Blacks Post Victories in 2 Primaries

Black candidates made political gains in South Carolina and Arkansas as they captured major party nominations for governor and lieutenant governor, figures showed today.

State Sen. Theo Mitchell won the Democratic nomination for South Carolina governor Tuesday, becoming the first black candidate nominated by a major party for statewide office in South Carolina since Reconstruction.

Mitchell garnered 60% of the vote to defeat his opponent, fellow state Sen. Ernie Passailaigue, for the right to challenge Gov. Carroll Campbell in the fall.

Campbell, a Republican elected in 1986, was unopposed in the GOP primary. He is expected to be a heavy favorite in the general election.

In the state’s Senate race, there was no opposition for Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond. Democrats had no candidate.

In Arkansas, black real estate agent Kenneth (Muskie) Harris claimed victory over Ku Klux Klan sympathizer Ralph Forbes in the contest for the Republican lieutenant governor’s nomination.

Besides South Carolina and Arkansas, voters cast primary ballots in Maine, Virginia and North Dakota, bringing to 24 the number of states that have chosen candidates for the general election. An eight-week string of primaries in August and September will decide almost all of the remaining nominations.