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"COLUMBIA, S.C. — Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston has commanded the 9,000 members of South Carolina's Army and Air National Guard for nearly four years. In 2007, he led the state's largest combat force since World War II on a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.
Yet the two-star Army National Guard general has to swap his uniform for a civilian's coat and tie to campaign for a second term as the state's adjutant general.
South Carolina is the only state in the nation where voters choose their top military officer in a general election.
In past years, the race in this military-friendly state has amounted to a mundane exercise. In 2010, Livingston made his first run for the post with no opponent and garnered 99 percent of about 900,000 votes cast.
"It is kind of awkward to switch from being a soldier that doesn't attract — and doesn't want — public attention, because my job is to serve beside and behind our commander in chief," Livingston told the AP shortly after announcing his re-election bid last month. "But when I become a politician, I have to seek attention." "
.....
"In South Carolina, the Adjutant General is in charge of the state's Army and Air National Guard as well as its Emergency Management Division that handles storm and disaster response. In other states, governors fill the post by appointment while in Vermont, lawmakers elect the adjutant general.
The reason behind South Carolina's odd military election is a very old one, says Winthrop University political science professor Scott Huffmon.
South Carolina's constitution dates from 1895, when the white establishment reclaimed power after Reconstruction and set up a weak-governor system, with nine of the state's top officials each elected separately, he said.
"That ensured that even if a black were able to become governor, no one person would control the state government and its top offices," Huffmon said."
"COLUMBIA, S.C. — Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston has commanded the 9,000 members of South Carolina's Army and Air National Guard for nearly four years. In 2007, he led the state's largest combat force since World War II on a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.
Yet the two-star Army National Guard general has to swap his uniform for a civilian's coat and tie to campaign for a second term as the state's adjutant general.
South Carolina is the only state in the nation where voters choose their top military officer in a general election.
In past years, the race in this military-friendly state has amounted to a mundane exercise. In 2010, Livingston made his first run for the post with no opponent and garnered 99 percent of about 900,000 votes cast.
"It is kind of awkward to switch from being a soldier that doesn't attract — and doesn't want — public attention, because my job is to serve beside and behind our commander in chief," Livingston told the AP shortly after announcing his re-election bid last month. "But when I become a politician, I have to seek attention." "
.....
"In South Carolina, the Adjutant General is in charge of the state's Army and Air National Guard as well as its Emergency Management Division that handles storm and disaster response. In other states, governors fill the post by appointment while in Vermont, lawmakers elect the adjutant general.
The reason behind South Carolina's odd military election is a very old one, says Winthrop University political science professor Scott Huffmon.
South Carolina's constitution dates from 1895, when the white establishment reclaimed power after Reconstruction and set up a weak-governor system, with nine of the state's top officials each elected separately, he said.
"That ensured that even if a black were able to become governor, no one person would control the state government and its top offices," Huffmon said."