District 8 seat returns to ballot

September 2, 2026 by G. Chambers Williams III

The Nov. 3 general election ballot will include candidates for the Anderson County Commission District 8 in a special election to fill the seat that was won by Democrat Elizabeth “Liz” Henry, who has chosen not to take the position.

Qualifying for the seat opened on Tuesday, and will continue through noon Wednesday, Sept. 9, said county Elections Administrator Mark Stephens.

All candidates will run as independents, he said, as there is no time to run a primary first.

Henry informed the county by letter on Monday that for personal reasons, she would not take the oath of office on Tuesday (Sept. 1) with the rest of the 16 commissioners who were successful candidates in the Aug. 6 general election.

She tied with Republican candidate Republican Jawrell Cook as the top vote-getters for the two seats in the district, which serves Emory Valley, Woodland and Hendrix Creek. Both received 749 votes.

Republican Don A. Layton came in third with 642 votes, followed by incumbent independent Phil Yager (589 votes) and Democrat Ashley Craven (478). Craven had announced that she would not serve even if elected.

Both Layton and Yager said Monday afternoon that they were “inclined to run,” but because both had just heard about the special election, they were still thinking about it.

“It’s been a whirlwind afternoon,” Yager said. “I’ve been getting a lot of supporting emails, but I’m going to talk it over with my wife before I decide. I really can’t say anything more than that right now.”

Yager said he thought the County Commission would have to authorize the special election first, and was surprised that Stephens had already called for the opening of the qualifying period.

Stephens told The Courier News that “by state law, we must hold a whole new election.”

“The seat will stay vacant until after the election,” he added.

As for Layton, a former Anderson County judge, “I’m inclined to run,” he said. “So many people did support me; a lot of people worked hard for me. Hopefully I would win this time.”

Henry had tried to suspend her campaign in July, but was too late to withdraw from the Aug. 6 ballot.

She had suffered a serious injury while on an overseas trip in June, and was home recuperating.

But by mid-July, she announced that she had changed her mind after having recovered from her injury more quickly than she’d expected.

The special election for the District 8 commissioner position will be only on ballots for voters residing in that district.