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South Carolina state legislative special elections, 2017

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In 2017, six special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the South Carolina State Legislature. All six vacancies were filled.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in South Carolina


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.[1]

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.[2]

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.[2][3]

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


About the legislature

The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of South Carolina. It consists of the lower House of Representatives and the upper State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

South Carolina State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 18 18
     Republican Party 28 28
Total 46 46
South Carolina House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 46 44
     Republican Party 77 80
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 124 124

Special elections

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May 30, 2017

June 20, 2017

September 26, 2017

November 7, 2017

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

Breakdown of 2017 special elections

In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:

  • 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
  • 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
  • 22 due to a retirement
  • 15 due to a death

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not total vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 45 56
     Republican Party 53 42
     Independent - -
Total 98 98

Flipped seats

In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.

Seats flipped from D to R

Seats flipped from R to D

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ South Carolina State Legislature, "South Carolina Code," accessed February 17, 2021 (Statute 7-13-190 (A)-(B))
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 South Carolina State Legislature, "South Carolina Code," accessed February 17, 2021 (Statute 7-13-190 (B))
  3. ↑ South Carolina State Legislature, "South Carolina Constitution," accessed February 17, 2021 (Article 3, Section 25)
  4. ↑ scvotes.org, "State Senate District 3 Special Election," accessed March 11, 2017
  5. ↑ scvotes.org, "State Senate District 3 Republican Primary," accessed April 11, 2017
  6. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 5/30/2017 State Senate District 3 Special Election," accessed March 11, 2017
  7. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State Senate District 3 Republican Primary Runoff," accessed April 25, 2017
  8. ↑ scvotes.org, "House of Representatives District 84 Special Election," accessed March 11, 2017
  9. ↑ counton2.com, "SC State Representative Chris Corley indicted on domestic violence charge," January 4, 2017
  10. ↑ scvotes.org, "State House of Representatives District 84 Republican Primary," accessed May 31, 2017
  11. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House of Representatives District 84 Special Election," May 30, 2017
  12. ↑ scvotes.org, "House of Representatives District 48 Special Election," accessed March 11, 2017
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 scvotes.org, "Special Election – U.S. House District 5, State House Districts 48 and 70," June 20, 2017
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 scvotes.org, "Special Primary Results - U.S. House District 5, State House Districts 48 and 70," May 2, 2017
  15. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 6/20/2017 State House of Rep Dist 48 Special Elect," accessed March 14, 2017
  16. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "House of Representatives District 70 Special Election," accessed March 11, 2017
  17. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 6/20/2017 State House of Rep Dist 70 Spec Elec," accessed March 14, 2017
  18. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "House of Representatives District 31 Special Election," accessed June 20, 2017
  19. ↑ US News, "Spartanburg Democrat Resigning From State Legislature," May 5, 2017
  20. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House of Representatives District 31 Democratic Primary Runoff," accessed August 8, 2017
  21. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 7/25/2017 State House of Rep Dist 31 Primary," accessed June 20, 2017
  22. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "House of Representatives District 113 Special Election," accessed August 25, 2017
  23. ↑ The Post and Courier, "North Charleston state Rep. Seth Whipper retiring from House to serve as magistrate judge," June 6, 2017
  24. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House of Representatives District 113 Special Election," accessed November 7, 2017
  25. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House of Representatives District 113 Democratic Primary," accessed September 6, 2017
  26. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House of Representatives District 113 Republican Primary," accessed September 6, 2017
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