South Carolina State Senate District 36

South Carolina State Senate District 36 is represented by Jeffrey Zell (R).

As of the 2020 Census, South Carolina state senators represented an average of 111,407 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 100,999 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the South Carolina State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. South Carolina legislators assume office the Monday after the election.^[1]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the South Carolina State Senate a candidate must be:^[2]

A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
A registered voter
25 years old at the filing deadline time
A resident of the district at the filing deadline time
Not have been convicted of a felony or offense against election laws unless it has been 15 years since the completion of the sentence for the crime or unless the person has been pardoned

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024^[3]
Salary	Per diem
$10,400/year	$231/day

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the South Carolina Legislature, the presiding officer of the chamber in which the vacancy happens must call for a special election. If candidates plan to seek the nomination through a political party primary or a political party convention, the filing period begins on the third Friday after the vacancy occurs. The qualifying deadline is eight days after the filing period opens.^[4]

If a candidate plans to seek the nomination via petition, all signatures must be submitted to the appropriate filing officer no later than 60 days before the election. All signatures must be verified by the filing officer no later than 45 days before the election.^[5]

A primary election must be held on the eleventh Tuesday after the vacancy occurs. If necessary, a primary runoff must be held on the thirteenth Tuesday after the vacancy occurs. The special election is held on the twentieth Tuesday after the vacancy occurs. If the twentieth Tuesday after the vacancy occurs is less than 60 days prior to the general election, the special election must be held on the same day as the general election.^[5]^[6]

See sources: South Carolina Const. Art. III, § 25 and South Carolina Code Ann. § 7-13-190

District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in South Carolina after the 2020 census

South Carolina enacted new state legislative district maps on December 10, 2021, when Gov. McMaster signed a proposal approved by the South Carolina House and Senate into law. The South Carolina Senate approved House and Senate map proposals in a 43-1 vote on December 7, 2021, and the House approved the new districts in a 75-27 vote on December 9, 2021. Gov. McMaster signed the bill into law the next day.^[7]
The House maps were updated on June 28, 2022, by Senate Bill 1024. The updated maps became effective for the 2024 elections.^[8]^[9]

How does redistricting in South Carolina work? In South Carolina, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.^[10]

South Carolina's legislative redistricting committees adopted redistricting guidelines in 2011. These guidelines recommend that all congressional and state legislative districts be contiguous and "attempt to preserve communities of interest and cores of incumbents' existing districts." Further, the guidelines suggest that districts should "adhere to county, municipal, and voting precinct boundary lines." These guidelines may modified by the legislature at its discretion.^[10]

South Carolina State Senate District 36
until November 10, 2024

Click a district to compare boundaries.

South Carolina State Senate District 36
starting November 11, 2024

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

General election

General election for South Carolina State Senate District 36

Jeffrey Zell defeated incumbent Kevin Johnson in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 36 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeffrey Zell (R)	50.6	25,609
	Kevin Johnson (D)	49.3	24,943
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	61

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,613
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 36

Incumbent Kevin Johnson defeated Eleazer Carter in the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 36 on June 11, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Johnson	77.5	5,824
	Submit photo	Eleazer Carter	22.5	1,689

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,513
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 36

Jeffrey Zell defeated Leon Winn in the Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 36 on June 11, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeffrey Zell	78.3	3,068
	Leon Winn	21.7	850

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,918
= 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.