9:30FLORENCE -- The three candidates vying for the state Senate District 30 seat will be watching the certification of Tuesday's Democratic primary.

The certification is expected to determine who will face incumbent Maggie Glover in the June 22 runoff after a very close finish between challengers Tim Norwood and Kent Williams.

In primary elections with more than one candidate, one of the candidates must have at least 50 percent, plus one vote, of the ballots cast in order to avoid a runoff. Glover came in first, but she only had 35 percent of the vote.

Unofficial counts show seven votes separating Norwood and Williams in the race. Glover had 6,202 votes; Norwood, 5,744; and Williams, 5,737.

District 30 includes most of Marion County as well as parts of Florence, Dillon and Marlboro counties. The vote will be certified this morning by each county's election office, and the results will be sent to the state's election office for a second certification.

Glover's two challengers differ on their view of the certification process.

Williams said he'll ask for a recount of the ballots, in addition to the certification.

"My thing is, when there's less than a 1 percent margin, there is an automatic recount," he said. "I think when there's an election this close there should be one."

Under state election laws, a recount is only required if two candidates are separated by less than 1 percent in the votes. The recount is not required in a race with more than two candidates with a 1 percent or less difference.

Williams said he thinks there is the possibility that some ballots cast in the race could be thrown out, which could work in his favor.

"I think there are 102 fail-safe ballots out there, and we need to see if they're valid," he said. "Right now we don't know that we're out. We're proceeding cautiously because we just don't know yet."

Norwood agrees on the issue of questionable ballots.

"We're confirming if there are any challenged ballots out there," he said. "There are some out there, and we feel like some will be thrown out."

With only seven votes separating Norwood and Williams, throwing out invalid ballots could swing the runoff either way, but Norwood said Wednesday he's ready to support Williams in a runoff.

"Right now, if it's a fair and accurate count, and it falls my way, that's great, and if it doesn't fall my way, then I'll support Kent in every way I can," Norwood said.

Williams, though, is not ready to endorse either Norwood or Glover.

"I don't even want to address that right now, because we're not 100 percent sure who's in there," he said. "I'm focussing on my race and my campaign."

Whoever ends up in the runoff against Glover could provide the senator a tough battle for the seat she's held for 12 years.

Glover did not return telephone calls seeking comments on Tuesday's primary results.

Norwood's and Williams' votes accounted for 64 percent of the ballots cast in Tuesday's primary.

"I think the most important thing is that 65 percent of the people who voted wanted a change in leadership," Norwood said. "Both Kent and I can provide that."

Voters can take part in the Democratic runoff if they voted in the Democratic primary Tuesday or did not vote at all.

Those who voted in the Republican primary Tuesday cannot vote in the Democratic runoff.