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South Carolina Gay Candidate
Triggers Vote Recount

Compiled by GayToday

David Schwacke was facing his first election since coming out three years ago

Charleston, South Carolina--According to unofficial election returns, David Schwacke, South Carolina's 9th Judicial Circuit Solicitor, nearly won a closely-fought Republican primary Tuesday in a campaign rife with anti-gay tactics.

Schwacke, who had been endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, is the openly gay GOP chief prosecutor for Charleston and Berkeley counties who had been targeted by local party officials because of his sexual orientation. Schwacke appears to have fallen short of victory by less than one percent of the vote, but the closeness of the vote has triggered a state law requiring a recount.

"The fact is that David Schwacke is an excellent prosecutor. It is unfortunate that anti-gay activists and Schwacke's opponent have apparently misled a bare majority of the voters to buy into the politics of fear over fact," said Victory Fund Executive Director Brian K. Bond.

"Throughout the country, and especially in the South, we have a long way to go before all candidates are judged on their merits and anti-gay attacks are no longer effective in any race. Still, it is somewhat encouraging that Schwacke pulled off such a strong showing in a GOP primary in a conservative state -- despite all the anti-gay tactics and despite being outspent by nearly four to one."

The unofficial results indicate that Schwacke carried Charleston County by more than 1,000 votes, but lost Berkeley County by more than 1,200.

Schwacke has been a prosecutor since 1983. He has served in his current post as head prosecutor for South Carolina's 9th Circuit for the past eight years, during which time he secured 40,000 adult convictions and 5,000 juvenile adjudications -- improving his office's total conviction rate by 10 percent over the record of his predecessor.

This race was Schwacke's first attempt at re-election since he came out and acknowledged his orientation three years ago. When it became clear to local GOP officials that he was gay, they initiated an investigation against him -- claiming that he had made inappropriate personal use of an office computer. He was completely cleared of any wrongdoing, but anti-gay activists continued to oppose him ever since.

Fueled by well-funded right-wing backers, Schwacke's opponent, Charleston attorney Ralph Hoisington, was able to spend $120,000 on the race -- compared to only $34,000 for Schwacke.

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Hoisington, apparently seeking to make sexual orientation an issue -- but in a way subtle enough to avoid being accused of overt negative campaigning on the issue -- dubbed himself the candidate who was "for our families." He used the "For Our Families" slogan on his campaign signs.

With somewhat less subtlety, he also aired television ads in the final days of the campaign touting himself as the candidate who would crack down on sexual predators.

The Christian Coalition, which mounted an intense phone banking and get-out-the-vote drive against Schwacke, also sent out a mailing echoing Hoisington's "For Our Families" slogan and accusing Schwacke of mishandling a case involving a sexual predator.

According to the Victory Fund, the campaign piece unquestionably played upon a longstanding anti-gay myth that gay people are somehow a threat to children.

"It is shameful that a group purporting to speak for Christians would deliberately spread some of the most dangerous and insidious falsehoods ever used to smear gay people," said Bond. "And it is regrettable that so many families in South Carolina are apparently about to lose a good prosecutor because of the prejudices of a few misguided people. Clearly, we have much work to do."