Jim Fair
John White gets a hug before telling his family, friends and campaign staff he was likely to come up short in the Senate District 5 race.
Jim Fair
Mayor Rick Danner and John White, follow the final results together.
Corbin received 5,435 votes for 52 percent versus White’s 5,114 votes and 48 percent.
White held an election results event at the Davenport in Greer attended by family, friends and Greer Mayor Rick Danner who endorsed White.
Corbin, 51, could not be reached for comment late Tuesday night.
The race was all Corbin until 55 percent of the votes totaled drew both candidates even at 50 percent each. The remainder of the evening White could only draw within two percent of Corbin with 81 percent of the precincts reporting – 51-49.
“My opponent, who I congratulate, knows there was only a 321-vote difference,” White, 65, said.
“There are 5,000-plus people out there that listened to the message that we care. It was a strong message on the issues and what I felt we needed … to make this a better place for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
Corbin, a businessman, served in the S.C. House of Representatives 2011-2012 and will be serving his second term in the senate. White, an attorney, was running for public office for the first time.
“Having worked on the outside of politics for a long time I will say it’s a lot different on the outside until you put your name on the ballot,” White said.
Danner and White were watching the results via cell phone in the final hour. “One precinct can make it go either way,” Danner told White. “It’s close.”
Danner offered his perspective on the race.
“Obviously running against an incumbent is always tough. Anytime you run against an incumbent it’s an uphill battle,” Danner said.
“It’s a Republican primary and it’s just not a lot of difference in the candidates. If you are running a campaign on a conservative Republican platform, as both candidates were doing, it often doesn’t the voters with a distinctive choice between the two candidates.”
District 5 represents northern Greenville and northern Spartanburg counties.