Columbia-area GOP, Democratic runoff results: Shealy loses, Walker defeats Thigpen (2024)

COLUMBIA — Republican and Democratic voters across the Midlands headed back to the polls for several runoff races June 25.

Voters made some big decisions, with incumbent Sen. KatrinaShealy, R-Lexington, losing her seat and Jeffrey Graham and Mike Jones moving on to compete in a competitive Senate District 35.

Runoffs decide who the party nominates for three seats in the S.C. Statehouse are after no candidate received more than 50 percent of votes in theJune 11 primaries.

Republican Races

Senate District 23: Carlisle Kennedy vs. Katrina Shealy

Shealy lost to personal injury attorneyCarlisle Kennedy with 29.2 percent of the vote compared to Kennedy's 70.8 percent.

Kennedy is a Clemson graduate and previously worked as a prosecutor in Lexington County. He ran on a strong anti-abortion campaign, leaning into the Christian faith and conservative values as his platform.

Shealy wasthe incumbent for District 23 in central Lexington County and the last standing of the GOP "sister senators."The group made headlines when they broke rank to block an abortion ban with limited exceptions and mounted an unsuccessful push against the state's current six-week ban.

Senate District 35: Lindsay Agostini vs. Mike Jones

Jones, an Army veteran, beat Agostini, a Richland County District 2 School Board member, in the race for District 35's senate seat, which encompasses parts of Sumter, Bishopville, Camden and Richland counties.

Jones is a lifelong resident of the area and has close ties with rural Republican clubs in the district, while Agostini is a long-time school board member and former pharmaceutical executive.

Jones had a dominant showing in Kershaw, Lee and Sumter— only falling behind Agostini in Richland County. He won 1,921 votes for 70.8 percent compared to Agostini's 792 votes for 29.2 percent and will face Jeffrey Graham in the general election.

The district leans left after the 2020 redistricting, but margins are slight. Republicans think it could flip the seat with the right candidate.

Senate District 10: Charles Bumgardner vs. Billy Garrett

Garrett will keep his seat with 56.2 percent of the vote compared to Bumgardner's 43.8 percent in the district which stretches from Greenwood County to Saluda and Lexington.

Garrett, a lawyer from Greenwood, ended the night with 1,085 more votes than Bumgardner, a Lexington dentist.

Results were closely tied to voter turnout for the candidates' home counties with Garret leading in Greenwood, Bumgardner leading in Lexington and voters generally splitting the vote in Saluda.

Democratic Races

Senate District 22: Ivory Thigpen vs. Overture Walker

Walker won in Senate District 22 against Thigpen, a state representative, with 2,851 votes for 53.6 percent of the vote to Thigpen's 46.4 percent.

Walker currently serves on the Richland County Council, and is on the ballot in November to continue serving as a councilman. If he wins thesenate seat in November, his opponent — Jim Andreen, a member of the SC Forward Party — wins the council seat.

District 22's senate seat became up for grabs after Sen. Mia McLeod, I-Columbia, decided not to run for reelection. The senator — representing the district that covers parts of northeast Richland down into Forest Acres — broke from the Democratic party in 2023 after losing the gubernatorial nomination race.

Senate District 35: Austin B Floyd Jr vs Jeffrey R Graham

Graham, the mayor of Camden, won his runoff against Floyd, a teacher, in the closest race of the night with Graham receiving 50.3 percent of the vote and Floyd receiving 49.7 percent.

State Sen. Thomas McElveen decided not to run for reelection, leaving the district encompassing parts of Sumter, Bishopville, Camden and outer Richland counties open.

Graham faces Jones, the winner of the GOP primary runoff, in a general election that Republican leaders are eyeing as a chance to grow their majority.

House District 93: Johnny Felder v. Jerry Govan

Govan has won his party's nomination with 1,582 votes for 56.6 percent of the vote compared to Felder, a lawyer and the son of the seat's former representative. He earned 43.4 percent of the vote.

Govan decided to run for the House seat after beingdrawn out of his district in 2022. Govan stepped down from the House and unsuccessfully ran for S.C. education superintendent before deciding to run for the seat that Rep. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, currently holds.

Find more election coverage at postandcourier.com/politics