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Michael Gambrell
2016 - Present
2028
9
Michael Gambrell (Republican Party) is a member of the South Carolina State Senate, representing District 4. He assumed office on May 24, 2016. His current term ends on November 13, 2028.
Gambrell (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the South Carolina State Senate to represent District 4. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Gambrell earned his B.S. from Clemson University in 1980. He started work as the owner of M&R Enterprises in 1983. He also worked as a market reporter for the South Carolina Livestock Market News, starting in 1999.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Gambrell was assigned to the following committees:
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Family and Veterans' Services Committee
- Finance Committee
- Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee
- Medical Affairs Committee
2021-2022
Gambrell was assigned to the following committees:
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Family and Veterans' Services Committee
- Finance Committee
- Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee
- Medical Affairs Committee
2019-2020
Gambrell was assigned to the following committees:
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee
- Medical Affairs Committee
- Family and Veterans' Services Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • General |
| • Judiciary |
| • Labor, Commerce, and Industry |
| • Medical Affairs |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Gambrell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Ethics |
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Gambrell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Gambrell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Gambrell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for South Carolina State Senate District 4
Incumbent Michael Gambrell won election in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michael Gambrell (R) | 99.2 | 37,010 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 280 | ||
| Total votes: 37,290 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Michael Gambrell advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 4.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gambrell in this election.
2020
See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for South Carolina State Senate District 4
Incumbent Michael Gambrell defeated Jose Villa in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael Gambrell (R) | 72.7 | 31,129 |
| Jose Villa (D) | 27.2 | 11,651 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 33 | ||
| Total votes: 42,813 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Jose Villa advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 4.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Michael Gambrell advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 4.
2016
General election
Elections for the South Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The primary runoff election was held on June 28, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2016.
Incumbent Michael Gambrell ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 4 general election.[1][2]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 4 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Michael Gambrell Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 28,064 | |
| Total Votes | 28,064 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Incumbent Michael Gambrell defeated Rockey Burgess in the South Carolina State Senate District 4 Republican primary.[3][4]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 4 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Michael Gambrell Incumbent |
64.95% | 6,075 | |
| Republican | Rockey Burgess | 35.05% | 3,279 | |
| Total Votes | 9,354 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Special election
A special election for the position of South Carolina State Senate District 4 was called for May 17. A primary took place on March 22. A primary runoff took place on April 5. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 1.[5]
The seat was vacant following William O'Dell's (R) death on January 7, 2016. He died at his home from an apparent heart condition.[6]
Rockey Burgess, Willie Day, Michael Gambrell, Tripp Padgett and Mark Powell faced off in the Republican primary. Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Burgess and Gambrell, faced off in the primary runoff, which Gambrell won.[7][8][9] Gambrell was unopposed in the special election.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Gambrell |
91.8% | 1,246 | |
| Write-in | Write-in | 8.2% | 112 | |
| Total Votes | 1,358 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Michael Gambrell |
57.6% | 2,594 |
| Rockey Burgess | 42.4% | 1,913 |
| Total Votes | 4,507 | |
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Michael Gambrell (advanced to the runoff) |
45.5% | 2,150 |
| Rockey Burgess (advanced to the runoff) |
31.9% | 1,505 |
| Tripp Padgett | 14.1% | 667 |
| Willie Day | 6.2% | 294 |
| Mark Powell | 2.3% | 109 |
| Total Votes | 4,725 | |
2014
Elections for all 124 seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2014. Incumbent Michael Gambrell ran unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[11][12][13]
2012
Gambrell was unopposed in the Republican primary on June 12 and in the general election on November 6, 2012.[14][15]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Gambrell Incumbent |
99.3% | 9,457 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 0.7% | 66 | |
| Total Votes | 9,523 | |||
2010
Gambrell ran unopposed in the June 8 Republican primary for District 7 of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Gambrell won, after running unopposed, in the general election on November 2.
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 7 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Michael Gambrell (R)
|
6,216 | 99.58% | ||
| Write-In | 26 | 0.42% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Gambrell won re-election to the 7th District seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives, defeating Richard Kelly (D).
Gambrell raised $40,090 for his campaign, while Kelly raised $0.[16]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 7 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Michael Gambrell (R)
|
8,232 | |||
| Richard Kelly (D) | 3,478 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Gambrell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Michael Gambrell 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.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 9 to May 9.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 11.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 to May 12.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 13.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 25. The state Senate reconvened September to September 3. Both chambers reconvened September 15 to September 24.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 21.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 10.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 10 through May 11.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 2.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 through June 4.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 6.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 20.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 7.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 2. On June 2, 2011, Governor Nikki Haley (R) attempted to call the legislature into an "emergency" special session to begin on June 7 to create the new South Carolina Department of Administration. A lawsuit was filed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R), in which he contended that Haley's call for a special session was unconstitutional, and that it violated the state Constitution's requirement of separation of powers among the governor, legislature and courts.[17] On June 6, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 against Governor Haley, stating that her order violated the Legislature's ability to set its calendar and agenda. The legislature met in a special redistricting session from June 14 - July 1.[18] The legislature re-convened July 26.[19]
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The Palmetto Liberty PAC Scorecard
The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative, pro-limited government think tank in South Carolina, releases its scorecard for South Carolina representatives and senators once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election on specific issues that the Palametto Liberty PAC thinks are anti-limited government. "Most of the votes shown on the score card are votes that we lost. Now we can identify the Legislators that caused us to lose these votes. These Legislators are the ones who need to be replaced if we are to achieve the vision of having the most free state in the nation."[20]
2012
Michael Gambrell received a score of 27% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 30th out of all 124 South Carolina House of Representatives members.[21] His score was followed by representatives Nelson Hardwick (27%), Phyllis Henderson (27%), and Davey Hiott (27%).[22]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Gambrell has a wife, Reene.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate South Carolina State Senate District 4 |
Officeholder South Carolina State Senate District 4 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "State Senate District 4 Special Election," accessed January 22, 2016
- ↑ ABC Columbia, "SC Senate remembers Senator O’Dell," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State Senate District 4 Republican Primary Runoff," accessed April 5, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State Senate District 4 Republican Primary," accessed March 22, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 5/17/2016 State Senate District 4 Special Election," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State Senate District 4 Special Election," accessed May 17, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Election Information," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ AP.org, "South Carolina State Senate and State House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2012 Candidates," accessed April 19, 2012
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ The State, "High court rules against Haley," June 6, 2011
- ↑ The Sun News, "S.C. House to have special session in June," May 6, 2011
- ↑ The Island Packet, "S.C. Senate OKs new congressional districted anchored in Beaufort County," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
South Carolina State Senate District 4 2016-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
South Carolina House of Representatives District 7 2006-2016 |
Succeeded by - |
