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South Carolina state legislative special elections, 2020

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In 2020, two special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the South Carolina State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

House 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 State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the South Carolina House of Representatives, with 124 members, and the South Carolina State Senate, with 46 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2020. 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 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 44 44
     Republican Party 80 80
Total 124 124

Special elections

Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:

August 11, 2020

November 3, 2020

Historical data

There were 723 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2019. South Carolina held 31 special elections during the same time period; about three per year on average. The largest number of special elections in South Carolina took place in 2017 when six special elections were held.

The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2020

In 2020, 55 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Four special elections were canceled in New York due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2020 special elections

In 2020, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 23 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 5 due to a resignation related to criminal charges[9]
  • 18 due to retirement
  • 13 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2020. 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. In elections between 2011 and 2019, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2018 and 2019, Democrats had a net gain of six seats.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2020)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 21 27
     Republican Party 38 32
     Independent 0 0
Total 59 59

Flipped seats

In 2020, eight seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

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. ↑ Charleston County Board of Elections, "House District 115 Special Primary Notice," accessed April 10, 2020
  5. ↑ The State, "Peter McCoy takes oath as SC’s new interim U.S. Attorney," March 30, 2020
  6. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House of Representatives District 107 Special Filing & Primary," accessed July 23, 2020
  7. ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Myrtle Beach Rep. Alan Clemmons resigns from his SC House seat. Here’s what we know." July 17,2020
  8. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House of Representatives District 107 Special Filing & Primary," accessed August 17, 2020
  9. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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