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United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2016

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2016 U.S. Senate Election in South Carolina

General Election Date
November 8, 2016

Primary Date
June 14, 2016

November 8 Election Winner:
Tim Scott Republican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Tim Scott Republican Party
Tim Scott.jpeg

Race Ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid R[1]
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2]
Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe R[3]

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2016 U.S. House Elections

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Voters in South Carolina elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 8, 2016.

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated South Carolina's U.S. Senate race as safely Republican. Incumbent Tim Scott (R) defeated Thomas Dixon (D), Bill Bledsoe (Libertarian/Constitution), and Rebel Scarborough (American) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent on June 14, 2016. Scarborough defeated Jim Hinkle at convention.[4]

Candidate Filing Deadline Primary Election General Election
March 30, 2016
June 14, 2016
November 8, 2016

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. South Carolina utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary. Voters must take an oath affirming that they have not voted in another party's primary.[5][6]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.


Incumbent: The election filled the Class 3 Senate seat held by Tim Scott (R). He was first appointed to the seat in January 2013.[7] He was elected in 2014 in a special election.

Election results

General election

U.S. Senate, South Carolina General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Scott Incumbent 60.6% 1,241,609
     Democratic Thomas Dixon 36.9% 757,022
     Libertarian Bill Bledsoe 1.8% 37,482
     American Rebel Scarborough 0.6% 11,923
     N/A Write-in 0.1% 1,857
Total Votes 2,049,893
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

Candidates

General election candidates:

Republican Party Tim ScottApproveda
Democratic Party Thomas Dixon
Libertarian Party Bill Bledsoe
Grey.png Rebel Scarborough
Grey.png Scott Hodge (Write-in)

Primary candidates:[8]

Democratic

Thomas Dixon[9] Approveda

Republican

Tim Scott - Incumbent[9] Approveda

Third Party/Other

Bill Bledsoe (Libertarian/Constitution)[9] Approveda
Jim Hinkle (American)[9]
Rebel Scarborough (American)[9] Approveda


Election history

2014

See also: United States Senate special election in South Carolina, 2014

Tim Scott was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election held November 4, 2014.

U.S. Senate, South Carolina Special Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Scott Incumbent 61.1% 757,215
     Democratic Joyce Dickerson 37.1% 459,583
     American Party of South Carolina Jill Bossi 1.7% 21,652
     N/A Write-in 0% 532
Total Votes 1,238,982
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission
See also: United States Senate elections in South Carolina, 2014

Lindsey Graham won re-election to the U.S. Senate on November 4, 2014.

U.S. Senate, South Carolina General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngLindsey Graham Incumbent 55.3% 672,941
     Democratic Brad Hutto 37.6% 456,726
     Libertarian Victor Kocher 2.8% 33,839
     Independent Thomas Ravenel 3.9% 47,588
     N/A Write-in 0.4% 4,774
Total Votes 1,215,868
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission

Important dates and deadlines

See also: South Carolina elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in South Carolina in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
March 16, 2016 Ballot access Filing period opens for primary candidates
March 30, 2016 Ballot access Filing period closes for primary candidates
April 10, 2016 Campaign finance Quarterly campaign finance report due
June 14, 2016 Election date Primary election
July 10, 2016 Campaign finance Quarterly campaign finance report due
July 15, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for independent candidates
October 10, 2016 Campaign finance Quarterly campaign finance report due
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
Sources: South Carolina Election Commission, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed September 21, 2015
South Carolina State Ethics Commission, "2016 Calendar," accessed January 11, 2016

See also

Footnotes


For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!


Senators
Representatives
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Democratic Party (1)