Primary day often is “General” election for Lexington County residents

Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday as the state-wide primaries get underway. Hopefully, people will stream to the polls to make their choices known for offices that include governor, SC attorney general, and all the way down to Lexington County Councilmembers. Sadly, that hasn’t been the case in the past. Many of you might think that today’s polling doesn’t count. Lots of people say, “No matter how I vote, nothing will change.” That is absolutely false, especially in the elections closer to home.

Today, people who live in Lexington County Council Districts 2, 7, 8, and 9 have a choice to continue to support who leads your county council or make a change. Right now, your vote is your term limits. Remember, these are the people who make sure there are enough deputies, EMT’s, firefighters, the dirt roads are scraped, and those types of basic services are handled. What they are NOT able to effect is schools and the taxes you pay to run those or recreation like ballfields, gymnasiums, or the hospital, and those types of services. Each of these have its own separate governing bodies and for the most part, those bodies set the taxes that run them within some boundaries. If you do not choose to vote in your area if a council district is in play, how can you ever say something negative about the way things are going? You had a choice and you chose to stay at home. Councilmembers aren’t rock stars! They’re your neighbors, the people who live down the street. Their offices are often right here in Lexington County; they’re people you can or should be able to find and talk to. If you care at all about services, taxes, or any of these types of things vote today!

Next, there are several SC House races that are important. District 87, the house district that includes the western edge of the lake and out into Red Bank is open. Once again you have a choice. These people are your “citizen” legislatures. They too live among us, should be approachable, the people you bump into in the grocery store or at church. They too have tremendous power. Whether you support Paula Rawl Calhoon, Todd Carnes, or Austin Bowers, they should have an open ear for you. They might not agree, but they should at least listen and explain their point of view.

In SC House District 96 in Pelion, Gaston, Swansea, and parts of Edmund you can choose between Kit Spires or Perry Finch. Spires, a druggist who’s certainly easy to find behind the counter of his drug store in Pelion, is the incumbent. Finch is in construction and has run unsuccessfully many times before.

Likewise, in SC house District 89, an area that’s mostly West Columbia and out toward the airport and Springdale, Micah Caskey, a one-term incumbent, faces Billy Oswald, a well-known area attorney who has run unsuccessfully before for that and other offices as well. Both men are easy to find at their offices in West Columbia, easy to talk with, and approachable. If you can’t find Micah or Billy, you really didn’t try

Mac Toole is unopposed in SC House District 88 as is Chip Huggins of SC House 85 in the primary. Both men are very popular with their constituents, both have served for some time, and it’s believed that with no Republican opposition, they’ll have no trouble being reelected. Chris Wooten is also having to run again for SC House District 69, but this is almost just a formality.

Of course, there are the state-wide races for governor, attorney general, secretary of state, things like that. These actually matter too, you just might be able to get them on the phone or pop in to say hello.

There are a few more we could list, but at this point, the real lesson should be revealed. In almost all Lexington County races, no Democrats oppose the Republican majority. Senator Nikki Setzler is the one shining example that it can be done but is almost NEVER done. That means that in almost all cases in local government, if you don’t vote today in the Republican side of this primary, you won’t have a vote in November. There is no Democrat choice. Like it or not, that’s just the way it is!

If you really are a tried and true Democrat, and that’s okay, you can vote in that primary, just not in both. The only real office at play here in Lexington County is the race to find a challenger for Representative Joe Wilson of US House in SC District 2. This race includes Sean Carrigan, Annabelle Robertson, and Phil Black. All are very interesting people. Two, Robertson and Black, have proved they have conservative roots even though they are running on the Democratic ticket. This could be an interesting race for a chance to take on Congressman Wilson in the fall.

Over the last few months, The Lexington Ledger has had most candidates for local elections on the LIVE morning show. Those can be found at www.facebook.com/swlexledger. You can actually search for most candidates and see their interviews at about 50 minutes into each show. Before you go to vote, know who you are pulling the lever for; Vote but vote wisely, vote informed.

To find your voting precinct, the place where you should vote, go to Where Should I Vote.