Ott declares victory in tight SC Senate race, Harpootlian to speak at law office Wednesday
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - In arguably the most-closely watched Democratic primary in the state, Rep. Russell Ott appears to have ousted Sen. Dick Harpootlian from the upper chamber, which means the Midlands would have a new senator next year.
Harpootlian and Ott faced off in the race to succeed longtime Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-Lexington.
Each one hoped to represent a the recently redrawn Midlands District 26, which now includes parts of Richland and Lexington counties, as well as rural parts of Calhoun County.
Speaking to supporters on Tuesday night in West Columbia, Ott declared victory.
“Our principles have always been integrity, hard work and honesty,” he said. “That’s what we brought to the race. That’s what I think ultimately put us across the top. So just really grateful to everyone, grateful to my team, family, everyone that has supported us over the course of the last four months. No one does this individually on their own. It takes a lot of good people around you. And I’m very blessed to have a lot of good people around me.”
The margins in the race were razor-thin throughout the evening.
Unofficial results from the South Carolina Election Commission show that with 100 percent of precincts reporting, Ott had 51.3 percent of the vote and Harpootlian had 48.7 percent. Around 4,700 people voted between the three counties.
Harpootlian, who has been a fixture in Midlands Democratic politics for decades, jumped out to an early lead.
However, results from Calhoun County, Ott’s home county, put him over the edge. He secured more than 80 percent of the 1,076 ballots cast there.
Harpootlian plans to hold a press conference at his law office on 1410 Laurel Street at 10 A.M. Wednesday regarding the results.
Ott said he had not spoken with Harpootlian on Tuesday night.
The results have not yet been certified and an official winner has not been declared.
It does not fall into automatic recount territory because the margin between the two candidates is around 2 percent. In South Carolina, an automatic recount is triggered when the margin is one percent or less.
Both candidates hope to secure the seat of Setzler, the longest serving state senator who announced his retirement earlier this year.
Background on the race
The two candidates have not shied away from criticizing one another on the campaign trail.
Harpootlian has gone so far as to say that his opponent is running in the wrong primary, and has said some of his positions are out of step with the Democratic party.
It appears, though, that voters rejected that premise.
Ott has taken aim directly at Harpootlian’s brash style of politics, and said the district needs a workhorse, not a showhorse.
Harpootlian is a former solicitor for the Fifth Judicial Circuit who was first elected to the Senate in a 2018 special election.
Ott, a farmer, has been serving in the House for more than a decade. He said he hopes to be an advocate for the middle class and has emphasized the dignity of work and lowering the cost of living.
Harpootlian has sought to capitalize on his record as an attorney in the Senate and has focused on fighting public corruption and protecting a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
He has called Ott out for past votes in the House on anti-abortion legislation.
But last year, Ott did end up voting against the bill that became law which banned abortions in South Carolina past around six weeks.
At a forum last month, Ott hit Harpootlian for what’s made him a household name nationally ― his defense of convicted killer Alex Murdaugh.
Ott believes Harpootlian’s six-week absence from the Senate last year during the high-profile trial in Colleton County was an abdication of his duties.
Harpootlian said that Ott is doing the bidding of the South Carolina Farm Bureau in the House.
Ott previously did lobby for the Farm Bureau, but has not done so since he has been elected.
Harpootlian has the cash advantage. Going into the final stretch of the campaign, finance reports show Harpootlian had more $230,000 in cash on hand, some of which he loaned his campaign.
Ott had $83,000, according to campaign finance reports.
The winner of this primary will face the victor of the Republican runoff between Chris Smith and Jason Guerry.
Worker’s Party Candidate Harrold Geddings will also be on the ballot in the November.
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