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Candidates file for statewide offices, House seats
SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Statewide office candidates, many of whom hit the campaign trail months ago, made their intentions official Thursday, the first day to file for hundreds of elected offices across the state.
Some 124 House seats, nine statewide offices, six congressional seats and other local offices are up for grabs this year, and several candidates already face crowded primaries in June.
Lieutenant governor candidate Mike Campbell of Columbia and education superintendent candidate Karen Floyd of Spartanburg made their filing a family affair at state Republican headquarters.
Campbell, son of the late former Gov. Carroll Campbell, was accompanied by his mother Iris, wife Maria, 2-year-old daughter Riley, and brother Carroll Campbell III.
Mike Campbell, whose noon signing marked the day's first at the GOP headquarters in Lexington, said it was important to have his family by his side. He left carrying his daughter and her Barbie dolls.
"I think Carroll would be really pleased," Iris Campbell said. "Growing up, Mike was a listener. ... I see a lot of his dad in him."
Campbell faces incumbent Andre Bauer, who's seeking a second term as lieutenant governor, in the June primary. Democratic candidate Robert Barber, a Lowcountry restaurant owner and former lobbyist, also filed Thursday. Both Bauer and Barber are former state legislators.
Floyd filed with her husband and 9-year-old twins Ernie and Chris, who are in third grade at a Spartanburg public school.
"I just want her to win," Ernie said. Chris added, it's "cool" his mom is running, and that he has learned a lot about politics and making speeches over the last year.
Floyd, a former Spartanburg County Council chairwoman and currently chief executive of a marketing firm, was the first superintendent candidate to file.
Both parties will have crowded primaries in that race. At least four Democrats, four additional Republicans and one independent also have announced plans to run.
"When I came into the race, the lay of the land was very different," said Floyd, noting that many thought incumbent Inez Tenenbaum would seek a third term. "Today is the validation of efforts that have lasted over a year."
State Sen. Tommy Moore of Clearwater held a rally on the Statehouse steps as he prepared to file for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and wasted little time before criticizing Republican Gov. Mark Sanford.
"I'm running for governor because our current governor has failed the common man, from the store clerk, to the third-shift worker, to the young professional, the CEO. All of us have been failed," Moore said.
Sanford's campaign manager Jason Miller stood with a crowd of more than one hundred people at the rally and said afterward it wasn't "surprising that a liberal, 27-year, Columbia insider would kick off his campaign from the Statehouse."
Miller said Moore is "long on liberal rhetoric, but has no solutions."
"They shortchanged me. It's my 28th year," Moore quipped.
Sanford is expected to file next week. The Republican governor will face Prosperity doctor Oscar Lovelace in the primary. Moore faces Florence Mayor Frank Willis in the Democratic primary.
Incumbents not seeking re-election include 22-year House veteran Ronnie Townsend, an Anderson Republican who announced his retirement Thursday.
Townsend, who has served as chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee since 1995, is the sixth-longest-serving House member.
"It's the right thing to do," he said. "There are a lot of things I've put off doing. ... I've enjoyed every minute of this job."
Townsend, 58, said he wrestled with the idea of retiring for a long time before making the decision Wednesday. He added he and his wife will enjoy square dancing again, an activity they haven't had time for since he was first elected in 1984.
At least six other Republicans and four Democrats in the House also are not seeking re-election. State senators don't face re-election this year.
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Associated Press Writer Jim Davenport contributed to this article.
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