By Bru Nimmons

Staff Reporter

bnimmons@thepccourier.com

COUNTY — After two weeks of filing, the fields were set Monday for June’s primary elections to prepare for this November’s general election in South Carolina.

While there are still many questions on the viability of holding the primary in June due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the following candidates will face off whenever it may be held.

In the State House, the race for District 3 will be hotly contested, with incumbent Gary Clary declining to run for re-election. Phillip Bowers, Jerry Carter and William Masters will face off for the Republican nomination, while Eunice Lehmacher has filed as a Democrat.

Elswhere in the S.C. House, District 4 incumbent Republican Davey Hiott will run unopposed, while District 5 incumbent Republican Neal Collins will try to retain his seat against two challengers, David Cox and Allan Quinn. Finally, in District 10, incumbent Republican West Cox will try to hold off the challenge of Mark Durham in the primary.

Both of Pickens County’s state Senate seats will see the incumbents running unopposed, with District 1’s Thomas Alexander and District 2’s Rex Rice in position to retain their seats.

Pickens County Council also figures to have plenty of competition in the coming months, with four seats up for election. District 6 incumbent Carl Hudson will not run for re-election, leading to a three-man competition for the Republican candidacy. Derrick Craft, Darrell Gibbs and Henry Wilson will vie for the seat.

Meanwhile, District 4 and 5 incumbent Republicans Roy Costner and Chris Bowers will run unopposed, while District 3 Republican Wes Hendricks will face three challengers in the primary in Debbie Gravely, Tim Robinson and Alex Saitta.

The only contested countywide election in June will be a battle between incumbent Sheriff Rick Clark and challenger David Harrison in the Republican primary. Republicans Kandy Kelley, Brent Suddeth and Pat Welborn will run unopposed for their respective seats of coroner, auditor and clerk of court.

For statewide elections, South Carolina’s senior U.S. senator, Lindsey Graham, will look to retain his Republican candidacy against Duke Buckner, Michael LaPierre and Joe Reynolds. Also vying for Graham’s seat are Libertarians Keenan Wallace Durham and David Weikle, Constitution Party member Bill Bledsoe and Democrat Jaime Harrison.

In the race for U.S. House District 3, incumbent Republican Jeff Duncan is running unopposed in the primary, with Democrats Hosea Cleveland and Mark D. Welch fighting for a spot on November’s ballot.

South Carolina’s primary is currently scheduled for June 9, with a run-off date of June 23. The general election is set for Nov. 3.