Russell Ott ousts Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian in SC Senate primary (2024)

WEST COLUMBIA — State Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Columbia, may well be Alex Murdaugh’s last victim.

In a nail biter, state Rep. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, pulled off a narrow win over Harpootlian— who gained international prominence and, perhaps infamy, representing convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh —ousting him from his state Senate seat in a June 11 Democratic primary.

Harpootlian's campaign told reporters he would not concede the race at his election night party, pledging he would hold a press conference at 10 a.m. June 12.

Ott had 2,414 votes, or 51 percent, to Harpootlian’s 2,294 votes, or 49 percent, narrowly avoiding an automatic recount. A small number of Richland County votes were in question, and Harpootlian, a wealthy trial lawyer, could pay for a recount.

These results are preliminary, and the official results, barring a recount, will be certified June 13.

Ott’s win dealt a considerable setback to the former state Democratic Party chairman’s long career in Midlands Democratic politics. Harpootlian is a household name in the Midlands and across much of the state.

“We just did something a lot of people didn’t think we were going to be able to do,” Ott told supporters at a West Columbia brewery just before 10 p.m. “We talked to everyone, and I think that’s what the razor-thin difference in this race was, because we put in the hard work.”

The two men were competing for the Democratic nod in the hodgepodge 26th district, which runs along the Congaree River, including much of downtown Columbia, West Columbia, Cayce and northern Calhoun County.

Ott still will face a serious fight in the general election as the district tilts Democratic only by a small margin, according to election data.

In the three-way Republican primary, Chris Smith, a retired realtor who made an unsuccessful bid for the seat in 2020, bested competitors Jason Guerry and Billy Oswald, with each garnering about a third of the votes. Smith and Guerry will face off in a runoff in two weeks.

Ott, a farmer and prominent voice in the House, where he has served for more than a decade, had criticized Harpootlian's brash and caustic style and his decision to defend Murdaugh. At forums across the district, Ott would question why Harpootlian volunteered to defend the disgraced Hampton attorney whose 2023 murder trial and financial crimes captured the attention of the state and the world.

Though Harpootlian is a sitting state senator, he wasn’t the incumbent. Harpootlian's district was moved to West Ashley to account for population shifts in the last round of redistricting, and he was drawn into Sen. Nikki Setzler's district. Setzler announced he would retire earlier this year.

Ott won because of an overwhelming victory in his native Calhoun County, where he garnered more than 80 percent of the roughly 1,000 votes. Ott’s father represented the Calhoun County-based seat for more than a decade before he retired and his son won a 2013 special election to succeed him.

Harpootlian’s strength came primarily from Columbia, where he’s been a political force since the 1980s. He led in the capital city by a 2-to-1 margin, while the race was basically tied in Lexington County.

Harpootlian sought to make the race about abortion, repeatedly slamming Ott for having voted for a six-week abortion ban in 2021 and calling him a Republican. Ott voted later against a slightly different version of that ban.

The campaign was given a shake in its final weeks after The Post and Courier reported Harpootlian's use of a racial slur while quoting someone else during an interview.

Ott shied away from attacking Harpootlian directly on racial issues, stressing respect for everyone, but Ott’s allies were happy to take those shots in a district where close to half of Democrats are Black. House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, was especially vocal in attacking Harpootlian, telling an NAACP forum in April Harpootlian was an “enemy amongst us.”

The race was expensive. Ott raised $183,000 by mid-May, according to campaign finance filings. Harpootlian, who is a wealthy trial lawyer, raised $338,000, including a $150,000 loan.

Ott pursued an aggressive retail campaign, while Harpootlian plastered the district with billboards, mailers and digital ads.

But in the end, the decisive factor may have been Murdaugh.

Allison, a 34-year-old project manager from Cayce who declined to provide her last name, said she voted for Ott on June 11.

“He just seemed a little more down-to-earth, genuine,” she said. She knew about Harpootlian from the six-week murder case. “I guess all the stuff with Murdaugh either hurt him or helped with his perception. That seemed to be his most notable thing.”

Reporter Nick Reynolds contributed to this story.