South Carolina held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for June 14, 2022, and a primary runoff was scheduled for June 28, 2022. The filing deadline was March 30, 2022. This was one of 30 elections for attorney general taking place in 2022. All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state's chief legal officer, responsible for enforcing state law and offering the state government advice on legal matters. In 43 states, the office was, at the time of the 2022 elections, an elected post. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. Click here for an overview of all 30 attorney general elections that took place in 2022. A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party. Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

In September 2022, Sabato's Crystal Ball released an analysis of state attorney general election competitiveness. South Carolina's attorney general election was rated as not competitive, meaning the seat was expected to stay in Republican hands: "There’s no Democratic challenger to Wilson for the general, so he will be easily reelected." Click here to read the analysis.^[1]

Incumbent Alan Wilson won election in the general election for Attorney General of South Carolina.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Carolina

Incumbent Alan Wilson won election in the general election for Attorney General of South Carolina on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Alan Wilson (R)	97.3	1,223,080
	Other/Write-in votes	2.7	33,709

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,256,789
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina

Incumbent Alan Wilson defeated Lauren Martel in the Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Alan Wilson	65.7	228,538
	Lauren Martel	34.3	119,247

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,785
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Voting information

See also: Voting in South Carolina

Election information in South Carolina: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 7, 2022
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 11, 2022
Online: Oct. 9, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 28, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 28, 2022
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 24, 2022 to Nov. 5, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

N/A

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Past elections

2018

See also: South Carolina Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Carolina

Incumbent Alan Wilson defeated Constance Anastopoulo in the general election for Attorney General of South Carolina on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Alan Wilson (R)	55.1	938,032
	Constance Anastopoulo (D)	44.9	764,806
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	996

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,703,834
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of South Carolina

Incumbent Alan Wilson defeated Todd Atwater in the Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 26, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Alan Wilson	65.0	213,538
	Todd Atwater	35.0	115,133

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 328,671
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of South Carolina

Constance Anastopoulo advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Constance Anastopoulo

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina

Incumbent Alan Wilson and Todd Atwater advanced to a runoff. They defeated William Herlong in the Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alan Wilson	48.6	166,860
✔		Todd Atwater	29.7	102,038
	Submit photo	William Herlong	21.6	74,199

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 343,097
= 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.
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Political party key:
Democratic
Republican
Green Party
Libertarian Party
Working Families Party
Independent Party American Party

Fusion voting candidates

Constance Anastopoulo

2014

See also: South Carolina attorney general election, 2014

Republican incumbent Alan Wilson won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Attorney General of South Carolina, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Alan Wilson Incumbent	60.3%	738,434
	Democratic	Parnell Diggs	39.7%	486,058
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	879
Total Votes				1,225,371
Election results via South Carolina State Election Commission

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	2026 → ← 2018
South Carolina Attorney General
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 30, 2022
	Primary: June 14, 2022; Primary runoff: June 28, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Alan Wilson (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in South Carolina
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
South Carolina; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Comptroller; Superintendent of Education; Agriculture Commissioner

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Carolina and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for South Carolina, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
South Carolina's 1st	Nancy Mace	Republican	R+7
South Carolina's 2nd	Joe Wilson	Republican	R+8
South Carolina's 3rd	Jeff Duncan	Republican	R+21
South Carolina's 4th	William Timmons	Republican	R+12
South Carolina's 5th	Ralph Norman	Republican	R+12
South Carolina's 6th	Jim Clyburn	Democratic	D+14
South Carolina's 7th	Tom Rice	Republican	R+11

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, South Carolina^[2]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
South Carolina's 1st	44.9%	53.5%
South Carolina's 2nd	43.9%	54.5%
South Carolina's 3rd	30.6%	68.0%
South Carolina's 4th	39.8%	58.4%
South Carolina's 5th	40.2%	58.4%
South Carolina's 6th	65.3%	33.2%
South Carolina's 7th	40.2%	58.8%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 71.8% of South Carolinians lived in one of the state's 25 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 23.6% lived in one of 13 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, South Carolina was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in South Carolina following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

South Carolina county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	25	71.8%
Solid Democratic	13	23.6%
Trending Republican	6	3.5%
New Republican	2	1.2%
Total voted Democratic	13	23.6%
Total voted Republican	33	76.4%

Historical voting trends

South Carolina presidential election results (1900-2020)

16 Democratic wins
14 Republican wins
1 other win

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	SR^[3]	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from South Carolina

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in South Carolina.

U.S. Senate election results in South Carolina
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	54.5%	44.2%
2016	60.5%	37.0%
2014	54.3%	38.8%
2014	61.1%	37.1%
2010	62.4%	28.2%
Average	58.6	37.1

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of South Carolina

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in South Carolina.

Gubernatorial election results in South Carolina
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	54.0%	45.9%
2014	55.9%	41.4%
2010	51.4%	46.9%
2006	55.1%	44.8%
2002	52.9%	47.0%
Average	53.9	45.2

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of South Carolina's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from South Carolina, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	1	1
Republican	2	6	8
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	7	9

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in South Carolina's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in South Carolina, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Henry McMaster
Lieutenant Governor	Pamela Evette
Secretary of State	Mark Hammond
Attorney General	Alan Wilson

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the South Carolina State Legislature as of November 2022.

South Carolina State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	16
	Republican Party	30
	Vacancies	0
Total		46

South Carolina House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	43
	Republican Party	80
	Vacancies	1
Total		124

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, South Carolina was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

South Carolina Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in South Carolina and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for South Carolina
	South Carolina	United States
Population	4,625,364	308,745,538
Land area (sq mi)	30,064	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	67.2%	72.5%
Black/African American	26.8%	12.7%
Asian	1.6%	5.5%
Native American	0.4%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.2%
Other (single race)	1.8%	4.9%
Multiple	2.3%	3.3%
Hispanic/Latino	5.7%	18%
Education
High school graduation rate	87.5%	88%
College graduation rate	28.1%	32.1%
Income
Median household income	$53,199	$62,843
Persons below poverty level	15.2%	13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Footnotes

[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball, "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape," September 14, 2022

[2] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[3] States' Rights Democratic Party

[1]

[2]

[3]

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South Carolina Attorney General election, 2022

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Carolina

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina

Voting information

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Past elections

2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of South Carolina

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of South Carolina

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of South Carolina

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of South Carolina

2014

Election analysis

Presidential elections

Cook PVI by congressional district

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2012-2020

Historical voting trends

Statewide elections

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

State executive

State legislature

South Carolina State Senate

South Carolina House of Representatives

Trifecta control

Demographics

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2026 Elections

2025 Elections

Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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