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South Carolina state legislative special elections, 2025

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As of September, five special elections have been called to fill vacant seats in the South Carolina State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

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 2025. 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 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 15 12
     Republican Party 30 34
     Independent 1 0
Total 46 46


South Carolina House of Representatives
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 35 34
     Republican Party 88 88
     Vacancy 1 2
Total 124 124

Special elections

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

March 25, 2025

June 3, 2025

December 23, 2025

Historical data

There were 1,007 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2024. South Carolina held 39 special elections during the same time period. 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, 2025

As of September 2025, 86 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2025 in 22 states. One special election has also been called to fill a vacancy in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2025 special elections

In 2025, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

  • 37 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 22 due to resignation
  • 14 due to redistricting
  • 13 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 1 due to the officeholder leaving at term end


Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

As of September 9th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.5% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.68%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.

Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 834 1,122 5 12
State houses 2,392 2,977 20 24
Total: 3,226

4,099

25

36


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2025. 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 have been held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2025)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 46 25
     Republican Party 40 19
     Independent 0 1
Total 86 45

Flipped seats

In 2025, as of August 26, four seats have changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.


Seats that changed from D to I

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. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fits News, "South Carolina State House: Marvin Pendarvis Withdraws Candidacy," accessed November 11, 2024
  5. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State House District 50 Special Election," January 21, 2025
  6. ↑ WLTX, "Will Wheeler Resigns from South Carolina House of Representatives," accessed January 21, 2025
  7. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "State Senate District 12 Special Election," August 11, 2025
  8. ↑ South Carolina Daily Gazette, “SC senator resigns seat following Alzheimer’s diagnosis" accessed August 12, 2025
  9. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "News & Press Releases," August 18, 2025
  10. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "News & Press Releases," August 18, 2025
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