Two black women are running for a circuit court seat to be filled by the state Legislature, though lawmakers haven’t elected a black candidate in a contested race in nearly two years.

Meanwhile, the S.C. Senate is considering a bill, passed by the House last week, that would remove the cap on the number of judicial nominees. Black lawmakers believe that will help add more minorities to the bench.

Five candidates filed Tuesday for an at-large circuit court seat formerly held by James Brogdon of Marion, according to the state Judicial Merit Selection Commission.

They are: Debra Gammons, 45, of Greenville; Frederick Hoefer, 50, of Florence; William McGuire, 38, of Charleston; Thomas Russo, 49, of Florence; and Jennifer Peters Wilson, 49, of Conway.

Gammons and Wilson are black; the others are white. An election is tentatively scheduled for May 25.

“The disparity is greater with females than with blacks,” Gammons, a Greenville assistant city attorney, said Tuesday. “We need to make some changes to add more females to the bench.”

Black lawmakers last month walked out as a group to protest the rejection of two black female candidates for two contested seats. In three other contested races since May 2003, five black candidates were unsuccessful.

While the state’s female and black populations are about 51 percent and 30 percent, respectively, the percentages of female and black judges are about 17 percent and 6 percent, respectively, according to court figures.

A bill by state Rep. Leon Howard, D-Richland, who is black, would remove the cap of three nominees for each judicial seat. It died last year in the Senate after passing the House.

Howard’s bill likely will be amended. Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, chairman of the state judicial screening committee, said recently he would rather see the cap increased to five instead of being removed entirely.

Senators also have opposed a House amendment that would remove the one-year waiting period for lawmakers to run for judgeships.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.