The Race For Clementa Pinckney’s Seat

CANDIDATES GEAR UP FOR SPECIAL ELECTION …

|| By FITSNEWS || Four Democratic candidates have signaled their intention to run for the State Senate seat vacated by the tragic death of S.C. Senator Clementa Pinckney.

Pinckney was among the nine victims of last month’s horrific, racially motivated “Holy City Massacre” – the mass murder of nine black churchgoers at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston, S.C.  He was the church’s pastor, and was leading a Bible study at the time of the attack.

S.C. Rep. Kenneth Hodges has announced he will run for the seat, as will Bluffton, S.C. businessman and former Marine Kent Fletcher.  A pair of attorneys – Chauncey Barnwell of Hardeeville, S.C. and Margie Bright Matthews of Walterboro, S.C. – have also indicated their intention to run.

S.C. Senate District 45 covers parts of Allendale, Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper Counties.  It is among the poorest regions of the Palmetto State – which is one of the poorest states in the nation.

Filing for the seat opened on July 3 – and closes on July 13 at 12:00 p.m. EDT.

A Democratic primary will be held on September 1.  If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in that race, the top two finishers will face off on September 15 in a Democratic runoff election.  The special election itself is set for October 20, but no “Republican” candidates are expected to file for the seat – meaning the Democratic primary process will determine the victor.

***