Almost 200 candidates for state and local office have been removed from the June primary ballot for failing to submit an ethics disclosure form on time, according to the state Democratic and Republican parties.
Party officials said 88 Republican candidates and 95 Democrats did not file a statement of economic interest when they registered their candidacy, as per state law. The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday said the parties should not have accepted one form without the other, and ruled that any candidates who improperly filed should be removed from the ballot.
Over 50 House and Senate candidates from nearly every county in the state were kicked off the ballot, though no incumbents were affected. In fact, several currently-serving lawmakers who were facing primary opposition are now running unopposed. A full list of House and Senate candidates who were removed from the ballot is below:
Republicans:
Jane Vaughters, House 81 (Aiken)
Charlie Davis, House 15 (Berkeley)
Samuel Rivers, Jr., House 15 (Berkeley)
Chris Cannon, House 119 (Charleston)
John Steinberger, Senate 41 (Charleston)
Nancy Blackmon Lee, House 62 (Darlington)
Nancy Blackmon Lee, Senate 29 (Darlington)
John J. Mondo, Sr., House 102 (Dorchester)
Morgan Bruce Reeves, Senate 17 (Fairfield)
Michael Ryhal, House 56 (Horry)
Bert von Herrmann, House 105 (Horry)
Bill Wiegand, House 105 (Horry
Kevin J. Hardee, House 105 (Horry)
Liz Gilland, House 105 (Horry)
Mike Connett, House 105 (Horry)
Dick Withington, House 106 (Horry)
Dick Withington, Senate 34 (Horry)
Kim Demer , House 52 (Kershaw)
Joseph Coy, House 44 (Lancaster)
Katrina Shealy, Senate 23 (Lexington)
Ed J. Harris, House 3 (Pickens)
Rex F. Rice, Senate 2 (Pickens)
Debra Langley Kennedy, Senate 22 (Richland)
Phil Perry, House 39 (Saluda)
Gaye Holt, House 34 (Spartanburg)
Jim McMillan, House 36 (Spartanburg)
Kerry Wood, Senate 11 (Spartanburg)
R. Raye Felder, House 26 (York)
Democrats:
Jeff Dishner, Senate 8 (Greenville)
Al BellaVance, Senate 17 (Winnsboro)
Eleazer Carter, Senate 36 (Manning)
Shaun Kent, Senate 26 (West Columbia)
Master P Bines, Senate 42 (Charleston)
Frederick Fielding, Senate 42 (Charleston)
Barbara McGowin, Senate 44 (Goose Creek)
Andrew Seegars, House 11 (Abbevile)
Bob Shirley, House 11 (Abbeville)
Marian Redish, House 15 (Clinton)
Israel Romero, House 20 (Taylors)
David Gahan, House 22 (Greenville)
DC Swinton, House 23 (Greenville)
Tony Boyce, House 25 (Greenville)
Seldon Peden, House 25 (Greenville)
Renita Barksdale, House 27 (Simpsonville)
John Lewis, House 31 (Spartanburg)
Bob Cook, House 44 (Kershaw)
Johnny Sellers, House 54 (Bennetsville)
Jackie Hayes, House 55 (Dillon) (UPDATE: Hayes’ name was included on an updated Elections Commission list of candidates who remain on the ballot)
Willie Bethune, House 64 (Manning)
Robert Ridgeway III, House 64 (Manning)
Michael Bailey, House 77 (Columbia)
Vannie Williams Jr., House 79 (Columbia)
Johnathan Hill, House 84 (Warrenville)
Walid Hakim, House 88 (West Columbia)
Larry Center, House 114 (Charleston)
The Senate Judiciary Committee has called an emergency hearing on Tuesday to discuss the situation and possible remedies in the future. Look for updates to this story as it develops.
I personally know one of the candidates that was kicked off the ballot, and from what I’ve heard apparently there was some discrepancy with how the candidates were told to file. She turned the file in electronically and when she asked if she needed to turn in a hard copy they said it was unnecessary. Apparently though a hard copy is required. Maybe there is more to the story than they just forgot because that would be a lot of people to just forget to turn in a crucial document. This is all just known from word of mouth by me though so I don’t claim to know anything firsthand.