Meet the America’s Got Talent finalist who beat a 4-term incumbent for a SC county council seat

Benton Blount held no fundraisers, did not advertise on the radio or television, did not send mailers or use social media to attack his opponent in a Greenville County Council Republican primary.

And yet, he unseated four-term incumbent Willis Meadows, who is serving as chairman of the council this year.

It probably helped that Blount was a finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2015 and spent the intervening years traveling the country doing 200 shows a year. He opened for ZZ Top until he was seen wearing a Maga hat to vote and has performed in casinos and honky tonks and arenas.

He prides himself on being a most unconventional candidate. He spent the day of the runoff election last week with his wife and three small children, away from social media. Waiting. In the end he captured 58% of the vote - 1,372 to Meadows’ 32% - 993 votes.

The primary was a four-way race with Blount leading with 1,050 votes to Meadows’ 942. The others, Ivan Mathena and Jackie Clark, won 775 and 224 votes respectively. No one earned 50% plus one, forcing the runoff.

There is no Democratic opposition, virtually ensuring Blount taking a seat on County Council in January.

In the two weeks between the primary and runoff, Meadows’ campaign sent out several mailers accusing Blount of being a Republican in name only, a high spender who wants to paint water towers and a tax cheat.

Blount said he expected the attacks. After all, he said, he’s been in the music business for decades.

Blount said the water towers from now-closed mills in his district are eyesores and he envisions a privately-funded effort to have an artist paint them to show off the area’s history. His district, 19, runs along the west side of the county, Furman to almost the Greenville city limits.

On the tax problems, he said he did not receive a notice saying he owed more taxes and by the time he did, five years had elapsed. He paid up, he said.

Blount moved to Greenville from Nashville, where he was trying to make it as a country singer, in 2008. He’d been in Greenville working with Edwin McCain.

Not long afterward, he met the woman who would become his wife, Ashley Hardin. They were married on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Ashley Blount is a paralegal for a real estate company.

Blount feels like all his life he has proven people’s assessment of him wrong. He was raised by a single mom, he’s biracial and he’s done things his way. Even America’s Got Talent, where producers like to call the shots, he said.

Unconventional would include fostering a country music career from Greenville rather than Nashville. COVID largely shut down his music career, but he has a podcast every Monday called Benton Being Blunt.

He’s now a stay-at-home dad.

And barring an unlikely massive write-in vote, a county councilman, who hopes to foster peace among what has long been a contentious council.

Meadows, for one, has been a lightning rod on council, recently drawing the ire of developers he did not support and even other council members.

Meadows could not be reached for comment.

The 12-member council will be markedly different with three long-time incumbents losing in primaries – Joe Dill, Lynn Ballard and Meadows – and Xanthene Norris not running for re-election.

Among Blount’s goals is to double voter turnout across the county.

“We need to keep council members accountable,” he said.