By Alison Glass and John Brasier
Independent-Mail
June 8, 2004

Incumbent state Rep. Dan Cooper defeated Jack King by an unofficial vote of 2,667 to 1,024 in Tuesday’s primary election to win the Republican nomination for the state House District 10 seat.

Rep. Cooper, 43, faces no competition from Democrats in the Nov. 2 general election. He has served six terms as the representative for District 10, which covers the northeast corner of Anderson County.

"I guess the voters had enough confidence in me to send me back for two years,’’ Rep. Cooper said. "I’ve just been trying to hold the line on taxes, and I guess the people just respond to me.’’

Rep. Cooper is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and of the Hunley Commission. A vice president of sales at Capstone Insurance Services, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University.

He said in his campaign that he wanted to continue work he has begun on tort reform, growth management and the economic development of the Upstate.

Infrastructure is a major need to be addressed in District 10, given the rapid growth in the area, he said.

He would support examining possible ways to reorganize the state’s tax system and would like to see the state replace the current Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test standardized test program for public school students with a more cost-effective system, he said.Mr. King, 56, is assistant principal at Wren High School in Piedmont and has been an educator for more than 30 years.

Mr. King said he probably would not make another run for public office.

"I’m a little disappointed,’’ Mr. King said. "I thought I would have gotten my message out to people better than I did."

Alison Glass can be reached at (864) 260-1275 or by e-mail at glassag@IndependentMail.com.

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