Dorchester Council Chairman Randy Scott ousted longtime state Sen. Bill Branton of Summerville in a Republican primary runoff Tuesday.

Scott got 67 percent of the votes, beating Branton by a 2-1 margin for the District 38 seat. Scott also got the most votes two weeks ago in the three-way Republican primary in which he and Branton finished ahead of former Charleston Regional Development Alliance Chief Executive Officer Ben Cole.

"We ran a good, hard, positive campaign, and we're fortunate enough to win," Scott said. "We had a lot of prayer, a lot of hard work from my wife and family and all my friends around me, and that's a formula for success."

Scott and Cole were forced into a runoff after neither captured a majority of the votes in the primary June 8 with Scott taking 40 percent of the vote to Branton's 33 percent. Cole, who also was a former Dorchester County Council chairman, finished third with 27 percent.

The remaining candidates courted Cole's supporters avidly. Cole didn't endorse either candidate.

Scott, 58, faces no Democratic opposition and is virtually assured of taking office in January. The district includes northern parts of Ladson and North Charleston, most of Summerville and some of the rural outskirts west and south of the town.

Scott said one of his priorities would be to make it easier for senators to stop filibusters that hold up the Senate's business. Many senators complained on the last day of the legislative session when Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, took the floor for what turned into a six-hour delay tactic on the appointment of Harry Gregory Jr. to the Workers' Compensation Commission.

"Everybody should be heard," Scott said, "but when you start talking just to keep other people from being heard, that's not democracy. And I'm for democracy."

Scott also said he would be push for a law that would allow counties to assess impact fees on new houses. The money would go into a fund to raise teacher salaries and improve education.

Political observers had expected the District 38 race to be close enough to force a runoff. The candidates were divided over the mix of taxes or other revenue they'd support while giving property owners a break.

The seat had been traded back and forth between two men for more than a decade. Branton ran unopposed in 2000 after a 1997 upset victory over incumbent Mike Rose, who had ousted Branton nine years earlier.

Branton, who owns a lumber company, has been in the Senate 12 years. He also served in the state House 1979 to 1988. He centered his campaign on his seniority on the influential Senate Finance Committee.

Scott, who owns an exterminating company, stressed his reputation for hard work. In his seven years on County Council, he never missed a council or committee meeting and never was late, he said during the campaign.

Scott also is vice chairman of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments and vice chairman of the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority.

Branton, reached at his campaign headquarters after the race, congratulated Scott.

"I think Mr. Scott ran a very strong race," Branton said. "He worked hard and he is to be commended for it. I'll be more than happy to do anything I can to help him with any transition, and I wish him well."

During his campaign, Scott wrote a letter to Gov. Mark Sanford, who was battling with the General Assembly over the failure of his legislative agenda, saying he would support the governor.

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