Four months after the race was supposed to be decided, who will represent S.C. Senate District 30 in Columbia is now simply a question of numbers.

Incumbent Maggie Glover finished first in the Sept. 28 primary with 6,193 votes, followed by Kent Williams in second with 5,993 votes. Tim Norwood finished last with 5,152 votes and was eliminated from the race.

With Williams only trailing by 200 votes, if all those who voted in the Sept. 28 primary return to the polls Tuesday, Norwood’s votes would decide the race.

But, that’s if his supporters return to the polls. Norwood has not publicly endorsed either of his former opponents.

Despite the obvious edge Norwood’s votes would provide, Williams and Glover said they haven’t specifically targeted former Norwood supporters.

“We’re focusing campaign efforts on all the citizens of District 30, and we’re picking up support from both sides, former Glover supporters and former Norwood supporters,” Williams said. “We’re just doing what we’ve been doing all along, trying to make personal contact with as many people as possible and talking about the issues that are near and dear to the people’s hearts.”

Williams said people have been encouraged by his message and he is confident he will be District 30’s next senator.

“All over the place, people are saying that it’s time for a change, that we need new leadership in District 30,” Williams said. “What we have now has not worked.

“Our senator has failed us. When our senator says that it’s not her job to bring jobs to this area, it’s obvious she’s in the wrong business,” he said. “She says it’s her job to legislate. Well, we’ve already got plenty of laws on the books. We need jobs and economic development.”

Glover defended her position on the jobs question, saying her record serves as proof of her accomplishments in economic development.

“I’m very, very proud of my record,” Glover said. “Look at the I-73 project and all the industrial parks we have in this area - these are the types of economic development projects I’ve been a part of. In my 12 years, I’ve worked to provide the infrastructure and other things we need to be able to attract business and industry to the area, and I’m very proud of that.”

Glover said she has spent the last two weeks campaigning throughout the district and feels good about Tuesday’s runoff.

“We’re working hard to improve voter turnout throughout the district, in Florence, Dillon, Marion and Marlboro (counties),” Glover said. “We’ve been able to do a lot more one-on-one with people throughout the district.

“The more I talk to people, I’ve found that after I explain to them what my job actually is, I normally walk away with a converted voter,” she said. “So, yes, I’m confident at this point.”

Tuesday’s runoff marks the culmination of months of controversy in the District 30 Senate race, a controversy that began as soon as the votes were counted for the June 8 Senate District 30 Democratic Primary.

While Glover took first place in the race with 35 percent of the vote, the initial election night count showed a dead heat between Norwood and Williams, with Norwood ahead by seven votes. The June 9 certification of the election results, however, produced a different result, with six votes separating Norwood and Williams.

According to state law, a mandatory recount of the vote must be held by individual county election commissions if less than 1 percent of the total vote separates two candidates. On June 12, the election results were sent to the state Election Commission for certification, which ordered the mandatory recount.

The recount was held June 14 and again, the results differed. This time, the count showed Williams ahead of Norwood by six votes.

Meanwhile, Williams filed an election protest with the S.C. Democratic Party, alleging several instances of voter fraud and irregularities in the counting of absentee ballots. Norwood filed a protest of his own, and was heard June 16 after Williams withdrew his protest.

Based on evidence presented by Norwood, the Executive Committee of the state Democratic Party voted 18-3 to void the results of the June 8 primary, and ask Gov. Mark Sanford to order a special election. The committee also voted to turn over all the evidence presented by Norwood to the State Law Enforcement Division for investigation.

Since the executive committee made its decision, Williams and Glover filed petitions with the S.C. Supreme Court, asking it to throw out the party’s invalidation of the election. They asked the court to order a runoff election between them. The Supreme Court refused to hear either of the petitions.

Glover also filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, violations of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution and violations of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Terry L. Wooten granted summary judgement for the defendants in her lawsuit, the primary of which was the S.C. Democratic Party, ruling that the record fails to reflect any “denial or abridgement” of the right of any citizen’s right to vote.

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