FLORENCE, S.C. - State Senate hopeful Tim Norwood wants the state Supreme Court to dismiss lawsuits filed by incumbent Sen. Maggie Glover and fellow candidate Kent Williams.

Norwood and Williams faced Glover, D-Florence, in the June 8 Democratic primary.

Norwood received six more votes than Williams and won a runoff spot against Glover, but a mandatory recount conducted on June 14 showed Williams received seven more votes than Norwood.

Norwood filed a protest with the state Democratic Party's Executive Committee and alleged voting fraud. The party voided the primary results and asked Gov. Mark Sanford to order a new election.

That prompted Glover and Williams to ask the high court to throw out the state Democratic Party's decision. Both also asked the court to order a runoff election between them, a move that would exclude Norwood. Sanford has said he won't act until the court does.

In their filings with the state Supreme Court, Glover and Williams say Norwood missed the deadline to file a protest and the committee should not have heard the case.

On Thursday, Norwood called Williams' and Glover's suits an attempt "to block the opportunity for a fair and reasonable election."

"I'll be honest, I didn't know about Mr. Norwood's press conference. I don't care about his press conference," Glover said, "nor do I care about what his opinions are. As my grandmother said, 'Everybody's got one.'"

Norwood is holding up the election process, Williams said. "He held it up when he filed his protest. ... If he had never filed his protest, we would have gone on with the runoff," he said.