Candidates kick in personal, corporate funds in special S.C. House election
Susan McCord @reportr1
Jul 17, 2019 at 9:24 PM Jul 17, 2019 at 9:24 PM
One candidate is calling himself the fundraising leader while others raised or gave themselves thousands more in the special South Carolina House District 84 election.
The six contenders to replace Rep. Ronnie Young, who died May 19, face off in a July 30 Republican primary and will appear at a Thursday candidate forum in Warrenville. An Aug. 13 runoff will decide the race if no candidate wins the primary.
The largest spender in the special election in reports due July 15 was candidate Melissa Lackey Oremus, who owns several businesses.
Oremus reported giving her campaign $10,100 and receiving $300 from individual donors.
She had spent $10,229.80 as of July 13, including $4,000 with Atlanta political consultant Gadsden and Greene Strategies LLC, $4,742 for campaign signs and $1,388 for printing, and ended the period with $58 on hand.
Besides herself, her donors were pecan vendor Roy Gmitter, pastor Henry Shaffer, and Lynn Sullivan of Jackson, S.C.
Candidate and Aiken County Councilman Danny Feagin reported he has raised $5,000 in payments of $1,000 apiece from WG Development, Nicole Goforth, Weldon Wyatt, WTC-IMG LLC and WTC of Richland Avenue.
Wyatt, who founded Sage Valley Golf Club, and the two WTC entities are listed with addresses at 2240 Sage Valley Drive, and the group was involved in recent Aiken County Council discussions about the future of the former Aiken County Hospital Property.
Feagin's reported spending on signs and campaign cards left him with $1,738 on hand.
Candidate Sean Pumphrey, the chairman of South Carolina Young Republicans, reported raising $2,933.
In a news release, Pumphrey said he "leads candidates in donations," but clarified later he had the largest amount on hand, $2,075, of the six at the end of the period.
"I'm sure other candidates will still spend lots of money in the last days of the campaign raised from large donations hidden from the voter," said Pumphrey, adding his grass-roots donors have put the "politics-as-usual crowd on notice."
His donors spanned South Carolina and the United States, such as New Jersey building inspector Michael Thulen, Raleigh, N.C., systems analyst Emmanuel Wilder, Chester County, S.C. Recorder of Deeds Richard Loughery and Little Rock, Ark., consultant James Barker.
Pumphrey is an Afghanistan War veteran who works at Fastsigns, where he reported spending $540 on signs.
His expenditures also included transaction fees paid to the online fundraising service Anedot.
Candidate Alvin Padgett, who owns a tire business, reported raising $1,200 but only spending $15.53 on checks during the period, leaving him with $1,184.47 on hand.
Padgett gave $500 to himself and received the rest from donors Ronnie Barton, Willys Brotherton and Charles Wall.
Candidate Ralph Gunter, who ran for the post in the 1980s, reported raising $250 in a single contribution from business owner Chuck Martin and gave $600 to himself. After spending on campaign materials he had $339 on hand.
Candidate Cody Anderson, who owns a funeral home, did not have a July 10 report on file. Anderson said the delay was due to a death in his immediate family, a close aunt, and that he had 15 additional days to file but would do so within a few days.