Kennedy holds his House seat; Darby stays on

KINGSTREE - The turnout was light for the runoff for House seat 101 held by incumbent Kenneth Kennedy, and challenged by Pearl Brown. The seat will go to the winner of this Democratic primary, since no Republican candidate has filed for this district, which lies entirely within Williamsburg County.
Williamsburg Elections Commissioner Priscilla Cooper noted that Black River precinct only reported four votes, while others ran much lower than in most general elections. The overall turnout was only 4,168, which is 22.75% of the electorate, she said.
Incumbent Ken Kennedy held onto his seat with 2,209 votes, while Pearl Brown had 1,861 in the final tally, said Cooper.
The runoff was necessary because neither candidate got a majority in the first Democratic Primary. To be a winner, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the votes cast and the first primary was a four-way race between Kennedy, Brown, Alfred L. Darby, and Demar Lamont Roberts. Kennedy received 41% of the vote with 2,839; Brown received 28% of the votes with 1,900; Roberts received 24% with 1,652; and Darby received 7% with 512.
In a tightly contested race for seat three on the Williamsburg County Council, Harry Lee Darby held on to his seat with 393 votes, while his challenger Murrie Beaufort gained 381 votes. No Republican candidates have filed.