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South Carolina state legislative special elections, 2024

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2024 State Legislative
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In 2024, 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 of Representatives 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 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 2024. 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 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 19 16
     Republican Party 27 30
Total 46 46


South Carolina House of Representatives
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 43 36
     Republican Party 80 88
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 124 124

Special elections

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

January 2, 2024

April 2, 2024

Historical data

There were 955 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2023. South Carolina held 37 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, 2024

In 2024, 52 state legislative special elections were scheduled for 2024 in 22 states. Between 2011 and 2023, an average of 71 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2024 special elections

In 2024, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 31 due to resignation
  • 11 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 4 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 6 due to redistricting


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 2024. 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.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2024)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 26 29
     Republican Party 26 23
     Independent 0 0
Total 52 52

List of seats

In 2024, five seats changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats that changed from D to R

Seats that changed 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. ↑ The State, "SC special election scheduled to fill the late Sen. John Scott’s seat. Here’s when," accessed August 24, 2023
  5. ↑ AP News, "South Carolina state Sen. John Scott, longtime Democratic lawmaker, dies at 69," accessed August 13, 2023
  6. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "CALL FOR SPECIAL ELECTION FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 109," accessed December 11, 2023
  7. ↑ Post and Courier, "Tedder cruises to blowout victory in Senate 42 special election," November 7, 2023
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