Howard Barnhill Howard Barnhill has announced he will seek the Republican nomination for county auditor.

Barnhill, 54, is a lifelong resident of Cherokee County. He has worked for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office for 27 years where he is the administrative captain. He started his career in law enforcement as a deputy in 1975 and taught the DARE program for four years. He is an active member of East Gaffney Baptist Church where he has served as deacon and is a member of the senior adult choir.

He is married to Janice Wilkins Barnhill, a retired school teacher who serves as minister of music at East Gaffney Baptist Church and teaches adult education at Limestone Learning Center. They have one child, Josh, a structural engineer with Lockwood Greene Engineering. Josh’s wife, Stephanie, is a registered nurse with the Spartanburg Health Department.

Barnhill is also a member of South Carolina Law Enforcement Officer’s Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. Barnhill must win his party’s nomination in the June primary before being placed on the ballot in the November general election.

Incumbent auditor Nancy Elliott has said she will not seek re-election.