Gowdy landslide: Solicitor overwhelms incumbent
By JASON SPENCERjason.spencer@shj.com
Solicitor Trey Gowdy routed incumbent U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis in a Republican runoff election Tuesday, following more than a year of intense campaigning. Gowdy, of Spartanburg, captured 71 percent of the vote.
Solicitor Trey Gowdy routed incumbent U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis in a Republican runoff election Tuesday, following more than a year of intense campaigning.
Gowdy, of Spartanburg, captured 71 percent of the vote, compared to the 29 percent won by Inglis, of Travelers Rest, according to unofficial results.
Several hundred people packed the lobby of the David Reid Theater at the Chapman Cultural Center after the polls closed at 7 p.m., and the first cheers erupted when The Associated Press called the race for Gowdy shortly after 8:30.
Gowdy arrived and took the stage with his wife and two children about an hour later. He was introduced by his father, Hal, a retired pediatrician.
" 'Thank you' is not adequate, it's just all I know to say. Thank you for believing in me and giving me a chance to pursue this dream," Gowdy said. "I can say this without fear of contradiction: It never, ever would have happened without the people in this room — volunteering and knocking on doors, and saying, 'No, he's not as bad as you heard,' or 'Quit talking about that lake in Union.' You are the reason I am up here tonight. The only way I know how to thank you is to run a race that is worthy of the people I seek to serve."
Gowdy, 45, said his mother recently had surgery and, despite that, three days later was driving his father around Simpsonville to knock on doors.
He also publicly thanked Inglis for his 12 years of service in Congress to the Upstate and to the country, which was followed by a round of applause.
"I am an imperfect messenger," Gowdy said. "Tonight is not about me in any way shape or form. It is about a group of people who want to first reclaim the Congress, and then reclaim the United States of America."
Inglis, 50, served six years in Congress in the 1990s and then returned to office in 2004.
He called Gowdy a "very capable fellow" who will "do a fine job" and extended his congratulations. He also said he appreciated the opportunity to serve.
"I'm not a partisan. And since coming back to Congress, and experiencing through God's grace six years out of Congress, I've become even less so," Inglis said in a phone interview.
"This is a partisan business, and a very partisan time, and I just don't fit in. And that's been obvious, really, since the August town hall meetings. So, it's a just result. People deserve the representative they want. It's a just result. It's the way it should come out."
Inglis will serve through January and said he would start looking for a job soon.
In the two weeks since placing second to Gowdy in the primary, Inglis said he wasn't necessarily running against Gowdy; rather, he said he was running against the "sins of Congress." He tried to separate himself from that Congress — and those sins — by citing everything from past votes on budget recommendations to turning down a request for a federal earmark for a proposed man-made lake in Union County.
The campaign was brutal, and — toward the end — unusual.
At a debate Monday, the candidates challenged each other to let their wives weigh in on the tenor of the other's campaign.
Gowdy pulled out a pocket Constitution to show that it didn't govern the use of steroids by professional baseball players. Inglis pulled out his copy of the same to show that it didn't include language about the proposed Patriot's Lake in Union County.
Inglis argued there were few differences policy-wise between Gowdy and himself — challenging voters to send back someone with leadership experience who would be ready, in his estimate, when Republicans take control of Congress in November.
Along those lines, he cast Gowdy as "the guy who will waste time trying to find the bathroom." He also compared Gowdy to "another untested change-agent" America sent to Washington in 2008 — an allusion to President Barack Obama.
In a radio debate last week, Inglis reiterated his belief that people should "turn off" Glenn Beck and others who instill fear of the future — saying, instead, he prefers a more optimistic approach. At a Spartanburg GOP stump meeting Saturday, Inglis said that he was "American first" — not "Republican first."
Inglis also took his case to Comedy Central fans in hopes of getting the elusive "Colbert bump."
It wasn't enough.
Gowdy campaigned as "a different kind of messenger," saying that was what is needed to change Congress.
"Trey is an energetic, caring person," former Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet said Tuesday night. "I give Bob Inglis a great deal of credit for his contribution to the Upstate. … I wish them both the best."
He added: "Trey is an inspired choice."
Gowdy was swarmed by supporters — some already calling him "congressman" — after his speech, shaking hands and posing for photographs.
"I watched him grow up. He has a wonderful family. … He'll be a wonderful congressman," Spartanburg businessman Vic Bailey Jr. said. "I feel like he'll be someone who will listen to us when we call."
Manning Lynch, past president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Spartanburg, called the victory "a good thing for Spartanburg."
"This is going to do a lot to boost our morale, our esprit de corps," Lynch said. "It's a good thing. Trey's a fresh face. We need that."
Gowdy's consultant, Terry Sullivan, said the margin of victory showed the election was more than anti-incumbent animosity or a referendum on Inglis.
"Trey's message resonated," Sullivan said. "People believed in him. People trusted him."
Gowdy will face Democrat Paul Corden, Green Party candidate Faye Walters, Libertarian Rick Mahler and Constitution Party candidate Dave Edwards in November.