South Carolina Elections, 2006 - Superintendent of Education

Superintendent of Education

Republican Primary

• Karen Floyd - former Spartanburg County County Council Chair, attorney
• Bob Staton - businessman, former chair of the SC Education Oversight Committee
• Mike Ryan - teacher
• Elizabeth Moffly - businesswoman
• Kerry Wood (withdrew) - computer programmer

The crowded Republican primary was dominated by Floyd's campaign from the start. Floyd was able to gain the endorsements of the governor, both Senators, Republican Congressmen and state legislators early in the race, when it was presumed that she would be running against incumbent Inez Tenenbaum. When Tenenbaum announced she would not be running, more serious candidates began eyeing the race, and Bob Staton eventually became the viable alternative to Floyd. His race emphasized an opposition to school vouchers and support for existing aspects of public education. The other, more minor candidates, were largely united in an anti-voucher position. Ryan distinguished himself by straying from attacks on the state's standardized test regime, the PACT, instead supporting the idea of standardized testing as a way to create standards in education. Just before the election, Wood withdrew from the race and endorsed Staton, but despite this his votes were officially tallied after the race. Floyd won the primary, barely surpassing the 50 percent threshold to avoid a run-off.

Democrats

• Jim Rex - former Columbia College president, former teacher
• Cecil Taliaferro (withdrew) - former COO of Allen University
• Ed Murray (withdrew) - teacher

Although Tenenbaum began preparing for a campaign in 2005, she eventually decided against running and withdrew from the race. Cecil Taliaferro and Ed Murray, two Democrats, then entered the race. Frank Holleman, Tenenbaum's campaign manager in her 2004 Senate run and former Deputy Secretary of Education, considered a run but did not enter the race. When Rex announced his candidacy, he received wide acclaim from the party, and Taliaferro and Murray withdrew before filing. Since, Tenenbaum, Holleman, Murray and Elizabeth Moffly have endorsed Rex's candidacy.

Third parties

• Arnold E. Karr (Green Party) - correctional educator and union activist
• Tim Moultrie (Libertarian Party) - teacher, 1998 Libertarian gubernatorial candidate
• Ralph Linblad (Constitution Party) - machinist, briefly 2006 Constitution gubernatorial candidate
• Tony Fayyazi (independent) - educator

Tim Moultrie won the nomination of the Libertarian Party at their Lowcountry convention, fending off Rebekah Sutherland, the Libertarian Party's 2004 candidate for US Senate. Karr has received the endorsement of the South Carolina AFL-CIO and affiliated unions. His campaign is stressing the independence of the Superintendent's Office from that of the Governor, empowerment of public educators, and funding equity for all school districts in the state. He has proposed using SC lottery proceeds to subsidize poorer districts until the General Assembly enacts a permanent funding plan. Lindblad has pledged to dissolve the SC Department of Education if elected and eliminate the office of Superintendent entirely, claiming that bureaucracy is the biggest impediment to effective education. Fayyazi believes that the state superintendent should be an educator with knowledge of how public education works on the ground.

General Election

The Superintendent race was one of the more high-profile and competitive races. The incumbent, Inez Tenenbaum, opted not to run for re-election after her defeat in the 2004 Senate election against Jim Demint. Republican Karen Floyd declared her candidacy early and posted strong fundraising numbers, avoiding a run-off in her primary against three opponents. The Democrat, college president Jim Rex, also showed himself to be an apt fundraiser, and gained the financial support of large segments of the education community. Rex eventually won the general election in a close election that was decided after a month-long recount.