Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: South Carolina State Legislature

October 30, 2012

By Ballotpedia's State legislative team

South Carolina's State Legislative Elections in 2012
Senate seats	Contested senate seats	House seats	Contested house seats
46	14 (30.4%)	124	33 (26.6%)

COLUMBIA, South Carolina: There are 170 total legislative seats with 2012 elections in South Carolina, where polling places are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time.

Both chambers of the legislature have solid Republican majorities, and competitiveness has been further diminished this cycle by the filing deadline controversy.

Of the 170 incumbents up for election in 2012, 147 (86.5%) of them are running for re-election. A total of 47 of 170 (27.6%) districts will see more than one major party candidate in the general election.

Here are a few races to watch:

Senate

• District 7: Karl Allen (D) and Jane Kizer (R) will vie for the open seat.

House

• District 11: Incumbent Paul Agnew (D) is retiring, leaving Craig Gagnon (R) and Lee Garrett (D) to battle for the seat.

• District 41: MaryGail Douglas (D) survived a tight primary battle and subsequent runoff to win her party's nomination; she will face Republican William Gray on November 6.

South Carolina State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	19	18
	Republican Party	27	28
Total		46	46

South Carolina House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	48	46
	Republican Party	76	78
Total		124	124

Articles

• South Carolina: Three dozen petition candidates get certified August 31
• 2012 elections review: Amid candidate access chaos, South Carolina holds congressional, legislative primaries June 13

See also

• Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: South Carolina Congressional Seats
• State legislative elections, 2012
• South Carolina elections, 2012

• South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012
• South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012