District 17 Race Gets Crowded

On Jan. 22, voters will decide who will replace Tom Corbin in the District 17 seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives. 

The special election, necessitated by Corbin's departure for the State Senate after he won the seat after it was vacated by Phil Shoopman of Greer. 

One of the candidates, Chris Sullivan, is a familiar name to many voters in northern Greenville County, as he unsuccessfully ran against Sen. Mike Fair in the Republican primary last summer for the longtime incumbent's seat. 

Sullivan, a public relations and marketing professional, will be going up against Roy Harmon, a 28-year-old law student from the Greenville area, Tom Kolarik, a 51-year-old chiropractor from Travelers Rest, Mike Burns, a 60-year-old retired businessman from Taylors and 67-year-old Randall Young. 

All five candidates are Republicans. If none of the five gains a majority of the votes next week, a runoff will be held on Feb. 5, with the election scheduled for March 12, according to the state Election Commission.