Sheriff candidate Tommy Blankenship speaks at at May 23 forum in Easley.
- Caitlin Herrington/Staff
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Reporter Caitlin Herrington covers the Clemson area for The Post and Courier.
Caitlin Herrington
PICKENS— With no definitive winner declared in the sheriff’s race in Pickens County, the top two candidates appear headed back to the campaign trail for a runoff, according to unofficial results.
The only two candidates currently working for the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, Tommy Blankenship and Chuck James, will face off again on June 25.
Blankenship received 38 percent of the vote in the June 11 primary and James nearly 29 percent. With James’ unofficial vote tally coming in at 5,100, there’s a small chance David Harrison – who had 4,873 votes and 27 percent – could jump ahead for the second spot in the runoff.
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County election director Amy Sams said there’s no way to know how many provisional and failsafe votes will be counted during the June 13 certification. It would take over 200 to tip the scales in Harrison’s favor.
Blankenship is a training lieutenant at the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, where he has worked for nearly 20 years under the leadership of current Sheriff Rick Clark and predecessor David Stone.
Clark is retiring.
James currently serves as chief deputy of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, where he’s been for close to 16 years. In this role, he attends County Council meetings to discuss departmental needs and goals.
The remaining two candidates, Damon Hubber and Mike Ticknor, each received roughly 3 percent of the primary votes with Tickner coming out 100 votes ahead.
The runoff for both the sheriff and County Council District 5 is scheduled for June 25.
Greenville News
2 incumbents fall in Pickens County primary and a third is at risk in runoff
- By Caitlin Herringtoncherrington@postandcourier.com
Palmetto Politics
What happened when a Pickens election officer criticized candidates? Yup, he lost his job.
- By Caitlin
Herringtoncherrington@postandcourier.com
News
Mark Burns, Sheri Biggs will head to runoff in GOP primary for Jeff Duncan's Upstate seat
- By Macon AtkinsonReport for America corps membermatkinson@postandcourier.com
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