Charleston, South Carolina, the state’s oldest and largest city, has elected a Republican mayor for the first time since 1877.

“Former GOP state representative William Cogswell appears to have defeated incumbent John Tecklenburg by 2 percentage points in the Charleston mayoral runoff election, according to unofficial S.C. Election Commission results,” Charleston City Paper reports.

Approximately 27,000 votes were cast in the runoff election.

“As of 9 p.m. with 100% of precincts reporting, Cogswell had 13,930 votes, or about 51%. Tecklenburg received 13,361 votes, about 49%,” the outlet noted.

“Charleston, South Carolina just elected its first Republican Mayor since 1877. William Cogswell, a former GOP State Rep, defeated incumbent Democrat Mayor John Tecklenburg in today’s runoff election by less than 1,000 votes,” Greg Price commented.

“1877 was not a typo,” he added.

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More from Charleston City Paper:

Since the Nov. 7 general election in Charleston,, both candidates received several endorsements both from former campaign opponents and other state and community leaders. Tecklenburg was endorsed by U.S. Congressman Jim Clyburn, former mayoral candidate Clay Middleton, and Charleston City Council members Ross Appel and Stephen Bowden, among several others. Cogswell was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former mayoral candidates Mika Gadsden and Peter Shahid and Charleston City Council member Keith Waring.

In the Nov. 7 general election, Cogswell finished on top with 34.98% of the vote, a small lead over Tecklenburg’s 32.02%, according to the S.C. Election Commission. Four other candidates shared the remaining third of votes.

The Post and Courier reports:

William Cogswell won in a nail-biter runoff election on Nov. 21, delivering a stunning defeat to incumbent Mayor John Tecklenburg after a hard-fought campaign.

Cogswell declared victory shortly after 8:45 p.m. By 9:10 p.m., Tecklenburg had called him to concede, promising to help with the transition. About five minutes later, Tecklenburg was giving his concession speech — his first appearance of the night at his Election Night watch party.

With all precincts reporting, Cogswell had about 51 percent of the vote compared to 49 percent for Tecklenburg, the city’s mayor who had been seeking his third and final term in office.

The city limits, while mostly in Charleston County, also extend into Berkeley County.

With more than 24,000 votes cast across 84 precincts in Charleston County, Tecklenburg came out on top by 153 votes, according to unofficial results.

But it was Charleston city residents in Berkeley County, on Daniel Island and in the Cainhoy area, that pushed Cogswell ahead in the overall vote total. Of the 2,854 votes cast there, Cogswell received 722 more than Tecklenburg, for nearly 63 percent.

Cogswell’s overall margin of victory was 569 votes. That percentage is enough to avoid an automatic recount.

“The people have spoken and we’re ready for a new direction,” Cogswell said, adding, “I am excited about the future of our city.”

Cogswell, a 48-year-old real estate developer and former Statehouse representative, will take office in January.

 

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