U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman advances to runoff election
9:01 p.m.
Congressman Ralph Norman will advance to the Aug. 11 Republican special primary runoff election for U.S. Senate, according to the Associated Press. Norman received about 24% of the vote as of the time of his advancement.
He will face U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who advanced to the runoff about 50 minutes before Norman.
U.S. Sen. Darline Graham advances to runoff election
8:16 p.m.
U.S. Sen. Darline Graham will advance to the Republican special primary runoff election for U.S. Senate, according to the Associated Press. Graham garnered about 32% of the vote as of the race being called.
U.S. Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry are within about 0.3% of each other in the race for runoff's final slot.
The runoff election will be held Aug. 25.
Election night events begin to take shape
7:45 p.m.
South Carolina Public Radio has reporters attending the election night events of three candidates: U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and former Gov. Mark Sanford.
Reporter Scott Morgan captured Norman's entrance to his event in Rock Hill:
Votes start to be tallied
7:29 p.m.
Thirteen counties' votes have begun to be counted shortly after polls closed.
Those counties are:
- Oconee County
- Pickens County
- Anderson County
- Laurens County
- McCormick County
- York County
- Lancaster County
- Chesterfield County
- Darlington County
- Florence County
- Horry County
- Orangeburg County
- Charleston County
Just about 23,000 votes have been accounted for so far into the night.
Polls are closed
7 p.m.
Polls are now closed for the U.S. Senate special Republican primary election. Only people who were already standing in a voting center line may continue to cast a ballot.
South Carolina Public Radio and ETV will provide live election night coverage from 8 to 9 p.m.
The scene in Charleston County
2 p.m.
Voting voices in the Midlands
10 a.m.
Richland County and Lexington County, the two most populous counties in the Midlands, were each among the top ten counties in terms of ballots counted during early voting.
About 4,981 early ballots were cast in Lexington County in the three-day early voting period. County Director of Voter Registration Lenice Shoemaker said the office was prepared for the election process despite a strenuous workload from having just a month after Lindsey Graham's death to organize.
Voters arrive at Kitti Wake Baptist Church in Lexington County:
In Richland County, 2,302 people participated in early voting.
On Tuesday, voters in at least seven county precincts have to cast a ballot at Trenholm Park in the city of Forest Acres. The line to vote was not extraordinarily long, but a consistent stream of 15 people waited their turn in an about 10-minute process.
Lilla Ann Briggs voted at the location Tuesday morning. She said she always valued the opportunity to vote. As a religious woman, she said she would pray for whomever wins the race to help the country succeed.
She valued candidates that stood against abortion. Her connection to Rock Hill, though, ultimately swayed her vote. She attended high school at the same time as U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, whom she voted for. Briggs grew up in Rock Hill but has lived in the Columbia area for more than 50 years.
"He can lead us in the right direction, and he has the same beliefs as I do," she said.
Marc Johnson, a 74-year-old voter, said he wanted a candidate that would put South Carolinians first and who has not spent a good chunk of their life in politics. He said he "surprisingly" voted for U.S. Sen. Darline Graham.
"I value people who follow the Constitution, first and foremost. And people who truly represent their constituents — and not their own interests and interests of others," he said.
Polls are open
7 a.m.
South Carolina voters will help decide the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate — a title Lindsey Graham held before his July 11 death.
Now, just one month after Graham's death and two weeks after held memorial services, polls are open in the race to decide the GOP's new nominee that will appear on November's General Election ballot.
Polls will be open from until 7 p.m. for voters who have yet to participate in the election. More than 61,000 people cast an early ballot during a three-day early voting period.
Registered voters who participated in the June Democratic primary election cannot vote Tuesday. But South Carolinians who cast a ballot in the initial Republican primary or who did not vote at all can make a selection.
Voting locations can be found on the state Election Commission's website. The start of the school year has made certain centers that people typically visit unavailable.
The candidates listed are:
- Walterboro Attorney Duke Buckner
- Danny Ford II, a farmer who had previously run for commissioner of agriculture in June
- U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents South Carolina's 7th Congressional District
- U.S. Sen. Darline Graham — the former Commissioner of the state Commission for the Blind and Lindsey Graham's sister
- Businessman Mark Lynch, who received the second highest share of the vote in the June 9 Senate primary GOP election
- Former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride
- U.S. Representative Ralph Norman, who represents South Carolina's 5th Congressional District
- Retired U.S. Air Force Reserve Maj. and budget analyst Glenda Gail Parker
- Former U.S. Rep. and Gov. Mark Sanford
- Lexington resident Samuel Sam Shepherd, a bio-chemical and medical engineer
The winner of the election would face Democratic nominee Dr. Annie Andrews in the November General Election. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff election between the two candidates with the highest vote share would be held Aug. 25.
