Sheri Biggs, a nurse practitioner who had the backing of Gov. Henry McMaster, defeated her GOP primary challenger in a Tuesday runoff election to clinch the Republican nomination to replace outgoing GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan in South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District.
The runoff election between GOP candidates Mark Burns and Sheri Biggs was triggered earlier this month after neither candidate received a majority of the vote in the state’s Republican primary election for the district.
Burns received around 33% of the vote, receiving a little more than 27,000 votes in the June 11 primary election. Biggs received about 28% of the vote in the same election, garnering just over 23,500 votes.
Biggs, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard ran as a “pro-life, pro-Second Amendment lifelong Republican.”
“I’m running for Congress to continue my lifetime of service and treat Washington’s health problem with bold, conservative, servant leadership,” she said on her campaign website.
Biggs had been endorsed by Gov. McMaster and had also highlighted her commitment to work with former President Trump, despite his endorsement of Burns.
“Sheri Biggs epitomizes the greatness of the people of South Carolina — an unwavering belief in God, a commitment to selfless service and a true resolve to fight for our shared values,” McMaster said in his endorsement.
“While her distinguished military and health care careers are truly admirable, her passion to help heal our nation’s fiscal, mental and spiritual health problems is exactly what we need representing us in Congress. Sheri Biggs will work with President Trump to secure our border, protect tax dollars, defend our conservative values, keep the promises to our veterans and drain the swamp.”
Trump, in his endorsement of Burns on Truth Social, described the pastor as “an America First Fighter” who is “a good man, a hard worker, and will not let you down!”
The former president cited Burns’ positions on border security, upholding the rule of law, the economy and defending “our always under siege Second Amendment.”
Burns has touted his positions on the border and pushing back against the “woke” agenda. He had also loudly touted his endorsement from Trump on his campaign website.
A former member of the South Carolina National Guard, Burns set up a church in Easley and has embraced the label by Time Magazine as “Donald Trump’s favorite pastor.”
Duncan decided not to run again for the seat after seven terms. Duncan’s wife filed for divorce last year, accusing him of several affairs.
“At some point in a career, one needs to step aside and allow others to bring fresh ideas and abilities into the fight for liberty,” Duncan said in a statement in January.
Bryon Best, who manages a Sherwin Williams paint store in Greenwood, won the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent the district in the state’s June 11 primary election, defeating high school science teacher Frances Guldner by more than 2,050 votes.
The district is a mostly rural area in the northwestern part of the Palmetto Sate. A Democrat has not won the district since Lindsey Graham flipped the seat in 1994.
Burns and Biggs sparred with five other Republicans who originally sought their party’s nomination in the race for the GOP-held seat. State Rep. Stewart Jones; businessman Franky Franco; and Kevin Bishop, a former staffer for South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, also sought the nomination.
