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South Carolina State Senate elections, 2024
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U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • State ballot measures • School boards • All other local • How to run for office |
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← 2020
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| 2024 South Carolina Senate Elections | |
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| Primary | June 11, 2024 |
| Primary runoff | June 25, 2024 |
| General | November 5, 2024 |
| Past Election Results |
| 2020・2016・2012・2008 |
| 2024 Elections | |
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Elections for the South Carolina State Senate took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was June 11, 2024, and the primary runoff was June 25, 2024. The filing deadline was April 1, 2024.
The South Carolina State Senate was one of 85 state legislative chambers with elections in 2024. Following the election, Republicans maintained a 34-12 majority. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Republicans had a two-thirds supermajority in the House but not the Senate. Republicans needed to gain at least one Senate seat and lose fewer than 6 House seats to attain a legislative supermajority in both chambers. Democrats needed to maintain their Senate seats or or gain at least 6 House seats to prevent a Republican supermajority.
Party control
| South Carolina State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2024 | After November 6, 2024 | |
| Democratic Party | 15 | 12 | |
| Republican Party | 30 | 34 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 46 | 46 | |
Candidates
General election
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection
Primary runoff
South Carolina State Senate primary runoff 2024 |
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| Office |  Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
| District 6 |
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| District 10 |
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| District 12 |
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| District 22 |
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| District 23 |
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| District 26 |
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| District 35 |
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Primary
South Carolina State Senate primary 2024 |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| District 1 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 2 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 3 |
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| District 4 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 5 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 6 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 7 |
The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 8 |
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| District 9 |
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| District 10 |
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| District 11 |
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| District 12 |
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| District 13 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 14 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 15 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 16 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 17 |
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| District 18 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 19 |
The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 20 |
The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 21 |
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The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 22 |
The Republican primary was canceled. Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 23 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 24 |
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| District 25 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 26 |
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| District 27 |
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| District 28 |
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| District 29 |
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| District 30 |
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| District 31 |
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| District 32 |
The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 33 |
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| District 34 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 35 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 36 |
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| District 37 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 38 |
The Democratic primary was canceled. |
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| District 39 |
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| District 40 |
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| District 41 |
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| District 42 |
The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 43 |
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| District 44 |
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| District 45 |
The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 46 |
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Voting information
- See also: Voting in South Carolina
General election race ratings
The table below displays race ratings for each race in this chamber from CNalysis.
Campaign finance
- See also: Campaign finance
The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. Districts and elections are grouped in sections of 10. To view data for a district, click on the appropriate bar below to expand it. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in general elections
Four incumbents lost in general elections. An average of 1.3 incumbents lost per even election year from 2010-2022.
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Fanning |  Democratic |
Senate District 17 |
| Gerald Malloy | Democratic |
Senate District 29 |
| Kevin Johnson | Democratic |
Senate District 36 |
| Vernon Stephens | Democratic |
Senate District 39 |
Incumbents defeated in primaries
Four incumbents lost in primaries. This was more than the average of 2.3 incumbent defeats per cycle from 2010 to 2022.
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Katrina Shealy |  Republican |
Senate District 23 |
| Dick Harpootlian | Democratic |
Senate District 26 |
| Penry Gustafson | Republican |
Senate District 27 |
| Sandy Senn | Republican |
Senate District 41 |
Retiring incumbents
Five incumbents did not file for re-election in 2024.[1] The average number of retirements each election cycle from 2010 to 2022 was 4.3. Those incumbents were:
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in South Carolina. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in South Carolina in 2024. Information below was calculated on May 24, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
South Carolina had 79 contested state legislative primaries in 2024, an increase of 65% from the preceding cycle.
Twenty-seven of these primaries were for Democrats, up 125% from 2022. This was up 4% from 2020 and 35% from 2016, the last two cycles featuring elections for every state House and Senate seat. Fifty-two primaries were for Republicans, a 44% increase from 36 in 2022.
Fifty-one incumbents faced primary challenges, a new high and representing 34% of all incumbents running for re-election. The previous high was 42 incumbents in 2016.
Of the 51 incumbents in contested primaries, 16 were Democrats and 35 were Republicans.
In total, 348 major party candidates—136 Democrats and 212 Republicans—filed to run. All 124 House and 46 Senate seats were up for election. Twenty of those seats were open, meaning no incumbents filed. This was the second-largest number of open seats, behind 24 in 2012.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the South Carolina State Senate from 2012 to 2024.[2]
| Open Seats in South Carolina State Senate elections: 2012 - 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2024 | 46 | 5 (11 percent) | 41 (89 percent) |
| 2020 | 46 | 3 (7 percent) | 43 (93 percent) |
| 2016 | 46 | 3 (7 percent) | 43 (93 percent) |
| 2012 | 46 | 6 (13 percent) | 40 (87 percent) |
Legislative referrals
- See also: Legislative referral
A legislative referral, or legislatively referred ballot measure, is a ballot measure that appears on the ballot due to a vote of the state legislature. A legislative referral can be a constitutional amendment, state statute, or bond issue.
As of the 2024 election, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required during one legislative session for the South Carolina State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounted to a minimum of 82 votes in the South Carolina House of Representatives and 30 votes in the South Carolina State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments did not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
At the time of the 2024 election, Republicans held a 30-15-1 majority in the Senate and a 88-36 majority in the House. Republicans needed to lose one Senate seat and seven House seats to be no longer able to pass legislative referrals without Democratic votes. Democrats needed to win 15 Senate seats and 46 House seats to have the same ability.
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Title 7, Chapter 11 of the South Carolina Code
In South Carolina, a candidate can run as the nominee of a political party, as an independent, or as a write-in.
For partisan candidates
Non-presidential candidates seeking a party nomination for a general or special election must file the State Election Commission’s Statement of Intention of Candidacy/Party Pledge Form (SICPP) and pay the required fee—or submit a fee-petition signed by registered voters equal to the fee—between noon on March 16 and noon on March 30 (with the deadline extended to the next business day if the 30th falls on a weekend or holiday). Federal, statewide, and multi-county district candidates file with the State Election Commission; those running for State Senate, House, or county offices file with their home-county election commission. A candidate who files as a Democrat or Republican must pay a filing fee.[3]
Upon receipt, the filing officer stamps each form and fee receipt with the date and time received, retains the original, provides a copy to the candidate, and forwards a copy to the appropriate party executive committee. No name may appear on any primary ballot, convention slate, or general/special election ballot until certification by that committee, and any minor error or omission in filings must be construed in the candidate’s favor if statutory qualifications are otherwise met.
If, after the close of filing, two or fewer candidates remain for an office and one withdraws or dies, the party committee—or, for legislative seats, the state committee—may at its discretion reopen nominations. Both the county party chair and the state executive committee chair may designate observers to monitor filings. These rules do not apply to nonpartisan school-trustee elections governed by local law, which prevail in the event of any conflict.[4][3]
For independent candidates
An independent candidate must be nominated by petition. The petition must contain signatures equaling at least 5 percent of the qualified registered electors in the geographical area of the office being sought. No petition candidate is required to collect more than 10,000 signatures for any office.[5][6]
Petition candidates for multi-county offices must file their petitions with the South Carolina State Election Commission. All petition candidates for the state legislature also file with the State Election Commission. A petition candidate must also file a statement of economic interests with the State Ethics Commission. Signature requirements are detailed in the table below.[6]
| Petition signature requirements for independent candidates in South Carolina | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office sought | Number of signatures needed | |
| Governor and other statewide offices | 5 percent of the qualified registered voters in the state | |
| State legislators | 5 percent of the qualified registered voters in the district or area to be represented | |
No candidates is required to collect more than 10,000 signatures.[5]
For write-in candidates
Generally, there are no filing forms or fees required to run as a write-in candidate. However, a write-in candidate should notify the appropriate election commission in writing that he or she is conducting a write-in campaign. A candidate who was defeated in a political party's primary may not actively campaign as a write-in candidate for the ensuing election.[6][7]
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the South Carolina State Senate, a candidate must be:[8]
- A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
- 21 years old at the filing deadline time
- A resident of the district at the filing deadline time
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[9] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $10,400/year | $231/day |
When sworn in
South Carolina legislators assume office the Monday after the election.[10]
South Carolina political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
South Carolina Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-three 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 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 | 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 | R | R | R |
Presidential politics in South Carolina
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Presidential election in South Carolina, 2020
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
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| ✔ |
 
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
55.1
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1,385,103 | 9 |
 
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
43.4
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1,091,541 | 0 | |
 
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
1.1
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27,916 | 0 | |
 
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G) |
0.3
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6,907 | 0 | |
 
| Roque De La Fuente/Darcy Richardson (Alliance Party) |
0.1
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1,862 | 0 | |
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Total votes: 2,513,329 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, South Carolina, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 40.7% | 855,373 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
54.9% | 1,155,389 | 9 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 2.3% | 49,204 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 0.6% | 13,034 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Castle/Scott Bradley | 0.3% | 5,765 | 0 | |
| Independence | Evan McMullin/Nathan Johnson | 1% | 21,016 | 0 | |
| American | Peter Skewes/Michael Lacy | 0.2% | 3,246 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 2,103,027 | 9 | |||
| Election results via: South Carolina Election Commission | |||||
South Carolina presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 15 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 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | SR[11] | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
See also
| South Carolina | State Legislative Elections | News and Analysis |
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2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-15(a)," accessed April 29, 2025
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Filing instructions for partisan candidates," accessed April 29, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-70," accessed April 29, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidates," accessed April 29, 2025
- ↑ South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-210," accessed April 29, 2025
- ↑ South Carolina Secretary of State, "Qualifications for office," accessed December 18, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ South Carolina Constitution, "Article III, Section 10," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
