Bennett Upsets Rose for Senate 38

The voters have spoken: A new Republican will take the nomination for S.C. Senate District 38 and go into the general unopposed.

Bennett defeated incumbent Sen. Mike Rose Tuesday.

"This was a hard race. The Senator fought hard, and we fought hard," Bennett told Patch. "I'm proud of what we did."

TV ads and Google ads got heated in the last week leading up to Tuesday's primary — Bennett claimed Rose was improperly using taxpayer money, and Rose fired back about "Bennett Lies." 

Bennett announced his candidacy in the fall 2011. He's the former chair of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and currently owns Asset Integrations of Summerville. 

Less than 12 percent of voters turned out Tuesday. With 74 of 74 precincts reporting in Dorchester County, Bennett scored more than 60 percent of the vote. Rose fell at less than 40 percent. The finally tally of voters voting for the race was 6,851, with Bennett recieving 4,117 of those votes.

Bennett also won the precinct in Berkley County. However, Rose won precincts in Charleston County.

Updated 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to add voting numbers.