The South Carolina Election Commission (SCVotes.org) has set dates for a special legislative election in Aiken County, S.C.
According to the agency, the race to fill S.C. House District 84 (map) – vacated earlier this month following the death of state representative Ronnie Young – will commence at 12:00 p.m. EDT on June 7, 2019.
That’s when candidate filing will open for this seat. It will close roughly a week later, at 12:00 p.m. EDT on June 15.
Partisan primary elections for this staunchly GOP district are scheduled for July 30, 2019, with runoffs (if necessary) slated for August 13. The special election itself will be held on October 1, 2019.
The deadline to register to vote in the primary elections for this seat is June 30 – a month before the first round of balloting. Similarly, the deadline to register to vote in the special election will be September 1.
So far, only one candidate – small business owner Cody Anderson of Bath, S.C. – has indicated his intention to seek the seat. Anderson runs a funeral home in Aiken and is involved in a number of local civic and professional associations.
We suspect other names will emerge in the coming days …
Young represented District 84 for nearly two years prior to his death on May 19. Prior to his election to the House, he spent 21 years as chairman of the Aiken county council. He rose quickly through the legislative ranks, earning the first vice chairman’s position on the influential House education committee.
Young defeated Democrat Jennifer Lariscey in a 2017 special election to claim this seat two years ago – and then defeated Lariscey again in the 2018 general election. In both of those races, Young prevailed by sizable majorities – underscoring the challenge facing Democrats in this area of the state.
Still, assuming Lariscey or another Democrat were to file for this seat it would provide yet another opportunity for the national party to work on its turnout drill for the 2020 presidential primary race.
-FITSNews
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