SOMEBODY PLEASE GET THESE GUYS A MAP

The hectic two-week filing period for candidates seeking their party’s nomination in this year’s election is almost at a close. With less than four days to file official paperwork and pay a fee as a contender in the June 10 primary elections, rumors are still abound about who will and who won’t be running for a legislative seat.

But for some of those candidates face a possible defeat not at the hands of their primary opponent, but rather by the State Constitution.

Jeffrey Sewell at SC Hotline noted Wednesday that Article III, Section 7 of the South Carolina Constitution requires, “A candidate for the Senate or House of Representatives must be a legal resident of the district in which he is a candidate at the time he files for the office.” And for at least four potential legislative contenders, this could be a problem.

Outgoing president and CEO of the state Chamber of Commerce Hunter Howard announced that he would be retiring this fall after 16 years at that post. Word immediately began circulating that Howard would launch a very strong challenge to District 8 Sen. David Thomas. That rumor has gained a lot of weight of late.

The only catch is, Howard doesn’t live in Thomas’ Greenville district. Howard is currently registered to vote in Richland County. And sources tell us that, while his family owns property in Greenville, Howard himself only owns a house near Spring Valley Country Club in Columbia.

State House candidate Eric Hayler also faces questions about his residency. Spartanburg GOP Chairman Rick Beltram recently circulated an email saying that the party would challenge the Democrat’s eligibility, claiming that he resides outside of the district in which he has filed.

State Rep. Harry Cato (R-Greenville) has also been criticized for living outside of his district. Primary challenger Joe Dill has questioned whether Cato, who owns a home in Lexington, actually lives in the Greenville district.

And Tom Davis, a former chief aide to Gov. Mark Sanford who is seeking to unseat an incumbent Republican Senator in the primary, has also been attacked on claims that he does not reside in Beaufort, where he has filed to run.

Of the four though, only Howard is not registered to vote in his district. While he meets the standards of the South Carolina Code, he apparently fails to meet Constitutional requirements. That could be why he is the only one yet to file for office.

For all of these candidates though, I would recommend that they take the advice of Miss Teen SC and appropriate more maps. Because there are some seriously geographically-challenged people in this state.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 12:02 pm and is filed under Legislature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.