Gaffney mayor race to head into special run-off election

GAFFNEY, S.C. (WSPA) – The next mayor for the City of Gaffney is still undecided as of Tuesday night, during several election races in Cherokee County.

Incumbent mayor Dr. Randy Moss received more than 32% of the vote. Dr. Moss needed 50% plus one vote to secure a second term.

Four years ago, Moss also went into a run-off election, coming out on time to secure his first term as Gaffney’s mayor.

Challenger Lyman Dawkins III, the principal at Gaffney Middle School received the most votes (47.68%), followed by Moss (32.01%), Alex Davidson Sr. (10.45%) and Clarence Dover Jr. (9.74%). Write-ins accounted for 0.02% of the almost 1,700 votes cast.

Moss likened the results to halftime in a football game.

“I see this as halftime of a football game,” Moss explained. “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and I need to just simply motivate my voters to come out.”

Dawkins III also had an optimistic view towards Tuesday’s results.

“I had a lot of support today and also hopefully the support from the other candidates will come my way in two more weeks,” said Dawkins III.

Tuesday’s results will be certified at 9 a.m. on Friday, August 16. After that comes a special run-off election two weeks later, where a candidate will need 50% of the votes plus one additional vote to secure the post of Gaffney’s Mayor.

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