Columbia elections end in runoffs

Runoffs — the ugly byproduct of close, multi-candidate elections.

The races for Columbia mayor and District Four councilman will be decided in runoffs, as no candidate in either of those races reached the 50 percent-plus-one threshold for winning the election. Joe Azar (bested by fellow Harden Street businessman Aaron Johnson for fourth place) said in a recent one of his famous newsletters that because no candidate was trumpeting polling numbers, the race was likely to be a toss-up. It was, for the top three.

With 76 of 78 precincts reporting, Steve Benjamin was at 35.5 percent (6,067), Councilman Kirkman Finlay III at 32.1 percent (5,485) and Steve Morrison coming in at 29.5 percent (5,053). That’s pretty tight, considering conventional wisdom last year had it that Benjamin was going to run away with the election. With Morrison out of the way, expected thinking would be that Benjamin would consolidate the city’s Democrats and win in the runoff. But, that’s not necessarily so.

Consider that District Four, Finlay’s old seat, will be going up on the same day. Former city manager Leona Plough (32.3 percent, 1,831) will face off against Tony Mizzell (31.4 percent, 1,782). That would mean a bump in people who would normally vote for Finlay, as opposed to if the mayoral election was alone on the ballot.

Then take both these examples and throw them out. Runoffs come down to organization and getting your people out. Whomever has the tightest, best ground game will win the day. The WR betting line is Benjamin, -7.

In the only other competitive race, Grant Robertson mounted an unexpectedly strong challenge to Councilwoman Tameika Issac-Devine, losing 57-41.9 percent.