Incumbent S.C. GOP congressmen breeze to primary victories

By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press Writer
Published: June 10, 2008

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) _ Republican incumbents coasted to primary election victories in three South Carolina congressional districts Tuesday.

U.S. Reps. Henry Brown, Joe Wilson and Bob Inglis all were nominated by wide margins to run for new terms.

Brown turned aside challenges from his former field supervisor, Katherine Jenerette, and a third candidate, Paul Norris, in the 1st District, which reaches along the coast from Charleston to the North Carolina line.

Brown, who was seeking a fifth term, earned about 70 percent of the vote in the three-way race and said it was a different sort of election year, even for a Republican in a red state such as South Carolina.

“There’s been so much political hype with the long, continuing presidential primaries,” he said. “I just feel like a lot of folks have gotten tired of listening to all the political posturing out there and I was pleased the voters in this district were not turned off.”

Constituent service was important to Kim Beal, 40, a real estate agent from Mount Pleasant who voted for Brown.

Brown, she said, “has always been available to the public and has taken up any concerns that citizens have had. I can’t imagine anyone else doing a better job.”

In November, Brown will face Democrat Linda Ketner, a 58-year-old business consultant and gay rights activist who captured 65 percent of the vote Tuesday to defeat perennial candidate Ben Frasier.

“I’m ready for getting on with moving forward with my race against Henry Brown and am feeling very, very positive about it,” Ketner said. “I thank the zillions of people who have helped me get here.”

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson handily defeated challenger Phil Black in the 2nd District, which stretches from the Midlands to the southern tip of the state. It was Wilson’s first primary challenge since he won the seat in a special election in 2001 after the death of U.S. Rep. Floyd Spence. Wilson earned 85 percent of the vote.

“Over and over again, I was very encouraged by people telling me they appreciate my strong support of our troops,” he said. “People understand that I am trying to be accountable, accessible and I do not take their votes for granted.”

Black said he knew he was going up against a well-known incumbent.

“I’m a little disappointed that people didn’t want to say, ‘Hey, let’s have a change,’” he said.

Wilson now faces Democrat Rob Miller, a 33-year-old former Marine captain from Beaufort who won by a 2-1 margin Tuesday over Blaine Lotz, a retired Air Force colonel from Hilton Head Island.

“As I’ve been going around the district, people are ready for something new, somebody who’s not a Washington insider,” said Miller, who served two tours in Iraq and who resigned his commission to run for Congress.

Facing Wilson will be difficult, Miller said, “but we’ve never shied away from a good fight.”

Calvin Cole, an Army retiree from Columbia, voted for Miller, saying it was time for a change. “He’s a recent veteran — young,” Cole said. “I want to see different things happen. He can’t do any worse.”

In the 4th District, in the Greenville-Spartanburg area, U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis overcame critics of his views on the Iraq War to win the GOP nomination. He riled some in his conservative district by voting against President Bush’s plans to send more troops into Iraq.

He defeated Charles Jeter, a former Environmental Protection Agency appointee, winning 67 percent of the vote.

Inglis said he believed that voters are listening to his message that the nation must achieve energy independence. “I hope it means the district supports my efforts to break help us break free of this addiction to oil,” he said.

Three Democrats were vying to face Inglis in November. But it appeared the race between Paul Corden, Ted Christian and Bryan McCanless was headed to a runoff.

Corden, 60, a retired college administrator, had 41 percent of the vote to 33 percent for Christian with all precincts reporting. McCanless, 61, the founder of the National Business Association, had 23 percent.

Christian said he wants to debate Cordon during the runoff campaign.

“We can find a venue. Corden just needs to agree to have it,” he said. “Given the circumstances, I think a debate is warranted.”

The state’s two Democratic congressmen, Reps. John Spratt, the House Budget Committee chairman, and Jim Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, had no primary opposition. Neither did Republican Rep. Gresham Barrett, who serves in the 3rd District along the western edge of the state.

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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard, Seanna Adcox, Pete Iacobelli and Susanne M. Schafer in Columbia contributed to this report.