Bill Bledsoe

Bill Bledsoe (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent South Carolina's 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Elections

2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 5

Andrew Clough, Mallory Dittmer, Alex Harper, Bill Bledsoe, and Wes Climer are running in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 5 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Andrew Clough (D)
	Submit photo	Mallory Dittmer (D)
		Alex Harper (D)
		Bill Bledsoe (R)
		Wes Climer (R)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Ralph Norman (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

General election

General election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Hugh Weathers defeated David Edmond and Chris Nelums in the general election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hugh Weathers (R)	77.6	1,085,139
		David Edmond (G)	15.2	213,219
	Submit photo	Chris Nelums (United Citizens Party)	6.8	95,625
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	4,409

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,398,392
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Hugh Weathers defeated Bill Bledsoe and Bob Rozier Jr. in the Republican primary for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Hugh Weathers	59.3	199,424
	Bill Bledsoe	29.0	97,711
	Bob Rozier Jr.	11.7	39,391

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 336,526
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Constitution convention

Constitution convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Bill Bledsoe advanced from the Constitution convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

David Edmond advanced from the Green convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on May 7, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		David Edmond (G)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

United Citizens Party convention

United Citizens Party convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Chris Nelums advanced from the United Citizens Party convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Chris Nelums (United Citizens Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)

United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Incumbent Lindsey Graham defeated Jaime Harrison and Bill Bledsoe (Unofficially withdrew) in the general election for U.S. Senate South Carolina on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Lindsey Graham (R)	54.4	1,369,137
	Jaime Harrison (D)	44.2	1,110,828
	Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party) (Unofficially withdrew)	1.3	32,845
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,294

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,515,104
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Keenan Dunham (L)
David Weikle (L)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Jaime Harrison advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Incumbent Lindsey Graham defeated Michael LaPierre, Joe Reynolds, and Duke Buckner in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina on June 9, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Lindsey Graham	67.7	317,512
	Michael LaPierre	17.0	79,932
	Joe Reynolds	9.2	43,029
	Duke Buckner	6.1	28,570

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 469,043
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Constitution convention

Constitution convention for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Bill Bledsoe advanced from the Constitution convention for U.S. Senate South Carolina on January 11, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: South Carolina's 5th Congressional District special election, 2017

Republican Ralph Norman defeated Democrat Archie Parnell and three third-party candidates on June 20, 2017. The election replaced Mick Mulvaney (R), who was confirmed as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.^[1] Compared to the tens of millions spent in Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election, which was held on the same day, fundraising and campaigning were more typical in South Carolina's 5th District. Norman raised $1.25 million between January and May, nearly double Parnell's $763,000 in contributions.^[2]

U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Special Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ralph Norman	51%	45,076
	Democratic	Archie Parnell	47.9%	42,341
	American	Josh Thornton	0.4%	319
	Libertarian	Victor Kocher	0.3%	273
	Green	David Kulma	0.3%	242
Total Votes				88,316
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

Ballotpedia compiled the following resources to help voters better understand the policy positions of the candidates prior to the Republican primary runoff election on May 16, 2017 and the general election on June 20, 2017, the same day as a special election runoff to fill the vacancy left by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price representing Georgia's 6th Congressional District:

An overview of each candidate's career and policy priorities;
A comparison of their voting records in the South Carolina House of Representatives;
Interviews with local and national political figures on what distinguishes the candidates; and
Background information about each candidate's endorsements, campaign spending, and advertising.

Primary elections were held on May 2, 2017, for the Democratic and Republican candidates. Archie Parnell won the Democratic primary, while Ralph Norman and Tommy Pope advanced to the Republican primary runoff held on May 16, 2017.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Unofficial results from May 17 showed that Norman defeated Pope by 203 votes, 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent, in the runoff to win the Republican Party's nomination.^[6] Following the certification of the election results by all relevant county election boards on May 18, the results automatically triggered a recount by the state of South Carolina. The recount took place on May 19, with official results showing that former Rep. Ralph Norman defeated Rep. Tommy Pope by a margin of 221 votes.^[7]^[8]^[9]

South Carolina's 5th Congressional District has become a more solid Republican district in recent elections. Mick Mulvaney (R) originally won election to the district in 2010, defeating then-incumbent John Spratt (D) by 10.4 percent. Mulvaney then won re-election in 2012, 2014, and 2016 by margins of 11.1 percent, 21.3 percent, and 20.5 percent, respectively. The presidential vote in the district has followed the same trend in the past three presidential elections. President Donald Trump (R) won the district by 18.5 percent in 2016. Mitt Romney (R) won the district by 11.5 points in 2012, and John McCain (R) won the district by 11.2 percent in 2008.^[10] Filing closed in the race on March 13, 2017. Fifteen candidates filed in the race: three Democrats, seven Republicans, and five third-party candidates.

Primary results

U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Republican Runoff Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ralph Norman	50.3%	17,823
Tommy Pope	49.7%	17,602
Total Votes		35,425
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tommy Pope	30.4%	11,943
Ralph Norman	30.1%	11,808
Tom Mullikin	19.8%	7,759
Chad Connelly	14.1%	5,546
Sheri Few	4.9%	1,930
Kris Wampler	0.5%	197
Ray Craig	0.2%	87
Total Votes		39,270
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

U.S. House, South Carolina District 5 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Archie Parnell	71.3%	13,333
Alexis Frank	21.5%	4,030
Les Murphy	7.2%	1,346
Total Votes		18,709
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

2016

See also: United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated South Carolina's U.S. Senate race as safely Republican. Incumbent Tim Scott (R) defeated Thomas Dixon (D), Bill Bledsoe (Libertarian/Constitution), and Rebel Scarborough (American) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent on June 14, 2016. Scarborough defeated Jim Hinkle at convention.^[11]

**U.S. Senate, South Carolina General Election, 2016**
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tim Scott Incumbent	60.6%	1,241,609
	Democratic	Thomas Dixon	36.9%	757,022
	Libertarian	Bill Bledsoe	1.8%	37,482
	American	Rebel Scarborough	0.6%	11,923
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,857
Total Votes				2,049,893
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

Bill Bledsoe has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Bill Bledsoe asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Bill Bledsoe, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Bill Bledsoe to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing info@billbledsoeforcongress.com.

2022

Bill Bledsoe did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Bill Bledsoe did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Bill Bledsoe campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House South Carolina District 5	Candidacy Declared general	$0	N/A**
2022	South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture	Disqualified general	$0	$0
2020	U.S. Senate South Carolina	Lost general	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Personal

Website

Footnotes

[show]

South Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Lindsey Graham (R)

Tim Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nancy Mace (R)

District 2

Joe Wilson (R)

District 3

Sheri Biggs (R)

District 4

William Timmons (R)

District 5

Ralph Norman (R)

District 6

James Clyburn (D)

District 7

Russell Fry (R)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (1)

[1] ABC 7, "Donald Trump Taps Mick Mulvaney for Office of Management and Budget," December 19, 2016

[2] FEC.gov, "Norman, Ralph W. Jr.," accessed June 20, 2017

[3] South Carolina Election Commission, "U.S. House of Representatives District 5," February 16, 2017

[list-4] South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 6/20/2017 US House of Rep Dist 5 Special Election," accessed March 13, 2017

[nytprimary-5] The New York Times, "Live Election Results: South Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District," May 2, 2017

[6] The New York Times, "Live Election Results: South Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District," accessed May 16, 2017

[7] The State, "Norman apparent winner in tight 5th District GOP runoff," May 16, 2017

[8] The State, "Recount today in 5th District GOP race," May 19, 2017

[9] The State, "5th District recount leaves Norman the winner," May 19, 2017

[10] The Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for the 2016 and 2012 elections," accessed April 26, 2017

[11] South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 11/8/2016 Statewide General Election," accessed March 31, 2016

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

	v • e State of South Carolina Columbia (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2025 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

Bill Bledsoe

Elections

2026

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 5

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Constitution convention

Constitution convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Green convention

Green convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

United Citizens Party convention

United Citizens Party convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Constitution convention

Constitution convention for U.S. Senate South Carolina

2017

Primary results

2016

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

2020

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

SITE NAVIGATION