ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) -- The chairman of the House budget committee and South Carolina's longest serving congressman has been ousted from the seat he has held for nearly three decades.
Rep. John Spratt was beaten Tuesday by Mick Mulvaney, a 43-year-old Republican businessman with tea party backing still in his first term in the state Senate. Spratt, though, refused to concede.
Spratt's loss followed a campaign that painted him as an out-of-touch lackey of Washington Democrats.
The 68-year-old considered retirement after finding out he had Parkinson's disease. But he was encouraged to run again by Democrats who hoped hanging on to his seat might help them keep control of the U.S. House.
Spratt found himself defending decisions supported by his party, like the health care bill and economic stimulus package.
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