In a House seat SC Democrats hope to flip, having a contest required reopening filing

COLUMBIA — Two Democrats are competing for a South Carolina House seat the party has pointed to as a potential flip back to blue. But having a contest at all required a do-over in candidate filing.

Michele Demery and Jack Spann both filed April 10 for the chance to challenge GOP Rep. Fawn Pedalino in November. That’s 11 days after the filing period closed for all primary contests.

On March 31, state Democratic Party officials celebrated having a candidate on the ballot for all 124 House seats for the first time in over 50 years. House District 64, which covers all of Clarendon County and part of Sumter County, was the first one cited by state Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain in the party’s quest to roll back Republicans’ supermajority hold on the chamber.

‘A real choice’: Democrats celebrate full slate of candidates for SC ballots

Pedalino’s win in 2022 flipped a seat considered a Democratic stronghold since its inception. Democrats want it back.

Asked about the seat being singled out, Pedalino said that’s no surprise, given the district’s history. (See below.)

“I think we’re going to be just fine,” Pedalino told the SC Daily Gazette this week about her re-election chances.

Three days after Democrats’ celebratory news conference, the Democrat who filed to challenge Pedalino withdrew, leaving her completely unopposed for a third term, without even a third-party opponent.

In his April 3 withdrawal letter, David Epperson, a former attorney and chief administrative officer for Clarendon County, said he appreciated the encouragement and support. However, he wrote, “after reflecting on my family priorities and professional responsibilities, I have concluded that the timing is not right for me to continue in this race.”

Reached for comment, Epperson directed the SC Daily Gazette to his letter.

The Democratic Party took the somewhat unusual step of reopening the filing period for 48 hours. State law allows parties to do that in cases when a candidate dies or withdraws in a race with one or two candidates. In 2024, that happened after the only Democrat running for an Upstate House seat died in a car crash.

Three Democrats submitted paperwork April 10 to challenge Pedalino, but one was quickly disqualified on a filing technicality.

The primary contest

The two on June 9 ballots are Demery, a longtime Clarendon County educator, and Jack Spann, former mayor of Pinewood, a town of less than 700 people in Sumter County.

Last month, Demery lost a Democratic primary contest for a special election to Clarendon County Council. The Manning resident told the Gazette she’d considered filing for the House seat following that unsuccessful bid. When the race was reopened, she jumped in.

After spending 27 years in Clarendon County schools as a teacher, coach and assistant principal, Demery said, she’s a fifth-grade special education teacher in Berkeley County. She said she’s eager to find common ground in the Statehouse.

“I believe our communities deserve leaders who are willing to work together, compromise when necessary, and stay focused on delivering meaningful results that improve everyday life,” she said in an email.

Spann, who retired from the Air Force after more than 24 years of service, said he never previously gave much thought to running for a state office, but when he heard a candidate was needed for District 64, he wanted to “help restore equity in our government.” Both chambers of the Statehouse need more Democrats to undo the “unfavorable lopsided supermajority” on both sides of the lobby, he wrote in an email to the Gazette.

He believes he would provide a “voice of experience, reason, and compromise from the perspective of an everyday citizen.”

Adrian Coard, the other Democrat who filed, was disqualified because he submitted his paperwork to Sumter County officials, but he lives and is registered to vote in Manning, so he should’ve filed in Clarendon County, according to Spain.

Coard, a local business owner, told the Gazette he called the Sumter County election commission ahead of time to ask if he could file in Sumter and was told he could. Of the three who filed earlier this month, he appears to be the only one with a campaign website.

The changing district

Asked what she thought about the shakeup in Democrats’ quest to replace her, Pedalino said, “Well, I think that shows that they don’t have their act together.

“I think it was a struggle to find somebody,” she added.

Four years ago, the real estate agent ousted Rep. Kimberly Johnson, the daughter of then-Sen. Kevin Johnson, by more than 10 percentage points in a district that favored Democrats.

Pedalino was among five Republicans who ousted Democrats in 2022, helping to give the GOP an 88-to-36 supermajority status in the House. (In all, Republicans gained seven seats in the House. They also flipped three open seats, but a Democrat defeated a Columbia-area GOP incumbent.)

Pedalino’s winning margin grew to 12 points in November 2024, when Kevin Johnson was among four Democrats ousted in the Senate, giving that chamber a GOP supermajority too.

Democrats’ goal this November is to flip at least six House seats back to break the GOP supermajority.

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited South Carolina in February, his stops arranged by the state Democratic Party included Pedalino’s district. She welcomed him by posting a video on social media with a tongue-in-cheek offer for “pointers” on governing.

Clarendon County, which was reliably Democratic, has lost about 4,000 people since 2010, to about 31,000 people, according to U.S. Census data. While shrinking, the population has become more white and older as retirees moved to golf course homes along Lake Marion.

Noting the district is “off of the lake,” Pedalino pointed to a new law providing boat owners a property tax break and other tax-cutting efforts as examples of what she’s doing to help her constituents.

Reporter Jessica Holdman contributed to this report.