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Victor Kocher
Victor Kocher (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 79. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Kocher was a candidate in the special election to represent the 5th Congressional District of South Carolina in 2017.[1]
Biography
Kocher earned a B.S. in business administration and an M.P.A. from West Virginia University.[2]
Elections
2020
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 79
Incumbent Ivory Thigpen defeated Victor Kocher in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 79 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ivory Thigpen (D) | 87.0 | 18,032 |
 | Victor Kocher (L) | 12.6 | 2,615 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 91 | ||
| Total votes: 20,738 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Ivory Thigpen advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 79.
2018
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 79
Incumbent Ivory Thigpen defeated Victor Kocher in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 79 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ivory Thigpen (D) | 87.8 | 13,307 |
| Victor Kocher (L) | 11.8 | 1,782 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 63 | ||
| Total votes: 15,152 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 79
Incumbent Ivory Thigpen advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 79 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ivory Thigpen |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2017
| U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Ralph Norman |
51% | 45,076 | |
| Democratic | Archie Parnell | 47.9% | 42,341 | |
| American | Josh Thornton | 0.4% | 319 | |
| Libertarian | Victor Kocher | 0.3% | 273 | |
| Green | David Kulma | 0.3% | 242 | |
| Total Votes | 88,316 | |||
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State | ||||
Republican Ralph Norman defeated Democrat Archie Parnell and three third-party candidates on June 20, 2017. The election replaced Mick Mulvaney (R), who was confirmed as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.[3] Compared to the tens of millions spent in Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election, which was held on the same day, fundraising and campaigning were more typical in South Carolina's 5th District. Norman raised $1.25 million between January and May, nearly double Parnell's $763,000 in contributions.[4]
| U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ralph Norman |
51% | 45,076 | |
| Democratic | Archie Parnell | 47.9% | 42,341 | |
| American | Josh Thornton | 0.4% | 319 | |
| Libertarian | Victor Kocher | 0.3% | 273 | |
| Green | David Kulma | 0.3% | 242 | |
| Total Votes | 88,316 | |||
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State | ||||
Ballotpedia compiled the following resources to help voters better understand the policy positions of the candidates prior to the Republican primary runoff election on May 16, 2017 and the general election on June 20, 2017, the same day as a special election runoff to fill the vacancy left by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price representing Georgia's 6th Congressional District:
- An overview of each candidate's career and policy priorities;
- A comparison of their voting records in the South Carolina House of Representatives;
- Interviews with local and national political figures on what distinguishes the candidates; and
- Background information about each candidate's endorsements, campaign spending, and advertising.
Primary elections were held on May 2, 2017, for the Democratic and Republican candidates. Archie Parnell won the Democratic primary, while Ralph Norman and Tommy Pope advanced to the Republican primary runoff held on May 16, 2017.[5][6][7]
Unofficial results from May 17 showed that Norman defeated Pope by 203 votes, 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent, in the runoff to win the Republican Party's nomination.[8] Following the certification of the election results by all relevant county election boards on May 18, the results automatically triggered a recount by the state of South Carolina. The recount took place on May 19, with official results showing that former Rep. Ralph Norman defeated Rep. Tommy Pope by a margin of 221 votes.[9][10][11]
South Carolina's 5th Congressional District has become a more solid Republican district in recent elections. Mick Mulvaney (R) originally won election to the district in 2010, defeating then-incumbent John Spratt (D) by 10.4 percent. Mulvaney then won re-election in 2012, 2014, and 2016 by margins of 11.1 percent, 21.3 percent, and 20.5 percent, respectively. The presidential vote in the district has followed the same trend in the past three presidential elections. President Donald Trump (R) won the district by 18.5 percent in 2016. Mitt Romney (R) won the district by 11.5 points in 2012, and John McCain (R) won the district by 11.2 percent in 2008.[12] Filing closed in the race on March 13, 2017. Fifteen candidates filed in the race: three Democrats, seven Republicans, and five third-party candidates.
Primary results
| U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Republican Runoff Primary, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
Ralph Norman |
50.3% | 17,823 | ||
| Tommy Pope | 49.7% | 17,602 | ||
| Total Votes | 35,425 | |||
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State |
||||
| U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
Tommy Pope |
30.4% | 11,943 | ||
| Ralph Norman |
30.1% | 11,808 | ||
| Tom Mullikin | 19.8% | 7,759 | ||
| Chad Connelly | 14.1% | 5,546 | ||
| Sheri Few | 4.9% | 1,930 | ||
| Kris Wampler | 0.5% | 197 | ||
| Ray Craig | 0.2% | 87 | ||
| Total Votes | 39,270 | |||
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State |
||||
| U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
Archie Parnell |
71.3% | 13,333 | ||
| Alexis Frank | 21.5% | 4,030 | ||
| Les Murphy | 7.2% | 1,346 | ||
| Total Votes | 18,709 | |||
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State |
||||
2016
Elections for the South Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The primary runoff election was held on June 28, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2016. Incumbent Mia McLeod (D) did not seek re-election.
Ivory Thigpen defeated Donald Miles and Victor Kocher in the South Carolina House of Representatives District 79 general election.[13][14]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 79 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Ivory Thigpen |
73.03% | 13,366 | |
| Republican | Donald Miles | 25.03% | 4,581 | |
| Libertarian | Victor Kocher | 1.93% | 354 | |
| Total Votes | 18,301 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Ivory Thigpen defeated Monica Elkins in the South Carolina House of Representatives District 79 Democratic primary runoff.[15]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 79 Democratic Primary Runoff, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Ivory Thigpen |
63.88% | 1,275 | |
| Democratic | Monica Elkins | 36.12% | 721 | |
| Total Votes | 1,996 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Monica Elkins and Ivory Thigpen defeated Vannie Williams, Jr. in the South Carolina House of Representatives District 79 Democratic primary.[16][17]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 79 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Monica Elkins |
46.05% | 2,074 | |
| Democratic | Ivory Thigpen |
46.74% | 2,105 | |
| Democratic | Vannie Williams, Jr. | 7.22% | 325 | |
| Total Votes | 4,504 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Donald Miles ran unopposed in the South Carolina House of Representatives District 79 Republican primary.[18][19]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 79 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Donald Miles (unopposed) | |
2014
Kocher ran for election in 2014 for the U.S. Senate, representing South Carolina. Kocher ran as a Libertarian candidate. Victor Kocher lost the general election on November 4, 2014.
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lindsey Graham Incumbent |
55.3% | 672,941 | |
| Democratic | Brad Hutto | 37.6% | 456,726 | |
| Libertarian | Victor Kocher | 2.8% | 33,839 | |
| Independent | Thomas Ravenel | 3.9% | 47,588 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.4% | 4,774 | |
| Total Votes | 1,215,868 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Polls
| General Election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Lindsey Graham | Brad Hutto | Thomas Ravenel | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size | |||||||||||||
| YouGov September 20 - October 1, 2014 | 44% | 27% | 8% | 21% | +/-2 | 2,663 | |||||||||||||
| Winthrop Poll September 21-28, 2014 | 46.3% | 28% | 8% | 12.2% | +/-3 | 1,082 | |||||||||||||
| YouGov August 18 - September 2, 2014 | 37% | 28% | 8% | 27% | +/-5 | 833 | |||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
| General election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Lindsey Graham | Brad Hutto | Thomas Ravenel | Victor Kocher | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size | ||||||||||||
| Voter Survey Service July 16-20, 2014 | 45% | 33% | 10% | 4% | 8% | +/-3.1 | 650 | ||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
| Election 2014: South Carolina Senate | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Lindsey Graham | Brad Hutto | Other | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports July 9-10, 2014 | 49% | 30% | 10% | 11% | +/-4 | 750 | |||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
2010
Kocher ran for election to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2010. He was defeated by incumbent Leon Howard (D) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[20]
2008
Kocher was defeated by incumbent Leon Howard for election to the 76th District in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Howard raised $18,750 for his campaign, while Kocher raised $1,395.[21]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 76 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Leon Howard (D)
|
12,810 | |||
| Victor Kocher (L) | 1,335 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Victor Kocher did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 6/20/2017 US House of Rep Dist 5 Special Election," accessed March 13, 2017
- ↑ Victor for Senate, "Bio," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ ABC 7, "Donald Trump Taps Mick Mulvaney for Office of Management and Budget," December 19, 2016
- ↑ FEC.gov, "Norman, Ralph W. Jr.," accessed June 20, 2017
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "U.S. House of Representatives District 5," February 16, 2017
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 6/20/2017 US House of Rep Dist 5 Special Election," accessed March 13, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "Live Election Results: South Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District," May 2, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "Live Election Results: South Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District," accessed May 16, 2017
- ↑ The State, "Norman apparent winner in tight 5th District GOP runoff," May 16, 2017
- ↑ The State, "Recount today in 5th District GOP race," May 19, 2017
- ↑ The State, "5th District recount leaves Norman the winner," May 19, 2017
- ↑ The Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for the 2016 and 2012 elections," accessed April 26, 2017
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Republican and Democratic Primary Runoff," accessed June 28, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ SCVotes, "South Carolina general election results"
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 Campaign donations in South Carolina," accessed May 1, 2014
