Turnout for last week’s special primary election for two public service commissioner seats may have set a record for low turnout.
Just 182 of Pierce County's more than 13,300 registered voters bothered to cast ballots in the election. Of those, 97 voted on election day and 85 voted/early absentee. A total of about 160 Republicans and 22 Democrats cast ballots.
That low mark may be followed by an election with even less turnout.
Keisha Sean Waites received 46 percent of the vote statewide in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination for the district three seat, meaning the race is headed to a July 15 run-off election.
Waites was short of a 50 percent plus one majority to avoid a run-off.
Locally, Waites received 11 votes and Peter Hubbard and Robert Jones received three votes each. Hubbard fininished second state-wide and will be in a run-off with Waites.
The winner will face Republican Incumbent Fitz Johnson in the November 4 General Election.
Johnson ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Republican Incumbent Tim Echols won his party’s nomination for another term. Echols received 120 votes locally to 39 for Lee Muns. Echols also won statewide with about 75 percent of the vote.
Echols will face Democrat Alicia M. Johnson in the General Election.
A Johnson was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
