Republican aligned with Trump wins South Carolina seat in special election

COLUMBIA, S.C.—Republican Ralph Norman won a special election Tuesday to fill the South Carolina congressional seat vacated by Mick Mulvaney, battling to a victory closer than many expected to replace the new White House budget director.

“It’s a good win, and we’re excited,” Norman, a real estate developer who aligned himself with President Donald Trump, told The Associated Press. “We’re looking forward to getting to work in Washington.”

Norman, who celebrated his 64th birthday on election night, defeated Democrat Archie Parnell with 51 percent of the vote, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. Parnell had roughly 48 percent of the vote.

Three third-party candidates also waged campaigns.

Republicans hoped to extend their hold on the district, where Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in November by more than 18 percentage points. Surrogates like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint campaigned with the former state lawmaker, who also received support during a seven-way primary and ultimate runoff from conservative groups like the Club for Growth.

Democrats took interest in the race, too, with Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez campaigning with Parnell.

But it was small in comparison to the party’s investment in a special election in Georgia’s 6th District, seen as an early test for the GOP and President Trump: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put only $275,000 into South Carolina’s race. That’s compared with a $5 million investment in the special election in Georgia’s 6th District.

In a statement, DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján congratulated Parnell on a hard-fought campaign that “made huge gains compared to past Democrats who competed here.”

Parnell’s campaign thanked supporters in a statement, saying the stood “against a rising tide of bitterness and division” and offered hope. Parnell also called Norman to congratulate him.

The Democrat put on a strong campaign, outperforming Clinton in a handful of the 11 counties that make up the 5th District, which stretches north from Columbia to the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina. In Chester County, which Trump won with 51 percent, Parnell edged out Norman by more than 7 percentage points.