S.C. Senate seats won with ease

By PHILIP LORD Senior writer

Although ballot totals were not in from McCormick County due to equipment failures, Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Clearwater, appears to have easily extended his tenure in the S.C. Senate.

Moore defeated GOP challenger Bernie Hamby by a total of 9,902 to 4,951 in Aiken County. He also doubled up the challenger in Edgefield County.

"I don't think the outcome is in doubt, it is just what the numbers will be," Moore said late Tuesday.

Moore said he felt the victory showed special interests from the Republican Party could not simply select a candidate to run for office and expect to win.

Hamby, who serves on the McCormick County Council, entered the race when Susan Swanson dropped out of the Senate 25 race. After searching for a few weeks, the GOP tapped Hamby to fill out the ballot, instead of re-opening filing for the seat.

"This is very pleasing," said Moore, who has served in Columbia since 1979.

Hamby, who confirmed ballots were being counted by hand in McCormick, said he was satisfied with the outcome. "I woke up with a piece about it this morning," said Hamby, who championed school prayer as a main plank of his platform.

"I am very pleased that we did as well as we did,' Hamby said from his McCormick home.

Moore said a number of challenges awaited the challenges facing the General Assembly when it returns to session.

School choice is expected to be a hotly contested issue in Columbia this year, but Moore said he felt a better issue was the adequate funding of public education, which fell $400 below the suggested funding level of $2,200 this year as a result of budget shortfalls.

"We better remember that children are a gift from God and we have got to start treating them like our treasures," Moore said.

Moore said he was not happy to see public education pitted against private schools, as proposed in legislation prepared by Gov. Mark Sanford.

In the Senate 26 race Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-Columbia, defeated Libertarian candidate Burt Barber 1,207 to 104 to carry Aiken County.

Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, who faced no opposition, also easily won reelection by claiming 25,761 votes.

"I appreciate the citizens of Aiken County having the confidence in me to represent them," Ryberg said.

Ryberg said he felt the state needed to look at school choice in order to adequately serve residents of the state.

Contact Philip Lord at plord@aikenstandard.com.

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