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South Carolina State Senate District 10

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South Carolina State Senate District 10
Incumbent
Assumed office: November 9, 2020

South Carolina State Senate District 10 is represented by Billy Garrett (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]
SalaryPer 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]

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


2016 pivot county

206 Pivot Counties Logo.png
See also: Pivot Counties and Legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties

This district was one of 710 state legislative districts that, based on boundaries adopted after the 2010 census, intersected with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.

The 206 Pivot Counties were located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. At that time, the partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.[7]

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.[8]
The House maps were updated on June 28, 2022, by Senate Bill 1024. The updated maps became effective for the 2024 elections.[9][10]

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.[11]

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.[11]

South Carolina State Senate District 10
until November 10, 2024

Click a district to compare boundaries.

South Carolina State Senate District 10
starting November 11, 2024

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for South Carolina State Senate District 10

Incumbent Billy Garrett defeated Francie Kleckley in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 10 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Billy Garrett
Billy Garrett (R)
 
69.1
 
38,994
Image of Francie Kleckley
Francie Kleckley (D) Candidate Connection
 
30.7
 
17,349
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
99

Total votes: 56,442
Candidate Connection = 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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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for South Carolina State Senate District 10

Incumbent Billy Garrett defeated Charles Bumgardner in the Republican primary runoff for South Carolina State Senate District 10 on June 25, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Billy Garrett
Billy Garrett
 
56.2
 
4,933
Image of Charles Bumgardner
Charles Bumgardner Candidate Connection
 
43.8
 
3,849

Total votes: 8,782
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 10

Francie Kleckley defeated Brandon Best in the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 10 on June 11, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Francie Kleckley
Francie Kleckley Candidate Connection
 
51.0
 
1,019
Image of Brandon Best
Brandon Best Candidate Connection
 
49.0
 
979

Total votes: 1,998
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 10

Incumbent Billy Garrett and Charles Bumgardner advanced to a runoff. They defeated Troy Simpson and Taylor Bell in the Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 10 on June 11, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Billy Garrett
Billy Garrett
 
41.1
 
5,292
Image of Charles Bumgardner
Charles Bumgardner Candidate Connection
 
23.1
 
2,969
Troy Simpson
 
19.4
 
2,500
Taylor Bell
 
16.4
 
2,118

Total votes: 12,879
Candidate Connection = 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

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for South Carolina State Senate District 10

Billy Garrett defeated incumbent Floyd Nicholson in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 10 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Billy Garrett
Billy Garrett (R)
 
56.0
 
23,989
Image of Floyd Nicholson
Floyd Nicholson (D)
 
43.9
 
18,841
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
40

Total votes: 42,870
Candidate Connection = 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. Incumbent Floyd Nicholson advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 10.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 10

Billy Garrett defeated J. Bryan Hope in the Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 10 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Billy Garrett
Billy Garrett
 
53.5
 
5,410
J. Bryan Hope
 
46.5
 
4,699

Total votes: 10,109
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2016

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 Floyd Nicholson defeated J. Bryan Hope in the South Carolina State Senate District 10 general election.[12][13]

South Carolina State Senate, District 10 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Floyd Nicholson Incumbent 51.31% 19,331
     Republican J. Bryan Hope 48.69% 18,342
Total Votes 37,673
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission


Incumbent Floyd Nicholson ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 10 Democratic primary.[14][15]

South Carolina State Senate, District 10 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Floyd Nicholson Incumbent (unopposed)


J. Bryan Hope ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 10 Republican primary.[16][17]

South Carolina State Senate, District 10 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png J. Bryan Hope  (unopposed)

2012

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of South Carolina State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 12, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2012. Incumbent Floyd Nicholson (D) defeated Jennings McAbee, Sr. (R) in the general election and was unopposed in the Democratic primary. McAbee defeated Chet Royston in the Republican primary.[18][19]

South Carolina State Senate, District 10, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngFloyd Nicholson Incumbent 53.5% 20,249
     Republican Jennings McAbee, Sr. 46.4% 17,577
     Other Write-Ins 0.1% 26
Total Votes 37,852
South Carolina State Senate District 10 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJennings G. McAbee, Sr. 68.7% 4,433
Chet Royston 31.3% 2,024
Total Votes 6,457

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for South Carolina State Senate District 10 raised a total of $1,543,446. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $53,222 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, South Carolina State Senate District 10
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $313,868 6 $52,311
2020 $246,411 3 $82,137
2016 $80,098 2 $40,049
2012 $102,265 3 $34,088
2010 $16,320 1 $16,320
2008 $474,467 6 $79,078
2006 $7,250 1 $7,250
2004 $44,693 3 $14,898
2002 $5,050 1 $5,050
2000 $253,024 3 $84,341
Total $1,543,446 29 $53,222



Other election results in district

The map below highlight's this state legislative district and provides election results from the most recent election. Using the dropdown on the left, you can choose to view results for the most recent presidential election or U.S. House district election instead. This will show you the votes cast in this district for that election. The dropdown on the right will let you see either the map colored by the percentage of votes the winning candidate received or let you know the number and type of votes cast by size and shade of the circle in each county.

Ballotpedia Embed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. South Carolina Legislature, "Article III - Legislative Department," accessed October 4, 2021
  2. South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidates," accessed May 23, 2025
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  4. South Carolina State Legislature, "South Carolina Code," accessed February 17, 2021 (Statute 7-13-190 (A)-(B))
  5. 5.0 5.1 South Carolina State Legislature, "South Carolina Code," accessed February 17, 2021 (Statute 7-13-190 (B))
  6. South Carolina State Legislature, "South Carolina Constitution," accessed February 17, 2021 (Article 3, Section 25)
  7. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  8. LegiScan, "South Carolina House Bill 4493," accessed December 14, 2021
  9. South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, "SC General Assembly," accessed March 17, 2025
  10. LegiScan, "South Carolina Senate Bill 1024," accessed March 17, 2025
  11. 11.0 11.1 All About Redistricting, "South Carolina," accessed May 8, 2015
  12. South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
  13. South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
  14. South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
  15. South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
  16. South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
  17. South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
  18. "South Carolina State Election Commission - Official General Election Results," accessed October 29, 2013
  19. "South Carolina State Election Commission - Official Primary Results," accessed October 29, 2013


Current members of the South Carolina State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Thomas Alexander
Majority Leader:Shane Massey
Minority Leader:Brad Hutto
Senators
District 1
District 2
Rex Rice (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
Vacant
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
Ed Sutton (D)
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
Tom Young (R)
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
Tom Davis (R)
Republican Party (33)
Democratic Party (12)
Vacancies (1)