COLUMBIA, S.C. - State Sen. John Hawkins was declared the winner in the District 12 Republican primary, despite a protest from his opponent, the state GOP Party said Thursday.

Lee Bright challenged the election results that said he lost to Hawkins by a small margin. Those numbers showed that Hawkins earned 4,762 votes to Bright's 4,731 in the June 8 primary.

After a hearing that lasted more than 7 hours on Thursday, 34 members of the Republican Party's executive committee decided Hawkins won the race.

Bright claimed that people who did not live in the district were allowed to vote and that some voters cast ballots both in person and as absentees.