GOP Sweeps Council Races Affecting Hilton Head Island
Published November 5, 2026 at 7:03 am|By Anderson Ridgeway, Staff Reporter
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Beaufort County’s five contested council races all went Republican on Nov. 3, reshaping the board that will be seated in January and that speaks for Hilton Head Island and the rest of the county.
Eight seats were up and five were contested. Vice Chair Tab Tabernik kept District 6 with 60.07 percent, or 5,599 votes, against Democrat Carolyn Fournier’s 39.89 percent. Mark Lawson secured a third District 9 term at 54.32 percent to 45.60 percent over Jannine Mutterer.
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New members joined the fold. Joshua Hower captured District 5 at 57.56 percent, and retired Army Lt. Col. Kraig Gordon took District 8 at 60.10 percent after knocking out the incumbent in the June primary.
Voters cast 86,689 ballots countywide, a 61 percent turnout that included 46,300 early votes, Registration and Elections Director Jean Felix said. That beat the 52 percent midterm turnout in 2022.
Gordon, who chairs the Beaufort County Transportation Committee, said he plans to put his engineering background to work on growth and stalled infrastructure as the board also steers the new penny road tax.
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Anderson is a staff reporter for HERE Hilton Head covering local news, community stories, and developments across Beaufort County. Anderson is committed to accurate, community-first journalism.
