By Skylar Laird
NORTH CHARLESTON — A defense attorney from North Charleston will be the newest member of the South Carolina House.
Tiffany Spann-Wilder won the Tuesday, Jan 30 Democratic primary for a special election to replace Rep. Deon Tedder.
Technically, the special election is April 2.
But neither a Republican nor any third-party candidate bothered to run for the safely Democratic district covering neighborhoods near the Charleston airport. So, Spann-Wilder is certain to take the seat left vacant when Tedder won a special election to the state Senate in November.
Fewer than 1,100 people voted in the primary. That’s just 4% of the district’s registered voters.
Spann-Wilder received 60% of the vote over Eduardo Curry II, who works with education-focused nonprofits.
Her election will increase the number of women in the state House to 21 of the chamber’s 124 seats. That’s still down from a high of 25 women in the Statehouse’s lower chamber four years ago.
The primary results will be officially certified Thursday.
When Spann-Wilder takes her seat in April, all 124 seats of the House will be filled, with a breakdown of 88 Republicans and 36 Democrats.
Spann-Wilder, who spent four years as a magistrate, focused her campaign on reducing high crime rates in North Charleston. She will advocate for more after-school programs and technical classes for youth, according to her website.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau.
