Five candidates, including three Republicans, one Democrat and one Constitution Party member, are seeking the seat for S.C. House District 38, which includes the Landrum and Campobello areas.
Republican Joey Millwood, who edged former S.C. Rep. Bob Walker in the 2008 primary and went on to defeat Democrat Mark Chambers, is seeking reelection.
He will have to get past challenges from fellow Republicans Doug Brannon and John Moore. Brannon is a former Landrum mayor. Moore is a business owner from the Boiling Springs area.
The winner of the June 8 Republican primary election will go on to face Democrat John Lewis and Constitution Party member Jerry H. Blanton in the November general election.
Lewis, a 1998 Landrum High graduate and current member of Landrums zoning commission, is the co-founder of Visions Project Development Group, LLC.
Blanton is one of three Constitution Party candidates to file for office in Spartanburg County this year. The party is stressing the need to get “back to our constitutional values.”
Blanton says he believes the country has strayed too far from the Constitution.
Another Constitution Party candidate, Ralph Davenport, is also running in S.C. House District 37 and Mark Chambers is representing the party in a bid for the Spartanburg County Council District 2 seat.
The addition of a Constitution Party candidate creates the possibility of a closer general election this year for S.C. House District 38 if the Constitution Party candidate Blanton grabs a share of the votes that usually go to the Republican candidate.
The district has been dominated by Republicans. In 2008, Millwood won the general election with 66 percent of the vote.
Even with another party in the mix, the winner of the Republican primary likely will be considered a favorite going into the November election.
South Carolina residents who want to participate in the June 8 primary have until Saturday, May 8 to register.