SC Supreme Court Dismisses Case Against Bennett

The matter is officially settled: Sean Bennett will go into the November election as the uncontested, certified GOP nominee for S.C. Senate District 38.

Wednesday, the S.C. Supreme Court dismissed the appeal case claiming S.C. Senate District 38 GOP nominee Sean Bennett filed improperly on grounds that it should be a matter settled by the state party in executive committee. , who lost to Bennett.

"We find this action was improperly commenced in the circuit court since none of the parties attempting to protest the results of the primary exhausted the remedies set forth by the General Assembly," the dismissal wrote. "Where an adequate administrative remedy is available to determine a question of fact, one must pursue the administrative remedy or be precluded from seeking relief in courts … Declaratory relief is not generally available to one who has not exhausted administrative remedies."

Pursuant state law, "all protests or challenges to primary elections for Senate seats must be filed with the political party's State Executive Committee no later than noon on the Monday following the canvassing of the votes."

That would have been June 18.

Neither Rose or Bennett were available to comment on the outcome.

The Rose's appeal came from the early August decision by a Circuit Court judge in Dorchester County Democratic Party v. Dorchester County Republican Party et al that said there was no evidence non-incumbent GOP nominees, including Bennett, had not filed in accordance with S.C. election law. In May,  and a failure to follow that law by political parties certifying candidates.