South Carolina Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-Westminster, decisively won South Carolina's 3rd District congressional seat Tuesday.
With 83 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Barrett received about 69 percent of the votes. High school guidance counselor George Brightharp, a Democrat who unsuccessfully opposed Lindsey Graham two years ago, received about 30 percent. Mr. Graham gave the seat up in order to make a successful run for U.S. Senate.
Libertarian Michael Boerste had about 2 percent of the votes.
In Aiken County, with 22 of 62 precincts reporting as of 9:50 p.m., Mr. Barrett had 69 percent of the votes and Mr. Brightharp had 29 percent.
In Edgefield County, Mr. Barrett won 55 percent of votes, compared with Mr. Brightharp's 45 percent.
"Gresham will represent us well in Washington," said Ginny Allen, Mr. Barrett's Aiken County campaign chairwoman. "We're sending a good, solid conservative to Washington."
Incumbents were running in all of the state's other congressional districts. Two had major party opposition, although both had defeated their opponents in the past.
Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn beat perennial GOP candidate Gary McLeod of Manning.
In the 4th District, Rep. Jim DeMint defeated Peter Ashy, a consultant who ran in the two previous elections as a Reform Party candidate and this year ran as a Democrat and United Citizens Party candidate. Faye Walters of the Natural Law Party also ran.
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