Candidate filing deadline ends for South Carolina’s June primary; several key Pee Dee offices up for grabs
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The deadline for candidates to register for South Carolina’s June 11 primary elections passed at noon on Monday, and the list of those running shows competition for several key offices across the Pee Dee.
In Marlboro County, five people are seeking the sheriff’s office, including Democrats Fred Knight, Larry McNeil and Sammy Crosland.
McNeil has been serving as the interim sheriff in place of suspended Sheriff Charles Lemon, who is facing a federal trial on June 3 on charges stemming from a May 2020 Tasing incident at the county. Knight was the sheriff from 2005 through 2017, while Crosland has enjoyed a long law-enforcement career with the Bennettsville Police Department.
The other candidates are Republican Charles English and Alliance party member James Pauling.
In Dillon County, Sheriff Jamie Hamilton will square off against James “Hog Head” Campbell” in the Democratic primary. The winner will face Republican Garrett Byrd, who is unopposed in the Republican primary.
Hamilton defeated Byrd in a special election held in December to replace the late Sheriff Douglas “Humbunny” Pernell, who died in August. Hamilton had been the interim sheriff after Pernell’s death.
Several area incumbent sheriffs will be unopposed in June, including TJ Joye of Florence County, Phillip Thomas of Horry County and Brian Wallace of Marion County.
In other races, Pee Dee County coroner races will be contested in June. Incumbent Todd Hardee is matched against Brian Lee on the Republican ballot in Darlington County. On the Democratic side, Marion County incumbent Jerry Richardson will face Kendra Fling, and Marlboro County incumbent Tim Brown will be matched against De’Aron Dee Smith.
In a key solicitor’s race, Democrat Monty Bell and Republicans Shipp Daniel and Mike Burch have filed for the job in the state’s 4th Circuit, which represents Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon and Marlboro counties.
Bell and Daniel already work in the 4th Circuit office; Burch works in the 6th Circuit Office based in Lancaster, South Carolina. They will be vying to replace Solicitor Will Rogers, who is retiring when his term ends in January. He has been the solicitor since 2009.
For more information about the candidates, including when they filed and their political parties, and to get information about other races across the state and region, go toSCVOTES.gov.
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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
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