Retiring SC congressman loses local bid after opening way for Tim Scott in GOP primary

Retiring SC congressman loses bid for local seat

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A retiring South Carolina congressman whose departure triggered a high-profile Republican primary race has lost his bid for a county office back home.

U.S. Rep. Henry Brown had hoped to unseat the incumbent supervisor of Berkeley County in a GOP primary runoff Tuesday. But he lost by 44 percent to 56 percent against Dan Davis after finishing just three votes behind Davis in the June 8 primary.

Brown’s exit from Congress after five terms sent candidates clamoring for the seat. He decided to run for supervisor because he said he was tired of traveling, but not tired of public service.

Tim Scott won Tuesday’s Republican runoff to replace Brown and could become the state’s first black Republican congressman since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.