Karl Allen
2012 - Present
2028
13
Karl Allen (Democratic Party) is a member of the South Carolina State Senate, representing District 7. He assumed office in 2012. His current term ends on November 13, 2028.
Allen (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the South Carolina State Senate to represent District 7. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Allen earned his B.A. and J.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1982 and 1986, respectively. Allen was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1992. His professional experience includes working as an attorney.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Allen was assigned to the following committees:
- Corrections and Penology Committee
- Education Committee
- Finance Committee
- Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
2021-2022
Allen was assigned to the following committees:
- Corrections and Penology Committee
- Education Committee
- Finance Committee
- Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
2019-2020
Allen was assigned to the following committees:
- Corrections and Penology Committee
- Finance Committee
- Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Corrections and Penology |
| • Finance |
| • General |
| • Labor, Commerce, and Industry |
| • Rules |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Allen served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Corrections and Penology |
| • Judiciary |
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
| • Rules |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Allen served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Corrections and Penology |
| • General |
| • Judiciary |
| • Rules |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Allen served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Judiciary |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Allen served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Judiciary |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for South Carolina State Senate District 7
Incumbent Karl Allen won election in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 7 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karl Allen (D) | 97.1 | 29,967 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.9 | 906 | ||
| Total votes: 30,873 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 7
Incumbent Karl Allen defeated Michelle Goodwin-Calwile in the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 7 on June 11, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karl Allen | 68.0 | 2,576 | |
| Michelle Goodwin-Calwile | 32.0 | 1,211 | ||
| Total votes: 3,787 | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Allen in this election.
2020
See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for South Carolina State Senate District 7
Incumbent Karl Allen defeated Jack Logan in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 7 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karl Allen (D) | 62.5 | 26,672 | |
| Jack Logan (R) | 37.2 | 15,886 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 107 | ||
| Total votes: 42,665 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 7
Incumbent Karl Allen defeated Fletcher Smith in the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 7 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karl Allen | 70.1 | 6,210 | |
| Fletcher Smith | 29.9 | 2,647 | ||
| Total votes: 8,857 | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Jack Logan advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 7.
2016
Elections for the South Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The primary runoff election was held on June 28, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2016.
Incumbent Karl Allen defeated Glen Robinson in the South Carolina State Senate District 7 general election.[1][2]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 7 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Karl Allen Incumbent |
61.96% | 21,518 | |
| Republican | Glen Robinson | 38.04% | 13,209 | |
| Total Votes | 34,727 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Incumbent Karl Allen defeated Lillian Brock Flemming in the South Carolina State Senate District 7 Democratic primary.[3][4]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 7 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Karl Allen Incumbent |
71.07% | 2,749 | |
| Democratic | Lillian Brock Flemming | 28.93% | 1,119 | |
| Total Votes | 3,868 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Glen Robinson ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 7 Republican primary.[5][6]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 7 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Glen Robinson (unopposed) | |
2012
Allen won election in the 2012 election for South Carolina State Senate District 7. Allen defeated Lillian Brock-Fleming in the June 12 Democratic primary and defeated Jane Kizer (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8][9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Karl Allen |
65.3% | 21,964 | |
| Republican | Jane Kizer | 34.3% | 11,535 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 0.5% | 152 | |
| Total Votes | 33,651 | |||
Note: Allen was also the Working Families Party candidate, and he earned 1,405 votes of his total as the Working Families Party candidate on the ballot.
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Karl Allen |
54.8% | 2,331 |
| Lillian Brock Flemming | 45.2% | 1,920 |
| Total Votes | 4,251 | |
2010
Allen ran unopposed in the June 8 Democratic primary for District 25 of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Allen won, after running unopposed, in the general election on November 2.[11]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 25 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Karl Allen (D)
|
6,893 | 98.64% | ||
| Write-In | 95 | 1.36% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Allen won re-election to the 25th District seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives, defeating Rick Freeman (R).
Allen raised $16,674 for his campaign, while Freeman raised $0.[12]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 25 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Karl Allen (D)
|
9,877 | |||
| Rick Freeman (R) | 2,980 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Karl Allen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Karl Allen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 9 to May 9.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 11.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 to May 12.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 13.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 25. The state Senate reconvened September to September 3. Both chambers reconvened September 15 to September 24.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 21.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 10.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 10 through May 11.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 2.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 through June 4.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 6.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 20.
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The Palmetto Liberty PAC Scorecard
The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative, pro-limited government think tank in South Carolina, releases its scorecard for South Carolina representatives and senators once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election on specific issues that the Palametto Liberty PAC thinks are anti-limited government. "Most of the votes shown on the score card are votes that we lost. Now we can identify the Legislators that caused us to lose these votes. These Legislators are the ones who need to be replaced if we are to achieve the vision of having the most free state in the nation."[13]
2012
Karl Allen received a score of 13% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 78th out of all 124 South Carolina House of Representatives members.[14] His score was followed by representatives Michael Anthony (13%), Jimmy Bales (13%), and Nathan Ballentine (13%).[15]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Allen has one child.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate South Carolina State Senate District 7 |
Officeholder South Carolina State Senate District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2012 Candidates," accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official Primary Results," June 29, 2012
- ↑ AP.org, "South Carolina State Senate and State House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, “2012 General Election – Official Results,” November 19, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official election results for 2010," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
South Carolina State Senate District 7 2012-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
South Carolina House of Representatives 2000-2012 |
Succeeded by - |
