William Timmons formally resigned his seat in the South Carolina Senate last Friday, submitting a letter to outgoing lieutenant governor Kevin Bryant.
The young businessman spent just two years in the state legislature before winning a crowded race to replace Trey Gowdy as the Palmetto State’s fourth district representative in the U.S. congress.
Timmons’ formal resignation on Friday means a vacancy exists in S.C. Senate District 6 (map) – one that must be filled by a special election.
According to the S.C. Election Commission (SCVotes.org), filing for this special election will open at 12:00 p.m. EST on November 30 and close at the same time on December 8. Partisan primary elections will be held on January 22, with runoffs scheduled for February 5 (if necessary). The special election itself will be held on March 26.
As this news outlet exclusively reported last week, one candidate – Greenville, S.C. city councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle – has already indicated she will run. In fact, Ryberg Doyle held an event in Greenville, S.C. on Monday morning to kick off her campaign.
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Ryberg Doyle – the daughter of former state senator Greg Ryberg – is viewed as the early frontrunner to claim this seat, which Timmons won in 2016 by defeating longtime incumbent Mike Fair by a 2-to-1 margin in a GOP runoff election.
Fair is reportedly considering a campaign for the seat he held from 1995 to 2017. So is another veteran Upstate lawmaker, eleven-term state representative Dwight Loftis.
In fact according to The Greenville News, Loftis is “in.”
The district – which encompasses the northern suburbs of Greenville, S.C. – is staunchly Republican. Any Democrat who files will face a virtually insurmountable challenge.
Stay tuned … this news outlet will keep a close eye on this race in the weeks to come as various contenders make their intentions known.
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