COLUMBIA, S.C. — Chakisse Newton has fought off a challenge from former Richland County Councilmember Norman Jackson to win her party's primary and most likely retain her council council seat.
The contest was one of three Midlands council seats up for grabs in the Tuesday's primary runoff races.
Newton won with 61 percent of the vote in the Richland County Council 11 Democratic primary. In raw numbers, she had 1,224 votes to Jackson's 783.
Newton was seeking a second term for a council seat that she first won after defeating Jackson in the 2018 primary. Jackson had been the representative for the district for a 12 year span beginning in 2006 and had also served as council chair.
Newton told News19 on Monday she hopes to focus efforts on infrastructure, public safety, and community investment in a second term.
No Republican or third party candidate filed for the contest, so Newton is the presumptive winner for the November general election, barring a write-in challenge.
District 11 covers a large stretch of Lower Richland County in an area near Highway 378.
Kershaw County
Two Kershaw County Council seats are apparently decided after winners were declared in primary contests Tuesday.
In the Kershaw County Council District 5 GOP runoff, Brant Tomlinson beat Kristin Cobb 58 to 42 percent, with Tomlinson getting 815 votes to Cobb's 591.
There is no Democrat running in November so Tomlinson is the presumptive winner.
And in the Kershaw County Council 6 GOP runoff Danny Catoe defeated Brent Hutto 53 to 47 percent, with Catoe securing 609 votes to Hutto's 534.
As in the case with the other council race, no Democrat is running in the general election, so Catoe is the presumed winner.