Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

South Carolina State Senate District 42

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

South Carolina State Senate District 42
Incumbent
Assumed office: November 7, 2023

South Carolina State Senate District 42 is represented by Deon Tedder (D).

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


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 42
until November 10, 2024

Click a district to compare boundaries.

South Carolina State Senate District 42
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 42

Incumbent Deon Tedder won election in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 42 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Deon Tedder
Deon Tedder (D)
 
98.2
 
26,088
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.8
 
477

Total votes: 26,565
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 42

Incumbent Deon Tedder defeated Kim Greene in the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 42 on June 11, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Deon Tedder
Deon Tedder
 
83.3
 
2,594
Image of Kim Greene
Kim Greene Candidate Connection
 
16.7
 
520

Total votes: 3,114
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.

2023

See also: South Carolina state legislative special elections, 2023

A special election for South Carolina State Senate District 42 was called for November 7, 2023. A primary took place on September 5, 2023. A primary runoff took place on September 19, 2023. The candidate filing deadline passed on July 15, 2023.[11]

The seat became vacant after Marlon Kimpson (D) resigned on May 11, 2023, to take a job on President Joe Biden’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.[12]

General election

Special general election for South Carolina State Senate District 42

Deon Tedder defeated Rosa Kay in the special general election for South Carolina State Senate District 42 on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Deon Tedder
Deon Tedder (D)
 
81.7
 
10,565
Rosa Kay (R)
 
18.0
 
2,322
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
46

Total votes: 12,933
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 runoff election

Special Democratic primary runoff for South Carolina State Senate District 42

Deon Tedder defeated Wendell Gilliard in the special Democratic primary runoff for South Carolina State Senate District 42 on September 19, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Deon Tedder
Deon Tedder
 
50.1
 
2,093
Image of Wendell Gilliard
Wendell Gilliard
 
49.9
 
2,082

Total votes: 4,175
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

Special Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 42

Wendell Gilliard and Deon Tedder advanced to a runoff. They defeated JA Moore in the special Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 42 on September 5, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Wendell Gilliard
Wendell Gilliard
 
46.6
 
1,856
Image of Deon Tedder
Deon Tedder
 
38.6
 
1,536
Image of JA Moore
JA Moore
 
14.8
 
588

Total votes: 3,980
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

The Republican primary election was canceled. Rosa Kay advanced from the special Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 42.


2020

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for South Carolina State Senate District 42

Incumbent Marlon Kimpson won election in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 42 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Marlon Kimpson
Marlon Kimpson (D)
 
98.0
 
35,299
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.0
 
705

Total votes: 36,004
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 Marlon Kimpson advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 42.

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 Marlon Kimpson ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 42 general election.[13][14]

South Carolina State Senate, District 42 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Marlon Kimpson Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 29,289
Total Votes 29,289
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission


Incumbent Marlon Kimpson defeated Robert Ford in the South Carolina State Senate District 42 Democratic primary.[15][16]

South Carolina State Senate, District 42 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Marlon Kimpson Incumbent 78.96% 3,648
     Democratic Robert Ford 21.04% 972
Total Votes 4,620


2013

See also: South Carolina state legislative special elections, 2013

Marlon Kimpson (D) won election in a special election for South Carolina State Senate District 42. The seat was vacant following Sen. Robert Ford's (D) resignation on May 31, 2013 amidst an ethics investigation. Kimpson advanced to a primary runoff with Maurice Washington, defeating Herbert S. Fielding, Margaret Rush and Bob Thompson in the August 13 Democratic primary. Kimpson defeated Washington in the runoff on August 27. Kimpson defeated Billy Shuman (R), Alex Thornton (L), and Rodney Travis (L) in the special election, which took place on October 1. Shuman was unopposed in the Republican primary.[17][18][19][20][21]

South Carolina State Senate, District 42, Special Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarlon Kimpson 79.6% 6,255
     Republican Billy Shuman 19% 1,496
     Libertarian Alex Thornton 1.2% 98
     Libertarian Rodney Travis 0.1% 5
Total Votes 7,854

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 Robert Ford (D) was unopposed in both the general election and Democratic primary.[22][23]

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for South Carolina State Senate District 42 raised a total of $1,528,493. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $72,785 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, South Carolina State Senate District 42
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $106,691 2 $53,346
2023 $427,714 4 $106,928
2020 $114,874 1 $114,874
2016 $164,546 2 $82,273
2012 $145,687 1 $145,687
2010 $4,000 1 $4,000
2008 $253,639 2 $126,820
2006 $24,984 1 $24,984
2004 $140,282 3 $46,761
2002 $11,269 1 $11,269
2000 $134,807 3 $44,936
Total $1,528,493 21 $72,785



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. LegiScan, "South Carolina House Bill 4493," accessed December 14, 2021
  8. South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, "SC General Assembly," accessed March 17, 2025
  9. LegiScan, "South Carolina Senate Bill 1024," accessed March 17, 2025
  10. 10.0 10.1 All About Redistricting, "South Carolina," accessed May 8, 2015
  11. South Carolina Election Commission, "State Senate District 42 Special Election," June 21, 2023
  12. " “Kimpson to Resign from SC Senate, joining Biden’s administration,” March 12, 2023
  13. South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
  14. South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
  15. South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
  16. South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
  17. scnow.com, "Special election set for former Sen. Ford's seat," June 5, 2013
  18. live5news.com, "Marlon Kimpson wins District 42 Senate runoff," August 27, 2013
  19. scvotes.org, "Official Democratic primary results," accessed November 19, 2013
  20. scvotes.org, "Official Democratic primary runoff results," accessed November 19, 2013
  21. scvotes.org, "Official election results," accessed November 19, 2013
  22. "South Carolina State Election Commission - Official General Election Results," accessed October 29, 2013
  23. "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)