Secretary of State
Republican Primary
- Mark Hammond (Incumbent)
- Bill McKown - Surfside Beach Town Councilman
- L. W. Flynn (withdrew) - 2004 candidate for the State House of Representatives
Hammond initially faced little opposition from Flynn and McKown and far out fundraised both. However, Flynn withdrew from the race and endorsed McKown, whose campaign picked up traction based on questioning Hammond's conservatism and support for the governor. Hammond eventually defeated McKown. Although Flynn received 6.5% of the vote in the primary, his votes were not officially tallied.
| Republican Secretary of State primary results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | Mark Hammond (incumbent) | 125,016 | 58.8% | |
| Republican | Bill McKown | 87,744 | 41.2% | |
| Totals | 212,760 | 100% | ||
General Election
Mark Hammond faced Democratic challenger Cheryl Footman, who did not face a primary. In a rather bizarre moment in the race, Footman attempted to burst into patriotic song at the end of her SCETV debate with Hammond, but was quickly cut off by the moderator. Hammond easily won re-election.
| South Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Mark Hammond (incumbent) | 656,661 | 61.2% | +4.4% | |
| Democratic | Cheryl Footman | 415,211 | 38.7% | -4.4% | |
| No party | Write-ins | 473 | <0.1% | ||
| Majority | 241,450 | 22.5% | +8.8% | ||
| Turnout | 1,072,345 | 43.7% | -8.8% | ||
Read more about this topic: South Carolina Elections, 2006
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