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Democrats expands leadership

SENECA — Incumbent State Rep. Bill Sandifer, R-Seneca, said he was “very surprised” when he received a call Sunday from former Oconee County GOP chairman Ed Rumsey.

In the brief courtesy call, Rumsey announced his intention to seek the 2nd District seat Sandifer has held the past 15 years.

The primary election will be held June 10.

“I have decided to run because I believe the legislature has been remiss in not addressing some of the primary issues in our state,” Rumsey said, adding that taking on Sandifer was not personal.

Specifically, Rumsey cited three areas of concern: education, spending and the need to restructure state government.

“We still have over 50 percent of our high school students who are not graduating,” he said. “We continue to put money in to bolster things like busses and buildings, but we are not helping students compared to the rest of the country. We’re not competing any more.”

He said he was also concerned by what he called a “rampage of spending” by the legislature the past three years and said the legislative appointment process lacks control.

“The governor has no control,” Rumsey said, saying that he is a solid supporter of Gov. Mark Sanford. He labeled as “archaic” the system for appointing the five-member Budget Control Board.

Rumsey, 75, said he has no intention of becoming entrenched in Columbia but that he believes he can make a difference.

A resident of Seneca for 30 years, Rumsey graduated from West Point in 1955 and spent 26 years in the Air Force as a pilot. He has been a business owner in Seneca and currently sells real estate and boat docks.

He has been active in the Republican Party, serving six years as Oconee party chairman. He chaired the county campaign of Sen. John McCain in both 2000 and 2008.

He and his wife Nancy have been married 52 years and have three children and seven grandchildren.

For his part, Sandifer said he welcomes the challenge.

“Ed is a person I know and worked closely with for a long time. I supported him as local chairman of the party … I assured him I would run a clean race and he said he would too,” Sandifer said, adding that the challenge provides extra impetus to his desire to get out and talk with his constituents.

The Sandifer-Rumsey race will top a local ticket that also features three Republican races for county council. As previously announced by GOP Chairman Eddie Adams, incumbent Tommy Crumpton is being challenged by Wayne McCall in Council District 2, while incumbent Frank Ables will face off with newcomer Reg Dexter in District 5. Two Republican newcomers — Stan Smith and Joel Thrift — will vie for the right to meet a Democrat challenger in District 4 in November. Current District 4 Councilman Marion Lyles is not seeking re-election.

The Democrat challenger will also be decided June 10 when Bryan Jenkins and John McDonald, both of Westminster, square off in the only contested Democrat primary race. The pair filed with Oconee Democrat Chairman Ken Campbell over the weekend, as did Richard Hughes of Fair Play who will meet the Republican primary winner in District 5 on Nov. 4.

"It has been a long time since our party has needed a primary to settle on a nomination for a county council candidate, and while we always work to field candidates for all open seats, these two targeted races will allow the party to direct the full force of our renewed organization into those races,” Campbell said.

Other local Republicans who are unopposed for election include: auditor, Ken Nix; Clerk of Court Beverly Whitfield; Treasurer Greg Nowell; Sheriff, James Singleton; Coroner Karl Addis; District 1 State Representative Bill Whitmire; and District 1 State Senator Thomas Alexander. All are incumbents with the exception of Nix and Whitfield who will fill vacated seats.

Every congressional race to be contested

All six of South Carolina's congressmen running for re-election this year will face challengers as will U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who is also up for re-election and will face challengers in both the Republican primary and the general election.

Graham is seeking his second term. He will face Buddy Witherspoon in the June 10 Republican primary. Democrats Michael Cone and Bob Conley also are running in the primary.

The congressional contests include a race between incumbent Republican Gresham Barrett in District 3 and Democrat challenger Jane Dyer of Easley, who made an appearance at Saturday’s local Democrat convention.

Associated Press and staff reports contributed to this report.