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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Early election numbers Tuesday night show the top two candidates in the Charleston mayor’s race are just three percentage points apart.
As of 11:07 p.m., incumbent John Tecklenburg, with 32% of the vote, was trailing former State Rep. William Cogswell, who had 36% of the vote, so the two candidates are expected to face off in two weeks in a runoff. Clay Middleton was in third place with 18% of the vote.
City of Charleston election rules require more than 50% of the vote to declare a winner, because neither candidate reached 50%, it’s likely there will be a runoff between Tecklenburg and Cogswell.
Unofficial results from the South Carolina Election Commission show Burgess winning the race for mayor of North Charleston with 58% of the vote.
Todd Olds was in second place with 15%, followed by Teddie Pryor Sr., with 8%, and John Singletary with 5%. None of the other six candidates had more than 3% of the vote.
In the special election for State Senate District 42, Democratic State Rep. Deon Tedder took an 81% lead over Republican Challenger Rosa Kay, who had 17% of the vote. The winner of the race takes the seat formerly held by Marlon Kimpson. Kimpson left the state Senate to take a position on President Joe Biden’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
The Summerville mayor’s race showed Russ Touchberry ahead with 54% of the vote to Dickie Miler’s 41% and Vickie Fagan’s 3%.
With 10 of 10 precincts reporting in the Moncks Corner mayor’s race, it appeared incumbent Michael Lockliear lost his reelection bid to challenger Thomas Hamilton. The two were less than 100 votes apart.
The final counts in all races must be certified by the South Carolina Election Commission.
Here are the key races up for grabs in the 2023 election
Two of the most talked about mayoral races are for the cities of Charleston and North Charleston.
In Charleston, incumbent Mayor John Tecklenburg sought his third term. The field challenging Tecklenburg included an attorney, a current city councilman, a former state representative, a community activist and a former aide to Rep. Jim Clyburn.
Businessman and former State Rep. William Cogswell, who represented House District 110 for six years; community organizer Mika Gadsden, attorney and Charleston School of Law visiting professor Debra Gammons, Clay Middleton, a former aide to Rep. Jim Clyburn; and Charleston City Councilman Peter Shahid, who has represented District 9 since 2016, are all vying to become the city’s next mayor.
In North Charleston, a total of 10 candidates fought to fill the seat to be left by outgoing Mayor Keith Summey, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek election.
The candidates who ran for Summey’s office included former North Charleston Police Chief Reggie Burgess, North Charleston Councilwoman Rhonda Jerome, retired FedEx Express operations manager Russ Coletti, retired Summary Court Judge Stephanie Ganaway-Pasley, College of Charleston Board of Governors member Curtis Merriweather Jr., former North Charleston City Councilman Todd Olds, Charleston County Councilman Teddie Pryor Sr., businessman John Singletary, Charleston County Board of Zoning Appeals Board member and nonprofit founder Jesse Williams and the Rev. Dr. Samuel Whatley, a college adjunct professor.
A total of 34 candidates sought to fill the 10 North Charleston city council seats.
Three people ran in the James Island mayor’s race to succeed Bill Woolsey. Voters were asked to decide between Brook Lyon, Gresham Meggett III and Josh Stokes.
Kingstree Mayor Darren Tisdale, who has been mayor since 2016, hoped to keep his seat but faces a fight from challenger Latonya Davis
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