Mike Barnes beat incumbent Joe Baldwin in the County Council District 18 race in the Republican primary.
Barnes won with more than twice the number of votes – 2,459-1,139 – than Baldwin. Barnes garnered 68 percent of the vote to 32 percent for Baldwin.
Baldwin was trying to win a sixth term. He has served 20 years.
It was a sweet win for Barnes who beat Baldwin in 2012 but lost a court challenge that he did not properly file statements of economic interest and was taken off the ballot. Baldwin was put back on the ballot and won a fourth term in the November general election.
District 18 encompasses Greer, parts of Blue Ridge and Taylors.