US Reps. Wilson and Timmons each beat 2 GOP challengers. Clyburn cruises toward 18th term.

COLUMBIA — Three of South Carolina’s congressional incumbents easily defeated their primary challengers, while the state’s most crowded contest headed to a runoff.

U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson and Willliam Timmons each beat two Republican challengers to advance to November. Both had Trump’s endorsement. 

When The Associated Press called both races around 8:30 p.m., Wilson was winning with 75% of the vote, while Timmons had 68%. 

Wilson defeated Sam Gibbons, a veteran who teaches military preparatory classes to students, and Hamp Redmond, a Lexington County contractor, in the 2nd District.  

Gibbons also organized several No Kings rallies protesting Trump, which he emphasized at the time were not just for Democrats but for anyone unhappy with the administration. 

If Wilson wins the November election in the safely red district, the 78-year-old Army veteran will serve a 13th full term in office. Voters first elected Wilson to Congress in a 2001 special election after the death of U.S Rep. Floyd Spence.  

“A retired Colonel from the South Carolina Army National Guard, and Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Joe knows the Wisdom and Courage that is required to Defend our Country, Support our Incredible Military/Veterans, and Champion PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump wrote in a post supporting Wilson on Monday.

A runoff will decide who Wilson will face in November.

In a four-way Democratic primary, the top two vote-getters were David Robinson II, a disabled Army veteran, and Zyon Khalifa, who recently graduated from law school after serving four years in the Air Force. When the AP called the race about 9:35 p.m., Robinson had 42% of the vote, and Khalifa had 33%.

It would be Robinson’s second bid to unseat Wilson. Two years ago, Wilson beat him with 60% of the vote.

The 2nd Congressional District stretches from the Georgia border, including all of Aiken and Barnwell counties, to northern Richland County. It includes all of Wilson’s home county of Lexington and a western chunk of Orangeburg County.

Timmons, who got Trump’s endorsement back in October, beat out two challengers to compete for a fifth term representing South Carolina’s most compact district. The 4th District spans most of Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

Timmons, who has said this race would be his last, defeated Maldin mechanical engineer Robert E. Lee and David Atchley, a fundraising consultant and son of late Clemson University President Bill Atchley. 

One Democrat, 25-year-old activist Courtney McClain, and one Libertarian, activist Jessica Ethridge, will appear on the ballot against Timmons in November.

1st District

The state’s most contested contest featured 10 Republicans (after former Gov. Mark Sanford withdrew) and seven Democrats competing to replace 1st District Rep. Nancy Mace, who ran for governor.

The two Democrats headed to a June 23 runoff are retired-Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore and Mac Deford.

Lacore, former chief of Navy Reserve, had 36% of the vote when the AP called the race about 8:40 p.m.

Deford, a Coast Guard veteran and Charleston-area attorney, was in second place at the time with 32%. 

6th District

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the state’s only Democrat in Congress, easily defeated challenger Frederick Goodwin toward his bid for an 18th term in the 6th District.

The Associated Press called the race with just 12% of the votes counted, with Clyburn taking 92% of them as of 7:46 p.m.

The 85-year-old has garnered significant influence in Washington during his 34 years in office, spending two stints as House majority whip and as assistant leader for the Democrats. In 2020, it was Clyburn’s endorsement ahead of South Carolina’s primary that rescued then-Vice President Joe Biden’s faltering presidential campaign and catapulted him to the White House. 

Goodwin, his primary challenger, had no campaign website and reported no fundraising in his bid for Congress. He ran unsuccessfully for Santee Town Council last year.

Clyburn will face Republican John Peterson in November. The banquet supervisor for a North Charleston hotel won the GOP primary with roughly three-fourths of the vote over Maurice Washington, a Charleston financial advisor. One Alliance Party candidate is also running.

A GOP push to redraw South Carolina’s congressional voting lines, in an effort to create a 7-0 Republican delegation, failed two weeks ago. That leaves the 6th District a blue stronghold in the otherwise red state.

After being the AP’s first call of South Carolina’s primary elections, Clyburn said he’s “humbled and honored” to again be the nominee.

“South Carolina has made tremendous progress, but a lot still needs to be done,” he said in a statement. “If reelected, I promise to fight against the forces of retrogression, continue standing up for the values and interests that matter most to all South Carolinians, and continue our pursuit towards a more perfect Union.”

Two other incumbents in South Carolina’s congressional delegation faced primary challengers. Two Republicans ran for governor, creating open races for the 1st and 5th districts.

Other Democratic primaries

In the 3rd District, Eunice Lehmacher, a professional counselor in Clemson, clinched the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Sheri Biggs in November.

Biggs, a freshman, had no primary challenger for her second term.

Lehmacher defeated Ernest Mackins, a retired teacher, Army veteran and pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Anderson. Lehmacher had 53% of the vote when The AP called the race at 9:49 p.m., with 87% of ballots counted.

In the 5th District, Mallory Dittmer, a Fort Mill-based brand and campaign consultant, will challenge Republican Sen. Wes Climer.

Climer, a financial advisor first elected to the state Senate a decade ago, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who lost his bid for governor Tuesday.

Dittmer had 54% of the vote as of 9:55 p.m., when The AP called the vote, with 77% of ballots counted. She defeated Andrew Clough, a ramp agent for American Airlines who lives in Rock Hill.

Climer and Dittmer will also face Forward Party candidate Andy Kaplan.

The only congressional race not on either party’s primary ballot was the 7th District. Republican U.S. Rep. Russell Fry and the Democrat challenging him, John Gregory Vincent, had no opposition in the primary.