Inglis pulls out victory in 4th District

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If Inglis keeps his promises and gets his way, his impact on local residents and the community's life can be measured by how many jobs he helps bring to the Upstate, how many people have affordable health care, and how many workers are better prepared for retirement two years from now.

Inglis, 45, replaces U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint, who ran for U.S. Senate instead of trying for a fourth term in the 4th Congressional District.

With all 255 precincts reporting, Inglis had 70 percent, or 186,175 votes. Democrat Brandon Brown was in second with 77,474 votes, or 29 percent, while Green Party candidate C. Faye Walters had 3,237 votes, or 1 percent.

Teresa Hamilton, who headed for the voting booth with health care and Medicaid on her mind, said she wants "a whole new Congress."

"I think that's why there's so much crime," she said. "People are struggling."

A cheer went up at Lone Star Bar-B-Que on Pleasantburg Drive when a television flashed the race results. Inglis thanked the "hundreds of people" who listened to his campaign pitch, including a Woodruff waitress struggling with health care and a woman whose nephew died in Iraq.

"They really are a big part of gaining perspective for another tour of duty," Inglis said.

Inglis recaptured the seat he held from 1993 to 1999. He declined to run for re-election in 1998, making good on his promise to serve no more than three terms. He instead ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

Inglis has said it was a mistake to impose a term limit on himself and won't repeat it.

A Greenville attorney who lives in Travelers Rest, Inglis has vowed to push for federal funding for the International Center for Automotive Research. Job seekers may want to pay attention because Inglis has said the Laurens Road center will help create jobs while developing cars that operate without gasoline.

Inglis is also a proponent of health savings accounts. The plan allows workers with high deductibles to put money in tax-free savings accounts. So, insurance companies pay for major bills, while workers pick up the tab for smaller health-care costs.

Inglis also has a plan targeting younger workers planning for retirement. He wants them to be able to put part of their Social Security taxes into personal savings accounts that would gather interest.

Inglis' return to Washington gives the Upstate a representative who has already established connections in the nation's capital. The House's third-ranking Republican, Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, visited Greenville in July to help raise money for Inglis' campaign and hear pitches for the automotive center.

About 600,000 people live in the 4th district, which includes Greenville, Spartanburg and Union counties, as well as the northern tip of Laurens County.

With Inglis, the Upstate has a representative who supports many of the issues championed by conservatives across the country. He's against funding for stem cell research and expanding the definition of marriage to include homosexual couples.

But Inglis has also shown he's willing to go against the grain. He opposes the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal law pushed by the Bush Administration that seeks to hold schools accountable. He instead wants to give local governments more say on children's education.

Wesley Walker said he fully expected an Inglis landslide, but he voted Democratic anyway.

"Maybe it's good for him to get 80 percent instead of 85," he said.

Inglis charged into the general election full of momentum after winning the Republican primary by a wide margin. The 4th district has favored Greenville Republicans for seven consecutive elections.

Either Inglis or DeMint has held the seat since Inglis won his first term in 1992, beating Spartanburg Democrat Liz Patterson. About 40 percent of the district's 356,000 registered voters are from Greenville County.

Inglis, a Bluffton native who has five children, campaigned hard to the end, saying he wanted to reach out to minority voters who don't traditionally vote Republican. His signs had pictures of blacks and women asking questions about Social Security, health savings accounts and balancing the budget.

Staff writer Paul Alongi can be reached at 298-4746.