CU Professor discusses OC Council Race

Voter turnout is expected to be low when the two men vying for the open seat on Oconee County Council square off first in a Republican Primary on April 1 to be their party’s nominee for a special May election.  Clemson University Political Science Professor Dr. Joseph Stewart says it will be interesting to see who comes out to support Seneca attorney Paul Cain or Oconee County School Board Chairman Andy Inabinet in the race for Seat 3 on the Oconee County Council. “Special elections are generally low turnout elections, so that will be a challenge to get people to turnout.  That will be one where it will be interesting to see what the turnout is in that special election.  Following that up fairly quickly with the Primary and the Regular Election and so to the extent that there is voter fatigue, getting people to turnout multiple times becomes even more problematic.” The seat opened after the passing of Archie Barron earlier this year.  The winner of the special election gets to fill the remaining months of Barron’s term.  Dr. Stewart says the winner of the first election will have an advantage, but it could be just a slight advantage depending again on voter turnout. “The winner then can run as an incumbent and incumbent usually have an advantage.  The danger for the incumbent is that the incumbent’s supporters may become complacent and say well you have it won so I don’t need to turnout and vote for you.  The challenger can then say to his supporters, look you have got to turnout and help me because my opponent has already won and so we have got to turnout if you want to get me into office.  It is all a matter of how you play that as to whether or not you can win, but you would certainly rather be the winner than the loser in that first election.”  Regardless of the results in the May Special Election, the two candidates challenge again for the seat in the June Republican primary. The nominee there gets his name on the ballot in November for a full, four-year term.