Primary watchers were calling Sen. John Edwards the victor in the South Carolina Democratic Party primary a half hour into the counting Tuesday night, not a surprise to anyone in the Utica precinct of Oconee County.
The North Carolina politician earned 75 percent of the 92 votes cast in the small precinct where he was born, followed by Sen. Kerry’s 13 percent. The vote totals are unofficial.
Oconee and Abbeville county voters turned out in unusually high numbers for a primary, with 17.5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, of registered active voters visiting a polling place, according to the unofficial counts. About 11 percent of Anderson County voters turned out, similar to the 10.6 percent in Pickens County.
Sen. Edwards had easy victories in all four counties, followed in all by Sen. Kerry. Sen. Edwards earned about 46 percent of the total state primary votes, while Sen. Kerry took about 30 percent. They were the only candidates to receive more than 15 percent of the total vote, the cutoff to receive any of the state’s Democratic Convention delegates.
The excitement of a day with seven primaries or caucuses up for grabs in this presidential election year did not seem to reach into the Sandy Springs Fire Department in Pendleton, where Pauline Lee sat flipping through a clothing catalog around 4 p.m. as voters drifted in a few at a time.
One, Arthur "Monty" Montgomery, asked her and the other two poll workers, "How’s it been?"
"Slow," was the response in unison.
"It doesn’t seem there’s much interested shown in it," poll worker Elizabeth Alexander said.
But Democratic officials said they were thrilled with both the turnout and the buzz South Carolina’s early primary brought.
The 173 voters in the highly Republican Ward 1, Precinct 2 in the city of Anderson represented only 11 percent of the precinct’s total registered voters, but they were enthusiastic voters, poll worker Hugh Oldham said.
"That’s been very encouraging to me," he said.
Albert Sloga, an Oconee County-based contractor, drove 23 hours from a job in Pennsylvania to vote at the Long Creek precinct in Oconee County.
Mr. Sloga was determined to vote for Sen. Edwards, said Jack Rholeter, a Long Creek poll worker. After checking off his candidate’s name, he turned around and headed back to Pennsylvania.
Pickens County party Chairman Rick Bailey said the county’s turnout actually was a primary record, doubling the result from the 1992 primaries as early as 3 p.m. By 7 p.m. 5,423 votes were cast.
The large field of candidates had some voters making up their minds just before lowering their pencil.
"I just now decided," said registered Democrat Duane Cooper, 48, coming out of Concord Elementary School. "I like (U.S. Rep. Dennis) Kucinich, what he stands for. I liked the way Al Sharpton spoke at the debate. But neither one of them could beat Bush. I thought about Edwards, but he won’t go past South Carolina."
In the end, Sen. Kerry got Mr. Cooper’s vote.
On the other hand, Benson Page of the city of Anderson’s Ward 1, Precinct 2, decided three weeks ago to vote for Sen. Edwards.
"It was really for where Edwards comes from, his background," said Mr. Page, a 38-year-old telephone repairman. "The common people need someone who knows what life is like. It’s hard for millionaires to make decisions for the common man."
The regional connection was alluring for Bill Roland, 72, and his wife, Wanda.
"I’m an Edwards man," Mr. Roland, a registered Democrat, said. "He’s the smartest one and he’s a hometown boy."
Although primaries historically have not been taken as seriously as general elections, volunteers and voters considered their participation Tuesday a civic duty, even if the outcome was uncertain.
"My vote matters," Mr. Benson, the telephone repairman, said. "It’s all of our responsibility. How important it is, I don’t really know."
—Anderson Independent-Mail reporters David Williams and Jean Scott contributed to this story.
Kelly Davis can be reached at (864) 260-1277 or by e-mail at davisk@IndependentMail.com.
