There will be at least one incumbent on the Myrtle Beach City Council.
With 2,397 votes, Mike Chestnut won a seat on the Myrtle Beach City Council, and Debbie Conner won with 2,531.
In 2000, Chestnut was elected to city council, while Conner is serving her first term. Conner is a professor at Coastal Carolina whose husband serves on the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Conner simply outworked the field canvassing door to door since September city-wide.
There will be a runoff between incumbent John Krajc and Bill McClure. Krajc received 2,051 votes, while McClure received 2,002.
Krajc is a favorite of Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune, as are Chestnut and Conner.
Bethune helped Krajc raise an $82,000 campaign war chest which will be most helpful for his campaign advisor Walter Whetsell during this 14 day run-off. Look for Whetsell to go hyper negative on McClure as is his custom in practically every Myrtle Beach City Council race.
The third open seat on the Myrtle Beach City Council will be decided in a runoff election on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Myrtle Beach City Council Race
The City of Myrtle Beach’s unofficial municipal election results are listed below. Debbie Connor and Michael Chestnut won four-year Council terms outright. On Tuesday, November 21, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., voters will return to the polls for a runoff between John Krajc and Bill McClure.
CITY COUNCIL (THREE SEATS)
Stuart Behar – 949
Michael Chestnut – 2,397
Debbie Connor – 2,531
Kenya Hennigan – 357
John Krajc – 2,051
Bill McClure – 2,002
Myra Starnes – 1,045
Randal Wallace – 1,797
Write-In – 48
TOTAL VOTES CAST – 13,177
In order to win a seat outright, a City Council candidate needed a minimum of 2,197 votes based on tonight’s unofficial totals for Myrtle Beach City Council race. That “magic number” is determined by dividing the total number of votes cast by the number of seats available (three), and then dividing the result by two, and adding one.
The Myrtle Beach Election Commission will meet at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, November 9, in the Second Floor Conference Room at City Hall, 937 Broadway Street, to canvass votes and certify election results. The meeting is open to the public. Unofficially, today’s voter turnout was approximately 17.5 percent.