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South Carolina Attorney General election, 2022 (June 14 Democratic primary)

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2026
2018
South Carolina Attorney General
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 30, 2022
Primary: June 14, 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

A Democratic Party primary was scheduled to take place on June 14, 2022, in South Carolina to determine which candidate would earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's attorney general election on November 8, 2022. The primary was canceled after no Democratic candidates filed.

This page focuses on South Carolina's Democratic Party Attorney General primary. For more in-depth information on South Carolina's Republican Attorney General primary and the general election, see the following pages:

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Candidates and election results

The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.

State profile

Demographic data for South Carolina
 South CarolinaU.S.
Total population:4,894,834316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):30,0613,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:67.2%73.6%
Black/African American:27.5%12.6%
Asian:1.4%5.1%
Native American:0.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:5.3%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:85.6%86.7%
College graduation rate:25.8%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$45,483$53,889
Persons below poverty level:22%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Carolina.
**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.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in South Carolina

South Carolina voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Carolina, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[1]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Carolina had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More South Carolina coverage on Ballotpedia

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

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 Ends.png Republican R+7
South Carolina's 2nd Joe Wilson Ends.png Republican R+8
South Carolina's 3rd Jeff Duncan Ends.png Republican R+21
South Carolina's 4th William Timmons Ends.png Republican R+12
South Carolina's 5th Ralph Norman Ends.png Republican R+12
South Carolina's 6th Jim Clyburn Electiondot.png Democratic D+14
South Carolina's 7th Tom Rice Ends.png 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 Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
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:


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.

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%Republican Party 44.2%Democratic Party
2016 60.5%Republican Party 37.0%Democratic Party
2014 54.3%Republican Party 38.8%Democratic Party
2014 61.1%Republican Party 37.1%Democratic Party
2010 62.4%Republican Party 28.2%Democratic Party
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%Republican Party 45.9%Democratic Party
2014 55.9%Republican Party 41.4%Democratic Party
2010 51.4%Republican Party 46.9%Democratic Party
2006 55.1%Republican Party 44.8%Democratic Party
2002 52.9%Republican Party 47.0%Democratic Party
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 Republican Party Henry McMaster
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Pamela Evette
Secretary of State Republican Party Mark Hammond
Attorney General Republican Party 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.


See also

South Carolina State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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South Carolina State Executive Offices
South Carolina State Legislature
South Carolina Courts
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South Carolina elections: 2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes