COLUMBIA, S.C. — Two local politicians are vying for the Democratic nomination for the new Senate District 26 seat, with the June 11th primary just weeks away.
It's a battle between some of the state's most recognizable Democrats this June as two heavy hitters are asking for your vote.
This centers around the newly redrawn Senate District 26. The two names in the Democratic primary are current District 20 Senator Dick Harpootlian and District 93 Representative Russell Ott.
Harpootlian holds a decades-long public service record with his most recent stint serving as Senator since 2018. He says his seniority in the senate will benefit his constituents.
"Seniority dictates your access to committees. I'll be on the Senate Finance Committee if I'm reelected - when I'm reelected - and that's going to give an extraordinary opportunity to the people of this district to have somebody on Senate Finance from this district," Harpootlian said.
The new district spans from Richland to Lexington and Calhoun counties.
As a native of Calhoun County, Ott says he'll represent the people of District 26.
"This is where I'm from. I'm from rural Calhoun County, here on the farm, and that's something I was taught from a very early age: If you take on a job, you do it to the best of your ability, and if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right," Ott said.
Ott also has ten years in office, being elected in 2013 as a State Representative. He says in his time he's worked to help families and educators throughout the state.
"[I'm] Very proud of working to get raises for teacher pay. We've come a long way over the course of the last 4 years, we haven't gone far enough. We have huge teacher shortages that we have to address, and I'm a big proponent of public education. That's always gonna be my number one priority, and so I'm adamantly opposed to vouchers, I'm adamantly opposed to taking public dollars and sending them to private schools," Ott said.
During his stint at the State House, Harpootlian says he's worked to bolster parts of the city's downtown districts.
"I've gotten over $20 million for various projects from quiet zones, which is redoing every railroad intersection in this part of the district so they don't have to blow the horns. And two, I just got $15 million for a quantum computer project for Five Points, which is in the Boyce center down there," Harpootlian said.
Both candidates say they have a vision for the future of the district and state as it continues to grow and develop.
"We have got to make sure that we have enough energy to meet the demands of residents across the state, but then to also continue to be able to track economic development to South Carolina," Ott said.
"I've met with the mayor of West Columbia, the mayor pro tem of Cayce and indicated to them I need to get an understanding of what their priorities are, so I can help get the money out of the legislature that they need," Harpootlian said.
The June primary for both Republican and Democratic elections is scheduled for June 11th.