Culbreath Drops Out of Sheriff's Race

The race for Pickens County Sheriff has been shaken up again, as Independence Party candidate Keith Culbreath has announced he's dropping out of the race.

The Anderson Independent Mail reports that Culbreath has decided to leave the race, stating he believes Tim Morgan is the best candidate for the position of Sheriff.

There are three candidates remaining in the race, and whoever wins will be the county's first sheriff in more than 40 years.

Rick Clark won more votes than incumbent Sheriff C. David Stone, but not enough to win the June 12 Republican primary outright and avoid a runoff.

Clark had a commanding lead in the June 26 runoff as the precincts came in, prompting Stone to concede the race.

Clark, Stone and Culbreath were three of six candidates who announced intentions to run for Pickens County Sheriff this year.

Stan Whitten and Central Police Chief Kerry Avery announced campaigns, as did Billy Looper.

But Whitten and Avery were among the 200 candidates tossed off the ballot in the 2012 ballot controversy. Whitten immediately announced that he would campaign to become a petition candidate. Avery said he would not challenge being removed from the ballot.

Looper remained on the ballot, but was defeated by Clark and Stone in the June 12 primary.

Soon after the June 26 runoff, Morgan, assistant sheriff at the Pickens County Sheriff's Office, announced he was also seeking to become a petition candidate on the November ballot.

Morgan said he and Stone had always agreed not to run against each other in a general election, fearful of what such a race would do to the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff's Office.

With Stone conceding the runoff, that allowed Morgan to enter the race, Morgan said.

After the July 16 deadline for petition candidates, Whitten became the first Pickens County petition candidate to become certified to appear on the November ballot.

Morgan's petition campaign received its certification soon after.