Early voting underway in South Carolina ahead of District 1 runoff; Smith and Honeycutt debate key issues

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WTOC) - The first day of early voting is in the books in South Carolina ahead of next week’s runoff election, with hundreds of people already casting ballots.

One of the races drawing significant attention is the Republican runoff for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, a seat stretching from Beaufort County to northern Charleston County.

Former state Rep. Mark Smith and former Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt advanced to the runoff after finishing as the top two vote-getters in last week’s primary.

With a large field of Republican candidates, neither reached the threshold needed to avoid a runoff.

The candidates met Wednesday night for an hour-long debate at WCSC in Charleston, answering questions from voters and a panel of moderators including WTOC’s Mike Cihla.

Watch the debate below:

Candidates make their case

Smith emphasized his background in public service.

“All I’ve known my entire professional career is serving our community,” Smith said. “I’ve brought that same level of service in my six years in the statehouse and I am looking forward to diving deep [into] what we have been able to accomplish.”

Honeycutt told voters the district needs a leader focused on results.

“We need serious, steady leader in this position,” Honeycutt said. “Somebody who is about results and not just rhetoric. We need somebody that can deliver.”

Housing affordability

Both candidates were asked how they would address housing affordability, a challenge impacting families across the Lowcountry and beyond.

Honeycutt said cutting red tape is key, while also pointing to tax-related changes.

“We need to cut the red tape that allows us to address this issue,” she said, “but we also have to make practical solutions like addressing the capital gains taxing on housing.”

Smith said local planning and smart development should be part of the solution.

“Any and everything we can do to continue to equip builders and municipalities to be able to add density in appropriate areas,” Smith said, “that are appropriately fitting to their comprehensive land use plans.”

National debt, Social Security

The candidates also addressed the national debt and concerns about the long-term future of Social Security and other benefits.

Smith pointed to South Carolina’s balanced budget requirement and said he would support a similar approach in Washington.

“You can’t spend more than you bring in,” Smith said. “We need to bring a lot of South Carolina to D.C. … We have a balance budget amendment here in South Carolina. That would be one of the first bills I sign on to.”

Honeycutt said eliminating waste and abuse should be part of balancing the budget.

“We have to get rid of the fraud, waste, and abuse and I will stand alongside President Trump to do just that,” Honeycutt said. “We have to balance our budget, that’s the bottom line.”

What’s next

Early voting continues through Thursday, which will be the final day for voters to cast ballots early. Otherwise, voters will have to wait until Election Day next Tuesday.