Tag: SC Democratic Party

SCEC Rules Gloria Bromell Tinubu Winner

SCEC Rules Gloria Bromell Tinubu Winner

For the time being, Gloria Bromell Tinubu is the winner of the Democratic primary election for the nomination for the new 7th Congressional District.

The S.C. Election Commission voted 3-2 Friday to not count the approximately 2,300 votes cast for withdrawn candidate Ted Vick in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election for the new 7th Congressional District.

By not counting the Vick votes, Gloria Bromell Tinubu wins the nomination because she garnered nearly 53 percent of the votes counted to 39 percent for second place Preston Brittain.

But, in this year of one election lawsuit after another, the decision will now go to court.

Finally, Fireworks in 7th Congressional District

Political fireworks are finally being launched in the 7th Congressional District primary races.

To date, the complete lack of buzz about the race district wide has been its most noticeable characteristic. Now that 10 of the original 14 candidates have been eliminated, we are finally getting down to some “good ole Pee Dee politickin.”

The biggest issue right now is if there will be a Democratic runoff election between Gloria Bromell Tinubu and Preston Brittain. The S.C. Election Commission will certify the election results from the primary Friday. There are two possibilities, one that Tinubu will be ruled the winner outright or two that a runoff will be held.

At issue are the nearly 2,300 votes Ted Vick received in Tuesday’s voting, two weeks after Vick dropped out of the race. Vick’s name remained on the ballot. With the Vick votes included in the vote totals, Tinubu captured 49 percent of the total vote and a runoff would be required. Without the Vick votes included, Tinubu took 52 percent of the total which would give her the win outright.

Preston Brittain Campaign Claims Runoff

Preston Brittain Campaign Claims Runoff

The Preston Brittain for Congress Campaign sent out an e-mail to volunteers and supporters Wednesday night saying there would be a runoff for the 7th Congressional District Democratic nomination.

The e-mail said, “I am proud to announce that we have won a spot in the runoff election.”

However, indications are that the final determination will be made by the S.C. Election Commission when it meets Friday June 15, 2012 to certify the results from the June 12th primary election.

At issue are the nearly 2,300 votes Ted Vick received in Tuesday’s voting, two weeks after Vick dropped out of the race. Vick’s name remained on the ballot. The S.C. Election Commission did not include Vick’s votes in its published results on scvotes.org.

Election Day at Last…

The election day that we weren’t sure was going to happen is now upon us.

With nearly 300 candidates wiped from the ballot due to their failing to file required paperwork properly and several unsuccessful attempts at the state court level to have at least some of them restored, one last ditch effort was attempted yesterday at the federal court level to hold off the election.

It only took hours for a three judge panel to decline to issue an injunction holding off the primary. According to reports, the judges met in a conference call and denied to hear the case.

In all honesty, it was a long stretch to attempt to find standing in federal court for the five plaintiffs that filed the case. They were all candidates, some from each party, who were tossed from the ballot earlier due to irregularities with their paperwork.

Republican Party’s Day in Court

The Republican Party will have the opportunity Monday to convince the justices of the S.C. Supreme Court that it did follow state law and the May 2, 2012 ruling of the court in certifying candidates for the June 12, 2012 primary ballot.

The task will not be easy for party officials because documents released in the past month point to the fact that the party did not follow the law. In fact, charges of favoritism and cherry picking candidates for certification have been levied by unsuccessful candidates.

Two cases will be heard Monday. The first has the Florence County Democratic Party suing the Florence County Republican Party for certifying candidates who did not file in accordance with the law. The second has House District 105 candidate Bert von Hermann suing to have candidate Blake Hewitt removed from the ballot for not filing properly. Von Hermann is already off the ballot for the same reason.

From the Court Room to the Living Room

Election ballot issues shifted from the court room to the living room Monday when a federal three judge panel threw out the lawsuit challenging the continuing candidate certification issues for upcoming Republican and Democratic primaries throughout the state.

The complaint said military personnel serving overseas should have 45 days before the election to receive, fill out and return their ballots. Absentee ballots for federal elections, Congressional races this year, were sent 45 days prior to the election, according to the S.C. Election Commission.

A separate ballot, containing names for state and local candidates was sent later, after the S.C. Supreme Court decision eliminated nearly 200 candidates from certification two weeks ago. The complaint argued the splitting of the ballots was illegal under election law.

Candidate Qualifications Remain In Doubt

So far we have had two orders from the S.C. Supreme Court, a recertification of eligibility of candidates by the S.C. Republican and Democratic parties and an ongoing challenge in federal court with respect to the upcoming June 12th primary elections. Yet, there are still difficulties with the candidates currently certified to appear on the ballots.

Despite very strict rulings by the Supreme Court on Section 8-13-1356(B) with respect to certification of non-incumbent candidates, by our tally 10 challengers for S.C. House seats remain in violation of those rulings but are certified for inclusion on the ballot. (See link below)

This would be egregious by itself considering all the questions that have already been raised about the qualifications of candidates for the upcoming June primaries. However, it is not the only question that remains unanswered about candidates for those elections.

Election Filing Case in Court’s Hands

Arguments have been heard and a decision is expected within a few days ruling who will be eligible to be placed on the Republican and Democratic ballots for the upcoming June 12, 2012 primary elections.

The case, brought by two Lexington County voters, requests the Court to declare any candidate who did not file a Statement of Economic Interests (SEI) concurrently with their Statement of Intention of Candidacy (SIC) be ruled ineligible to be placed on the June primary ballot.

While five candidates from Lexington County who failed to comply with the law were mentioned in the lawsuit, the case has ramifications statewide.

During the court hearing, justices indicated a broad ruling that will apply to all candidates who filed for the upcoming June 12th Republican and Democratic primaries will be forthcoming.

Dems Schedule Candidate Events

Horry County Democratic voters will get three chances to hear from the candidates for the new 7th Congressional District across the next several months.

The four announced Democratic candidates, Preston Brittain, Gloria Tinubu, Parnell Diggs and Ted Vick will be at a reception commemorating Black History Month Saturday February 25th. The reception will be held at the Mason Temple C.O.G.I.C., 1501 7th Avenue, Conway beginning at 6 p.m.

The reception will offer the opportunity to sample recipes from the Horry County Democratic Party cookbook, meet the guest of honor, Mother Laura Grate who is 104 years old, and meet and speak with the candidates.

Political Profile – Gloria Bromell Tinubu, PhD

We’ve all heard the old saying ‘you can’t go home again.’ Gloria Bromell Tinubu not only has come home, but she intends to make home bigger, better and more fruitful as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the new 7th Congressional District seat.

“I came to South Carolina in August for a visit and decided to come back home,” said Bromell Tinubu. “I talked to some people and the subject turned to politics. The more I talked to people, the more excited I became. I decided in December to run for the open seat because I felt in my heart that it was something I was supposed to do.”

An applied economist, educator, and public servant, Tinubu has 34 years of experience as an economist and community leader.