Greenville probate judge defeated as County Council seats are won in 2022 election
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Longtime Greenville County Probate Judge Debora Faulkner, one of the few elected Democrats in the county, lost the judgeship she held for more than 20 years to Republican challenger Chad Groover in Tuesday's election.
But while Republicans flipped the probate judgeship, the political power balance of 10 Republicans and two Democrats on Greenville County Council will remain the same despite four new faces.
A technical glitch causing more than 3,000 mail-in absentee ballots to be recounted coupled with an hours-long wait to vote at County Square Tuesday evening delayed final election results well into Wednesday. The vote count for all Greenville County precincts was not finalized until after 4 a.m., according to the South Carolina Election Commission's website.
Debora Faulkner loses probate judgeship amid Republican challenge
Groover beat Faulkner by a vote of 105,319 to 69,920, according to unofficial results.
Groover, who practices elder law and has long been active in local Republican politics, ran on a platform of protecting parents' rights, stopping government overregulation and protecting second-amendment rights in the probate process.
Faulkner was one of the few long-serving Democrats to hold elected office in Greenville County, and she had garnered some Republican support, as shown in a recent campaign ad featuring Republicans endorsing her candidacy.
Republican Joey Russo defeats Democrat Sheryl Guarniero for Greenville County Council District 17 seat
Joey Russo defeated Sheryl Guarniero to keep the Greenville County Council District 17 seat in Republican hands by a vote of 12,373 to 2,925.
Russo, a former sheriff's deputy who now helps run his family's business, ran on a platform of supporting small business and law enforcement officers, along with increasing transparency on council.
During the primaries, Russo defeated longtime County Council member Joe Dill to win the Republican nomination.
Previous reporting:SC Republican Party overrules Greenville County GOP, confirms Russo as primary winner
Democrat Alan Mitchell defeats Republican Ben Carper for Greenville County Council District 23 seat
Alan Mitchell defeated Ben Carper to keep the Greenville County Council District 23 seat in Democrat hands, winning by a vote of5,594 to 3,197.
Michell, who is currently the president of the Nicholtown Neighborhood Association, ran for County Council on a platform of enhancing economic development and improving the infrastructure within District 23.
After incumbent councilmember Xanthene Norris decided not to run for reelection, she endorsed Mitchell as her replacement.
More Greenville County election results
Three County Council seats that were up for grabs this election cycle were single-candidate races, with one incumbent and two newcomers winning council seats.
In District 19, musician Benton Blount won his Republican primary against Council Chair Willis Meadows in June, setting up Blount for a council seat come January. Blount received just more than 97% of the vote.
In District 26, Rick Bradley unseated Lynn Ballard during the June primary and faced no opposition in the general election. Bradley received 11,959 votes, just under 98% of the vote.
Incumbent Council Member and Finance Committee Chair Dan Tripp ran unopposed for the District 28 seat and received just more than 98% of the vote with 12,116 votes.
Republicans Scott Case and Al Hodges faced no Democratic opposition in their respective races for County Auditor and County Treasurer, and each won more than 98% of the vote.
−Tim Carlin covers county government, growth and development for The Greenville News. Follow him on Twitter @timcarlin_, and get in touch with him at TCarlin@gannett.com. You can support his work by subscribing to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville SC election results 2022: Probate judge defeated, more
