Political newcomer Grant DeShields overtook Justin McCorkle in the race for Spartanburg County Council District 4, the county's largest district.
With 100% of precincts reporting, unofficial results show DeShields has won with 1,284 votes. McCorkle received 1,028 votes.
According to the South Carolina Election Commission, voter turnout for the primary runoff in Spartanburg County was 7.57%, slightly higher than the statewide turnout of 5.84%.
DeShields said he was happy and humbled to have won. He said his future constituents could expect him to start working on the issues he campaigned on once he takes the seat.
"I'm going to work on the very issues that we described in our run for office. We're going to try to be great stewards of the tax dollars that we have, prepare ourselves to get in a good position to repair infrastructure, roads, bridges, sewer, water," DeShields said. "We also want to affect our EMTs, first responders, police officers. I've already spoken with Chuck Wright on a couple occasions of better ways to recruit the best officers possible for Spartanburg County, ways to help them and benefit them."
During the Republican primary on June 11, DeShields took the lead in the three-person race, receiving 1,994 votes, while McCorkle received 1,957 votes, necessitating a runoff between them. Frank Tiller, the third challenger for the seat, received 1,529 votes.
McCorkle was running for his second term on the council, having first been elected in 2020. He is a musician, volunteer firefighter, and businessman who lives in Roebuck.
After unofficial results, McCorkle expressed gratitude to those who supported him in the race and during his time on the county council.
"It was a really tight, really good race. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support that I received. I'm just extremely thankful for everybody that supported me throughout my tenure on Council," McCorkle said. "To do this job and to do it correctly and to represent the people that depend on you, it takes a lot of time. So, I'm looking forward to doing a little more with my career and definitely looking forward to being able to spend more time with my family and friends. And there's probably going to be music again in my future, so I'm pretty excited about that."
This was DeShields's first time running for office. He is a Duncan resident and owns DG Construction Service with his wife, Danielle.
Prior to the polls closing, DeShields expressed his gratitude for the support he'd received as a first-time candidate.
"We really appreciate and are honored to have the support that we have we've had. We appreciate all the voters and the volunteers who have helped out," DeShields said. "It's been really humbling experience and very grateful experience for us. I want to thank everybody for all their time and effort and the votes that we've gotten."
District 4 is located in the county's southern region and encompasses Pacolet, Woodruff, Enoree, Cross Anchor, Pauline, Roebuck, Reidville and part of Greer.
Samantha Swann covers city news, development and culture in Spartanburg. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: DeShields wins over incumbent McCorkle for Spartanburg County Council D4 seat, what to know
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