How Palmetto Examiner Endorsed Candidates Did Tuesday

Palmetto Examiner endorsements are not predictions. They’re an assessment of who and why we back certain candidates. Like your vote, sometimes it goes the way you want and sometimes it doesn’t.

Yes, it is our hope that our analysis and reasoning will sway you to vote for our candidates and positions, but when they are rejected, it’s not because we got the race wrong. It just means our candidate didn’t win. Palmetto Examiner candidates went 1-1 on Tuesday.

Let’s start with the victory. We were pleased to see Mike Ward win the Irmo Town Council race with 57.3 percent of the vote.

Ward defeated George Frazier and Ed Greco in a special election race that had low voter turnout as most special elections do.

Voter turnout was 6.3 percent of 5,556 registered Richland County voters and 7.8 percent of 2,937 Lexington County voters in the town.

Ward is a business owner in the technology and cybersecurity fields and previously ran for Mayor in 2019 but lost to Barry Walker. He also ran for school board in an unsuccessful bid in 2024.  

Now for the loss. Bill Oden lost the heavily blue SC House District 50 as we expected. Bishopville City Councilman Keishan Scott won decisively with 71 percent of the vote.

Again, this was no surprise to us. The heavily blue district has only had one other republican candidate in the last 20 years. Marvin Jones was the last republican to run for the seat in 2022 when republicans won a supermajority in the house. Jones lost the election 60% to 40% to long time Democrat Will Wheeler, another Bishopville Democrat who surprisingly announced his resignation three days before the legislation session began in January prompted the special election.

Sometimes you can get a surprise win in a special election that historically has a lower voter turnout. We got the low turnout, but no surprises here.

15,000 voters cast ballots in 2022 vs 3,671 on Tuesday. 

Editorial: South Carolina Special Elections are Tomorrow: Palmetto Examiner endorses two candidates: Oden and Ward

There are some special elections currently under way in South Carolina. Early voting ended Friday. So, if you live in an area holding a special election, tomorrow is your last chance, last call for voting. Polls will be open from 7am to 7pm. And since voter turnout is usually low for special elections, your vote could matter more than ever. Here’s who Palmetto Examiner endorses, and we hope you’ll consider voting for.

Bill Oden gives a high five to a student at Liberty
Steam Charter School in Sumter during their 4th 
annual Liberty Leadership Experience May 21. An
event that allows community leaders to take
a closer look at the school's operations. 

State House District 50: Republican Bill Oden is our pick. Oden has never held any political office, but I don’t believe that is necessarily a bad thing. What he lacks in experience of holding office he makes up for in service. He’s a 20 plus year military veteran and his distinguished military service record in the United States Air Force and the South Carolina Guard brings the ideals of service, duty and honor that is needed in SC House District 50.

Oden will stand for the sanctity of life, will protect our second amendment rights and will work to cut the red tape and lower taxes to help attract new jobs and keep the ones already in District 50.

Oden also has a strong record of community service as a board member on the Sumter County SC Habitat for Humanity. A member of the Military Affairs Committee on the Sumter Conty SC Chamber of Commerce. Chairman of the Board for Hidden Wounds. Member of the Board of Trustees at SC State University and Chairman of the Sumter County GOP.

This election will replace former Democrat Rep. Will Wheeler, who unexpectantly resigned three days into the legislative session in January after holding the seat for eight years. The district includes portions of Kershaw, Lee and Sumter counties.

This district has been a democrat stronghold for too long and it’s time for a change to escape the Jim Clyburn corridor of shame of one of the most poverty strickenUS Congressional Districts in the nation.

His democrat opponent is endorsed by Clyburn and Planned Parenthood, that sounds like more of the same ole situation to us.

Mike Ward speaks at a candidate meet and greet held 
by the Lexington County NAACP on May 30, 2025.

IRMO TOWN COUNCIL: Mike Ward has been a cheerleader for Irmo. He loves the place and wants to see it succeed. Ward knows Irmo is growing fast, and he wants it to grow smart with a plan for infrastructure that keeps Irmo’s comfortable charm. He’s also the only candidate in the race We’ve met and that means a lot.

Mike has built a portfolio of trust in public service. He currently chairs the Irmo Okra Strut Commission, serves as chair of the School Improvement Council at Dutch Fork Elementary and has held key leadership positions in the South Carolina PTA.

He’s also a businessman leading two cyber security companies focused on protecting small businesses and older adults stay safe from cyber threats online. He has also worked closely with the FBI to help protect critical infrastructure across the state.

His combined experience in public service and business leadership gives him a unique and practical perspective to serve Irmo well into the future.

Now go vote, bring a like-minded friend! 

News and Views from Around the State: June 2, 2025

"Catfish wrasslin'," more commonly known as noodling,
is a unique way of fishing for catfish by hand, typically 
done during their spawning season. Noodlers insert their hands 
into catfish burrows, often under logs or rocks, and attempt 
to "wrestle" the fish out. It's a risky activity, as catfish will 
defend their nests by biting, and other animals like alligators
can inhabit the areas. (Photo credit: Philip Gentry)

SC POLITICS: DID SC LAWMAKERS VIOLATE CONSTITUTION BY VOTING THEMSELVES A PAY RAISE? The South Carolina Constitution, Article III, Section 19, suggests that is the case.  “No General Assembly shall have the power to increase the per diem of its own members.” FITSNEWS reports Former Democrat Sen. Dick Harpoolitan is considering a lawsuit if Gov. Henry McMaster doesn’t veto the raise.

SOUTH CAROLINA: CRIME: JUDICIAL: WHEN AND WHY IS THE DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT IN SOUTH CAROLINA: 15 death sentences have been handed down in South Carolina since 2005. How is it determined which cases seek the death penalty in the state.  

GREENVILLE: EDUCATION: Greenville Technical College ranked among the top ten community colleges in the nation by Newsweek.

AIKEN COUNTY: SAVANAH RIVER SITE CELEBRATES 75 YEARS:  Savanah River Plant, now called the Savanah River Site started in 1950 at the request of President Harry Truman to support American nuclear weapons program during the Cold War. Seventy-five years later, South Carolina recognizes the positive impacts SRS has made and continues to make on behalf of American national security and families, US Congressman Joe Wilson writes in an op-ed.

HORRY COUNTY: CRIME: 11 INJURED IN MEMORIAL DAY SHOOTING IN LITTLE RIVER: Ten people suffered gunshot wounds during an altercation on a charter boat during a Memorial Day weekend private party in Little River. One other person suffered an “unknown non-gunfire related” injury, Horry County Police Department said.

SC POLITICS: GOVERNORS RACE: Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and potential candidate for Governor in 2026 told Aiken Republican Club members she supports a system where judges would be nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. She also told the group as “an accountant by trade” she is a fan of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

AIKEN COUNTY: EDUCATION: PROPERTY TAXES: Aiken County Board of Education approved a budget increase of $26.1 million by a vote of 7-1. That’s 9.88% higher than last year’s budget. The board also increased the millage rate on property taxes for the first time in more than a decade. Here’s what’s in the budget and how the millage rate increase affects property taxes.

WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY: RULES FOR THEE NOT FOR ME: This is a county car, and I am a county employee. A county employee told a citizen that she could park wherever she wanted when confronted about using a handicap spot at the Williamsburg County Public Service Administration Building.  

SPORTS: COLLEGE BASEBALL: COASTAL CAROLINA ADVANCES TO FOURTH NCAA SUPER REGIONAL: A sacrifice fly by senior outfielder Sebastian Alexander in the bottom of the eighth inning was the only and winning run of the championship game Sunday night, as the Chanticleers defeated East Carolina 1-0 to win the Conway Regional. It’s the fourth time the Chanticleers is headed to the NCAA Super Regional and the first since their 2016 National Championship.

SPORTS: COLLEGE BASEBALL: CLEMSON GETS BLOWN OUT AND ELIMINATED FROM OWN REGIONAL TO END SEASON: Clemson hosted a regional only to be blown out 16-4 by Kentucky and eliminated from the NCAA tournament.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE: THE HISTORY OF FROZEN PIZZA THAT WAS ALMOST A NOTHING BURGER: Nearly one million Americans will eat a slice of frozen pizza today and never know that the lucrative industry was almost a flop. In fact, pizza as a whole was an exotic food brought to America by Italian immigrants at the turn of the 20^th century and never took off until American GIs returning from Italy after WWII craved it. J. Mark Powell explains more in Holy Cow! History.

OUTDOORSMEN: WRASSLIN’ CATFISH: It’s more commonly referred to as noodling, a unique late spring outdoorsmen sport that certainly has its followers, but not much of a mainstream appeal. My grandpa used to do it… You know, when men were men or.. uh.. whatever.