Former Republican President Donald Trump overwhelmingly won Pierce County in last Tuesday’s general election.
As widely expected Trump won the county in a romp with 8,655 votes to Kamala Harris’s total of 1,089.
Trump matched his winning percentages of previous years. He received 86 percent of local votes in 2016, 87 percent in 2020 and 87 percent again this year.
Trump also won decisively nationwide and will begin serving a second, nonconsecutive term as president in January. He is the first president elected to serve a non-consecutive term since President Grover Cleveland in the 1890s.
U.S. First District Congressman Buddy Carter (R-Pooler/St. Simons Island) also won in a landslide in Pierce County by a tally of 8,626 over his Democratic opponent Patti Hewitt of Bryan County. Hewitt received 891 votes locally. Carter won the district with over 62 percent of the vote and will begin serving his sixth term in Congress in January.
Pierce Countians supported constitutional amendment 1 (capping assessments) with the yes vote winning 5,6933,384.
However, local voters narrowly opposed amendment 2 (creation of a tax court) 4,455 (yes) to 4,518 (no). Local voters also supported a statewide referendum on raising property tax exemptions by a vote of 5,542 (yes) to 3,670 (no).
All three ballot items passed statewide.
There were no local races on the ballot, but there was a significant write in vote in the sheriff’s race. (See related story.) Turnout was excellent in Pierce County with over 76 percent of eligible voters casting ballots, but it was not a record. The all-time record percentage wise was the November, 2016 presidential election with a turnout of 79.25 percent.
Early voting continued to be a popular option with 7,736 residents choosing that option. A total of 1,691 voters turned out on election day. There were also 371 absentee/ mail in votes.
Final results were not completed until 2:23 a.m. due to a technical issue with reading and reporting 4,396 early vote ballots.
Local election officials worked with state elections officials at the Secretary of State's office to resolve the issue.
Local board of elections supervisor Leah Ritch said the issue was a technical glitch with the early vote cards.
All of the paper ballots were accounted for and all the numbers on the voting machines matched by the time tabulation concluded shortly after 8 p.m. The technical issues delayed the final results until the wee hours of the morning.
