The Rev. Karlton Howard won election to his late brother’s state House seat Tuesday, winning the four-way special Democratic primary outright to become the fourth Howard to hold the Augusta House District 129 seat.
Howard, 71, won 1,810 or 68.38% of the vote so avoids a runoff. Second-place finisher Brad Owens garnered 16.43%, project manager Scott Cambers had 9.22% and college student Davis Green had 5.97%.
Howard announced plans to run for the seat Oct. 31, only 18 days after the Oct. 13 death of his brother, Rep. Henry “Wayne” Howard, who served eight terms. Their father, Henry Howard, held the post from 1990 until he died in 2005 and Henry Howard’s widow, Earnestine, served until Wayne Howard won his first term in 2006.
Turnout in the primary was a dismal 7.8% with Tuesday’s lower-40s temperatures and rain. Nearly 57% who participated cast ballots during early voting, which overlapped one week with the U.S. Senate runoff.
Owens had the most votes in four of the district’s 18 polling places: 101 which votes at Asbury United Methodist Church, 303 and 307 which include areas of Summerville and 702, which votes at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church.
