Election Recap

All in favor of the Day After Election Day becoming a national holiday, please raise your hand! [raises hand]

Now that 100% of precincts have reported in South Carolina, we’ve got a look at what happened in the state on Election Day. 

Here are a few key takeaways to kick us off: 

• Voter Turnout Up. Turnout was over 75%, up four points from 2020’s Presidential cycle.  
  • But... there were 169,802 less registered voters from 2020 – down 4.8% 

• Lots of Early Votes – Lots. Over 57% of all votes were cast during the early voting period. 38% were cast on Election Day. (Voter turnout for just early voting was 44%) 

• Senates See Republican Gains. The US Senate flipped to majority Republican, and the SC Senate will have a super majority of Republican members for the first time since Reconstruction. 

  • Control of the US House, as of writing (11/7/24), is still up in the air.

• New Names to Learn. Thirty-four (34) new legislators will join the SC House and Senate in 2025. Plus, we’ve got a new Congresswoman for the Third District of SC – Sheri Biggs. 
  

A quick reflection...

Our sector is strengthened by our ability, and legal obligation, to remain nonpartisan. Our missions are critical to our communities, regardless of who's elected.

Read more on the "Johnson Amendment" and why it's critical for nonprofits to remain nonpartisan (from the National Council of Nonprofits).

You can dig into more detail over on our election tracker, plus explore results and core stats over at scvotes.gov. 

2,557,739 Votes Cast 

• Up 24,729 votes from 2020
• Only 438,711 votes were cast in the June Primaries 

76.5% Turnout 

• Up over 4 points from 2020’s 72.1%.  
• # Registered Voters in 2024: 3,343,423 
  • 169,802 less than 2020: 3,513,225 (down 4.8%)
    • "Inactive Voter" Notifications were sent to over 167,000 voters in 2023 - a process that occurs every four years. If you haven't voted in the last four years, your registration status changes from "active" to "inactive".
  • Point of Interest - Voter Registration rates have not kept pace with SC's population growth.
• McCormick County had the highest voter turnout with 81.58%, and Allendale had the lowest at 66.45%. 

When People Voted

• Early Voting: 1,471,663 (57.5%)
  • 44% of Voters
• Election Day: 977,723 (38.2%)
  • 29.2% of Voters
• Absentee by Mail: 108,353 (4.2%)
  • 3.2% of Voters 

Straight Ticket Voting 

Slightly more than 51% (51.44%, 1,315,596) of voters used the “Straight Party” option to cast their vote. 

• Republican Straight Party: 60.1% of all Straight Party Votes 

• Democratic Straight Party: 39.2% of all Straight Party Votes 

• For both major parties, 59% of their straight party votes came in the early voting period. 

Results - Federal Offices

President (SC Results): 

• Republican: Donald Trump / JD Vance: 58.24% (1,479,046) 

• Democrat: Kamala Harris / Tim Walz: 40.35% (1,024,728) 

The margin of victory in South Carolina for the top of the ticket was 17.89% (454,318), which is up from 11.68% (293,562) in 2020. 

US Congress (SC): 

All incumbents won their re-election bids, with the Third District electing a new Representative after Rep. Jeff Duncan opted not to seek re-election: 

• SC-01: Nancy Mace (R) 

• SC-02: Joe Wilson (R) 

• SC-03: Sheri Biggs (R) [Newly Elected] 

• SC-04: William Timmons (R) 

• SC-05: Ralph Norman (R) 

• SC-06: Jim Clyburn (D) 

• SC-07: Russell Fry (R) 

A note at the national level – the US Senate has flipped from majority Democrat to majority Republican. The US House is still up for grabs as final ballots are counted across a number of states, though it is a close call.  

Results - South Carolina Legislature: 

All 170 House and Senate seats were up for re-election this year in South Carolina. Note that over 50% of the races were already determined before Election Day due to uncontested races and the Primary Elections in June (when only one party has candidates on the ballot). The numbers below are based on Election Day results and do not account for any Primary / Uncontested data. 

SC Senate: 

• 13 New Senators Elected
  • 9 Republicans, 4 Democrats
• 7 Incumbents Lost Re-Election
• 4 Seats were Flipped
  • All 4 were flipped from Democrat to Republican 
  • Senators Fanning*, Johnson, Malloy*, and Stephens all lost their elections.
    • *Automatic Recount has been triggered for these two elections.
• Senate party split is now 34 / 12 (GOP/Dem).
  • Senate now has a GOP super majority for the first time since Reconstruction (74% of Senate)

New Senators:

• Jason Elliott (R-Greenville, District 6)*
• Roger Allen Nutt (R-Greenville/Spartanburg, District 12)
• Ed Sutton (D-Charleston, District 20)
• Overture Walker (D-Richland, District 22)
• Carlisle Kennedy (R-Lexington, District 23)
• Russell Ott (D-Calhoun/Lexington/Richland, District 26)*
• Allen Blackmon (R-Chesterfield/Kershaw/Lancaster, District 27)
• JD Chaplin (R-Chesterfield/Darlington/Lee/Marlboro/Sumter, District 29)
• Jeffrey Graham (D-Kershaw/Lee/Richland/Sumter, District 35)
• Jeff Zell (R-Calhoun/Clarendon/Orangeburg/Sumter, District 36)**
• Tom Fernandez (R-Berkley/Dorchester/Orangeburg, District 39)**
• Matt Leber (R-Charleston/Colleton/Dorchester, District 41) 
  
  *moved from SC House to Senate
  **pending automatic recount results (expected by 11/14) 

SC House of Representatives: 

• 21 New Representatives
  • 16 Republican, 5 Democrat
• 1 Seat Flipped
  • Rep. Joe Jefferson (D) lost to Republican Harriet Holman
• House split remains a Republican super majority (72%)
• Note: House District 113 (N Charleston) will have a vacant seat to start the 2025 session. Rep. Marvin Pendarvis resigned his seat in the fall, but was still on the ballot in November with no opposition. A special primary election will be held in January, and special general election will be held in March. These stats do not account for this vacancy.

New House Members:

• Adam Duncan (R-Oconee, District 2)
• Phillip Bowers (R-Pickens, District 3)
• Lee Gilreath (R-Abbeville/Anderson/Greenville, District 7)
• Blake Sanders (R-Anderson, District 9)
• Luke Rankin (R-Laurens, District 14)  
  Not to be confused with Sen. Luke Rankin of Horry County.
• Stephen Frank (R-Greenville, District 20)
• Paul Wickensimer (R-Greenville, District 22)
• David Martin (R-York, District 26)
• Chris Huff (R-Greenville, District 28)
• Scott Montgomery (R-Spartanburg, District 32)
• Sarita Edgerton (R-Spartanburg, District 34)
• Joe White (R-Lexington/Newberry, District 40)
• Jermaine Johnson (D-Kershaw/Richland, District 52)
  Already a current Representative, but district lines were re-drawn. Ran in new district – a new Representative for District 52.
• Jason Scott Luck (D-Chesterfield/Darlington/Dillon/Marlboro, District 54)
• Jackie Terribile (R-York, District 66)
• Robert Reese (D-Kershaw/Richland, District 70)
• Hamilton Grant (D-Richland, District 79)
• Charles Hartz (R-Aiken, District 81)
• Jerry Govan (D-Calhoun/Lexington/Orangeburg, District 93)
  Returning to legislature after running for State Superintendent of Education.
• Harriet Holman (R-Berkeley/Dorchester, District 102)
• James Teeple (R-Charleston/Colleton, District 116) 

Pro-Tip: Now’s a great time to reach out to those who won your local elections for State House to say congratulations! If you have a new Representative or Senator, you can find their campaign emails over on our election tracker. 

What's Next

Legislature:

The SC House and Senate will return in December (TBD) for their biennial "Organizing Meeting" where legislators will get their seat assignments, keys, offices - and committee assignments. We'll keep you posted on that front, including on how they choose their seats.

The 2025 Legislative Session starts the 2nd Tuesday in January.

Congress:

The parties will host their leadership elections by the end of November. The Senate will have a new Majority Leader as Sen. Mitch McConnell has stepped down as the Republican leader of the Senate (still in office). 

Congress will return in mid-November to begin their "Lame Duck" session. Look for the session to be an interesting battleground for the party who won't be in control in January. For starters, funding for the federal government under the current Continuing Resolution expires in December...

The new Congress takes office in January.

President:

President-Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on January 20, Inauguration Day. Between now and then, he will announce senior staff and Cabinet member appointments, and likely a first 100 day platform.