman and former co-owner of a truck body business founded by his father.

With his background as a businessman who met a payroll and balanced a budget, Ard has said he will make the Office on Aging "the most efficient, customer-friendly office in state government.

Ard said he wants to help seniors file consumer complaints in a timely manner, increase punishments for criminals who prey on the elderly and create seminars to forge "intergenerational wellness" programs for children, parents and grandparents.

Republican Mark Hammond will remain Secretary of State. He defeated Democrat Marjorie Johnson by a healthy margin 61 percent of the vote. Hammond won Darlington and Chesterfield counties with 52 and 53 percent of the vote respectively.

Republican Alan Wilson will replace Attorney General Henry McMaster in January as he earned 54 percent of the vote over Democrat Matthew Richardson. Wilson’s leading campaign argument was the repeal of “Obamacare” though both candidates supported the state’s lawsuit. Darlington County favored Richardson with 52 percent of the vote as did Chesterfield County with 51 percent.

Republican Richard Eckstrom defeated Democrat challenger Robert Barber to retain his seat as Comptroller General again, winning 56 percent of the vote. Darlington County favored Barber with 52 percent of the vote while Chesterfield County went for Eckstrom by a much closer 17-vote margin.

The State Superintendent of Education will flip back to Republican hands as Mick Zais won 51 percent of the statewide vote. Darlington and Chesterfield counties preferred Democrat Frank Holleman with 49 and 51 percent of the vote respectively.

Zais, 63, had been a vocal advocate of using tax credits to offset private tuition costs. He opposed expanding public preschool classes, saying he wants to concentrate instead on after-school and summer tutoring in the elementary grades for students who are behind in reading.

Republican Hugh Weathers remains Commissioner of Agriculture with 60 percent of the vote despite questions raised by Democratic challenger Tom Elliott about Weathers’ performance in office. Darlington and Chesterfield counties favored Weathers with 51 and 52 percent of the vote respectively.

For U.S. Senate, Republican Jim DeMint won handily over Democrat Alvin Greene and Green Party candidate Tom Clements. DeMint earned 61 percent of the vote statewide while Greene has 28 percent and Clements 9 percent. DeMint’s edge was more narrow in Darlington County, winning just 52 percent of the vote, but he easily won Chesterfield County with 55 percent.

Greene barely campaigned and never raised enough to break the $5,000 threshold that required him to report finances. DeMint spent $3.5 million he raised to instead help other conservative candidates.

All four state constitutional amendments passed by wide margins of 70 percent or larger. The first will enshrine state residents’ right to hunt and fish; the second will guarantee a secret ballot for union votes; the third will require the state to increase the General Reserve Fund, its “rainy day” fund, from 3 percent to 5 percent of the previous year’s revenue; and the fourth will require the state to replenish the General Reserve Fund instead of offsetting midyear budget cuts at state agencies.

Nearly two-thirds of voters (64 percent) in Darlington County chose to vote straight party ticket with 38 percent of all ballots cast going to the Democratic Party and 26 percent to the Republican Party.

That amount was slightly lower in Chesterfield County with 59 percent of voters choosing a straight party ticket. Thirty-four percent of all ballots cast went to the Democratic Party and 25 percent to the Republican Party.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.