BEAUFORT, S.C. — Voters returned Josh Scallate to Beaufort City Council on Tuesday and sent first-time candidate Jared Madison to join him, though the race for the second of two at-large seats came down to a margin of 21 votes.
Preliminary numbers with every precinct reporting showed Scallate leading the four-candidate field with 2,494 votes, about 34.8 percent. Madison finished second at 1,650, just ahead of Thad E. Lane at 1,629. Grady Woods came in fourth with 1,345. The two highest finishers take the seats, and the results remain unofficial until certified.
Madison, 38, will fill the seat now held by Councilman Mike McFee, who chose not to run again. He campaigned on keeping more young people in Beaufort and on protecting the marshes from rising seas. Scallate, a Mossy Oaks resident who sells real estate after retiring from firefighting, captured his seat in 2022 by only 18 votes.
The new council inherits heavy infrastructure questions. Repairing the supports under the promenade at Waterfront Park could run as high as $65 million, and the city is weighing a pause on new apartment construction.
Beaufort uses a council-manager government, so the mayor and council set policy while a city manager runs daily operations.
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