North Charleston attorney wins special primary for SC House

NORTH CHARLESTON — A defense attorney from North Charleston will be the newest member of the South Carolina House.

Tiffany Spann-Wilder won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for a special election to replace Rep. Deon Tedder.

Technically, the special election is April 2.

But neither a Republican nor any third-party candidate bothered to run for the safely Democratic district covering neighborhoods near the Charleston airport. So, Spann-Wilder is certain to take the seat left vacant when Tedder won a special election to the state Senate in November.

Fewer than 1,100 people voted in the primary. That’s just 4% of the district’s registered voters.

Spann-Wilder received 60% of the vote over Eduardo Curry II, who works with education-focused nonprofits.

Her election will increase the number of women in the state House to 21 of the chamber’s 124 seats. That’s still down from a high of 25 women in the Statehouse’s lower chamber four years ago.

The primary results will be officially certified Thursday.

When Spann-Wilder takes her seat in April, all 124 seats of the House will be filled, with a breakdown of 88 Republicans and 36 Democrats.

Spann-Wilder, who spent four years as a magistrate, focused her campaign on reducing high crime rates in North Charleston. She will advocate for more after-school programs and technical classes for youth, according to her website.