After primary defeat, Bright: 'We're going to keep fighting'

GREENVILLE - Lee Bright told a room full of supporters late Tuesday to treat his primary loss to incumbent U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham as a 'bump in the road' and that he would he would continue to fight for conservative principles in Columbia.

Bright, a 44-year-old businessman and state senator from Roebuck, placed second in a crowded field against Graham. Collectively, the six challengers failed to hold the incumbent below 50 percent - the threshold that would have triggered a runoff.

'We're going to keep moving. We're going to keep fighting,' Bright said to applause. 'Liberty is something that has to be fought for and protected.'

He added: 'I pray for Lindsey Graham. I'd like for him to see the light of conservatism.'

The theme dominated South Carolina's marquee race, though Graham is no stranger to the criticism. His willingness to work with Democrats, particularly on thorny issues like immigration reform, has drawn the ire of some.

'If you look at Graham's voting record, the Democrats retained a Senate seat tonight,' said Sam Manley of Greenville. 'We're at a time where compromise is not what we need. The scale has tipped. We've just got to keep fighting.'

About 60 people gathered at Zen, an event venue downtown near Fluor Field, to watch results come in Tuesday night. called the race for Graham shortly after 9 p.m.

'You can feel the sadness in the room,' said Don Rogers with the Greenville Tea Party. 'We're used to the idea that we might not win, but we are also used to the idea that we will never quit.'

For Bright, it's the end of a long road that he started down in August 2013. The campaign amassed about 1,500 volunteers and logged an estimated 70,000 phone calls in the fight to unseat Graham.

But it was always an uphill battle: Graham's campaign war chest dwarfed what his six challengers raised combined. Bright campaign adviser Chris Sullivan said perhaps a smaller field of challengers would have allowed the electorate more time to coalesce behind a single candidate and take the fight to the incumbent.

Bright was greeted with a standing ovation when he arrived at Zen on Tuesday night. He spoke with his wife, Amy, and daughters Kendyl and Kaylee at his side. Tuesday was Kendyl's 16th birthday.

Shortly before 11 p.m., with 96 percent of precincts reporting statewide, Graham had won 57 percent of the vote compared to Bright's 15 percent, according to unofficial results from the Associated Press.

Bright said he was worried that a Graham victory would embolden what he considers more moderate Republicans but was comforted by the defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia.

'We knew this was David versus Goliath,' Bright told the Herald-Journal. 'We were hoping for the five smooth stones, but we didn't get them.'

Staff writer Dustin George contributed to this report.

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