South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012

South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012

Majority control • Campaign contributions

Qualifications • Term limits • Impact of Redistricting

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidates District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46

South Carolina State Senate • 2012 South Carolina House Elections

Elections for the office of South Carolina State Senate were held in South Carolina on November 6, 2012. A total of 46 seats were up for election.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was March 30, 2012. The primary Election Day was June 12, 2012. The primary runoff took place on June 26, 2012.

See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012 and State legislative elections, 2012

South Carolina's 2012 legislative elections were marred by a series of events that eventually led to nearly 250 candidates being removed from the primary ballot. Here is a brief timeline of those events, followed by a detailed account of what happened.

• March 30: Deadline for candidates to file a required statement of economic interest. Many candidates from both parties fail to do so.
• Week of April 16: The State Ethics Commission gives candidates an additional 10 days to turn in the form. Democrats call the decision unfair while Republicans say that they are okay with it.
• May 2: The South Carolina Supreme Court rules any candidate who did not file the form must be removed from the ballot. Calls for a rehearing are denied.
• May 9: While the Senate attempts to pass legislation to allow challengers back on ballot, attorney Todd Kincannon requests a delay in the primary. Both efforts fail.
• June 12: Primaries take place as scheduled.

Additional filing time

Candidates are required to file a statement of economic interest listing their job, salary, property and other financial information. A number of candidates on both sides of the aisle failed to file the form by the March 30 deadline. According to state law those candidates who do not file the form on time will not have their names on the ballot. The State Ethics Commission, however, said they would give an additional 10 days to turn in the form.

Democrats called the decision unfair and considered suing. South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian said the issue is being raised because five Republicans who are challenging incumbent Democrats in the Senate and House failed to file the form. He stated,“The statute says you file the (statement of economic interest) disclosure form when you file, not a month after you are supposed to file. It’s abundantly clear. This is begging for more litigation.”

Republicans said they were fine with the commission's decision.

Candidate disqualification

On May 2, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that any candidate who had not filed the necessary statement of economic interest would be ineligible to run, and subsequently ordered the political parties to remove up to 100 candidates from the primary ballots. Several incumbent senators now found themselves unopposed. According to state law, parties were unable to reopen filing for the seats.

On May 3, the South Carolina Republican Party, the state Democratic Party, and the State Elections Commission asked for a rehearing regarding the Supreme Court's decision. This request was denied, with the Court stating, "Our opinion...speaks for itself and stands as written. Accordingly, we deny the request for rehearing."

The South Carolina Supreme Court is appointed by the legislature, and this had led to cries of incumbent protectionism by some. Mark Tompkins, a political science professor at USC, claimed, "The good ol' boys are winning again...this process feeds that story. It makes folks say, 'Gosh, the insiders have the edge in this process.'"

The issue continued to change daily as the state's legislators and prospective challengers attempted to find a suitable resolution to the problem. According to the Charlotte Observer, nearly 200 candidates were removed from the ballot in total (more than originally thought), including 55 candidates for the state House and Senate. The Senate continued to try and pass legislation allowing many of the challengers back on the ballot, but the effort was severely complicated by stipulations in the 1965 Voting Rights Act that require any changes in South Carolina election law to be cleared with the U.S. Justice Department. Given the rapidly approaching June 12 primaries, a legislative solution was not able to be reached in time.

On May 9, attorney Todd Kincannon, representing challenger Amanda Somers, requested a delay in South Carolina's primary. He claimed that a delay is necessary as a result of ballots sent to overseas voters and military members that only had federal races on them. Of the alleged violation, Kincannon said, "The ballots that they mailed out to military voters are not worth the paper they are printed on...Each and every one of them is illegal because they are all in violation of the Voting Rights Act."

Just days later, Kincannon abandoned his efforts to reinstate nearly 200 candidates left off of the primary ballots, but continued the suit regarding partial ballots mailed overseas. A panel of three Federal judges is set to hear the attorney's argument on May 14.

Just days before the primary, Federal Judge Cameron Currie rejected a last ditch effort to stop the vote on June 12. Five candidates who had been thrown off of the ballot, including former Senate candidates Tommie Reece and John W. Pettigrew, Jr., filed a request on June 11 in U.S. District Court in Columbia for a temporary restraining order.

Ultimately, nearly 250 challengers were removed from the primary ballot. In one region, Anderson county, 15 of 23 challengers were deemed ineligible for the primary. Oconee County saw 11 of 13 challengers declared ineligible, which prompted a cancellation of the Republican primary there.

Many candidates who were kicked off of the ballot attempted to gather enough signatures from voters to allow them to run as independents in the general elections on November 6.

In South Carolina, candidates may get on the general election ballot by collecting signatures from at least 5 percent of a district's registered voters. The deadline to hand in petitions was July 16, with 13 candidates filing for the Senate and 31 filing for the House.

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 6 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the South Carolina State Senate:

South Carolina State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	19	18
	Republican Party	27	28
Total		46	46

Impact of redistricting

See also: Redistricting in South Carolina

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed new legislative maps in a special session on June 15, 2011. Gov. Nikki Haley (R) signed them on June 28, 2011. Under the Voting Rights Act, South Carolina was required to submit its maps to the Department of Justice, which precleared the Senate map on November 14, 2011. The number of majority-minority districts was reduced by one.

Incumbents retiring

A total of 6 incumbents did not run for re-election in 2012. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Current Office
Dick Elliott	Democratic	Senate District 28
Greg Ryberg	Republican	Senate District 24
John Land	Democratic	Senate District 36
Phil Leventis	Democratic	Senate District 35
Phillip Shoopman	Republican	Senate District 5
Ralph Anderson	Democratic	Senate District 7

List of candidates

District 1

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Thomas Alexander a Incumbent Alexander first assumed office in 1994.

November 6 General election candidates:

Thomas Alexander 29,957

District 2

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Larry Martin a- Incumbent Martin first assumed office in 1992.

Note: Rex Rice was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Larry Martin 24,013

Rex Rice Petition Candidate 13,164

District 3

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Kevin Bryant 4,777 a- Incumbent Bryant first assumed office in 2004.
• Don C. Bowen, Jr. 1,514

November 6 General election candidates:

Kevin Bryant 34,954

District 4

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• William O'Dell 3,031 a- Incumbent O'Dell first assumed office in 1988.
• Riley Harvell 2,155

November 6 General election candidates:

William O'Dell 24,929

District 5

Note: Incumbent Phillip Shoopman did not seek re-election. The state GOP re-opened the filing deadline in order to allow more candidates to file. Somers has filed suit to prevent the candidates from being allowed on the ballot.

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Amanda Tieder Somers 1,616
• Tom Corbin 3,050 a- Rep. Corbin also ran for re-election in House District 17.

Note: Wyatt Miler was removed from the ballot on June 7

November 6 General election candidates:

Tom Corbin 33,491

District 6

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Michael Fair 3,287 a Incumbent Fair first assumed office in 1996.
• Chris Sullivan 2,787

Note: Tommie Reece Removed from the ballot on June 7

November 6 General election candidates:

Michael Fair 24,758

Tommie Reece Petition Candidate 10,808

District 7

Note: Incumbent Ralph Anderson (D) did not seek re-election.

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Lillian Brock-Fleming 1,920
• Karl Allen 2,331 a

Note: Ennis Fant was decertified from the ballot.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Jane Kizer a

November 6 General election candidates:

Karl Allen 21,964

Jane Kizer 11,535

District 8

June 12 Democratic primary:

Note: Jeff Dishner was decertified from the ballot.

June 12 GOP primary:

• David Thomas 1,509 Incumbent Thomas first assumed office in 1984.
• Jim Lee 1,261
• Chad Groover 615
• Ross Turner 1,953 a Turner advanced to the primary runoff election
• Joseph Swann 2,019 a Swann advanced to the primary runoff election

June 26 GOP primary runoff:

• Ross Turner 2,784 a
• Joseph Swann 2,748

November 6 General election candidates:

Ross Turner 37,847

District 9

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Daniel Verdin a Incumbent Verdin first assumed office in 2000.

November 6 General election candidates:

Daniel Verdin 27,931

District 10

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Floyd Nicholson a Incumbent Nicholson first assumed office in 2008.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Jennings McAbee, Sr. 4,433 a
• Chet Royston 2,024

November 6 General election candidates:

Floyd Nicholson 20,249

Jennings McAbee, Sr. 17,577

District 11

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Glenn Reese a Incumbent Reese first assumed office in 1990.

June 12 GOP primary:

Note: Kerry Wood was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Glenn Reese 21,355

Kerry Wood Petition Candidate 8,635

District 12

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Henri Thompson a

June 12 GOP primary:

• Lee Bright 4,144 a- Incumbent Bright first assumed office in 2008.
• John Hawkins 2,869

November 6 General election candidates:

Henri Thompson 15,768

Lee Bright 28,724

District 13

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Shane Martin a Incumbent Martin first assumed office in 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

Shane Martin 32,974

District 14

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Harvey Peeler a Incumbent Peeler first assumed office in 1980.

November 6 General election candidates:

Harvey Peeler 31,620

District 15

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Wes Hayes a Incumbent Hayes assumed office in 1990.

November 6 General election candidates:

Wes Hayes 29,306

Joe Thompson Petition Candidate 10,049

District 16

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Greg Gregory a Incumbent Gregory assumed office in 2011.

November 6 General election candidates:

Greg Gregory 36,297

District 17

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Creighton Coleman a Incumbent Coleman assumed office in 2008.

Note: Al BellaVance was decertified from the ballot.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Bob Carrison a

Note: Morgan Bruce Reeves was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Creighton Coleman 28,919

Bob Carrison 14,872

District 18

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Rich Bolen 1,964
• Ronnie Cromer 7,957 a- Incumbent Cromer assumed office in 2003.
• Alan Hunter 182
• Kara Gormley Meador 1,998

November 6 General election candidates:

Ronnie Cromer 39,083

District 19

June 12 Democratic primary:

• John L. Scott, Jr. a Incumbent Scott assumed office in 2008.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

John L. Scott, Jr. 35,262

District 20

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Norman Jackson 600
• Robert Rikard 1,084 a

June 12 GOP primary:

• John Courson a Incumbent Courson assumed office in 1994.

November 6 General election candidates:

Robert Rikard 16,359

John Courson 25,363

Scott West 1,158

District 21

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Darrell Jackson a Incumbent Jackson assumed office in 1992.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Darrell Jackson 31,996

District 22

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Joel Lourie a Incumbent Lourie assumed office in 2004.

June 12 GOP primary:

Note: Debra Langley Kennedy was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Joel Lourie 35,001

District 23

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Jake Knotts a- Incumbent Knotts assumed office in 2002.

Note: Katrina Shealy was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Jake Knotts 14,298

Katrina Shealy Petition Candidate 16,716

David R. Whetsell 1,596

District 24

Note: Incumbent Greg Ryberg (R) did not seek re-election.

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Tom Young a

November 6 General election candidates:

Tom Young 36,107

District 25

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Shane Massey a- Incumbent Massey assumed office in 2007.

Note: John W. Pettigrew, Jr. was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Shane Massey 30,207

District 26

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Nikki Setzler a Incumbent Setzler assumed office in 1976.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Duane Naquin 1,269
• Deedee Vaughters 2,097 a

Note: Perry Finch was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Nikki Setzler 21,856

Deedee Vaughters 14,246

District 27

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Vincent Sheheen a Incumbent Sheheen assumed office in 2004.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Vincent Sheheen 29,031

District 28

Note: Incumbent Dick Elliott (D) did not seek re-election.

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Butch Johnson a

June 12 GOP primary:

• Greg Hembree a

November 6 General election candidates:

Butch Johnson 13,336

Greg Hembree 26,905

District 29

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Gerald Malloy a Incumbent Malloy assumed office in 2002.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Gerald Malloy 30,472

District 30

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Patrick T. Richardson 2,068
• Kent Williams 8,624 a- Incumbent Williams assumed office in 2004.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Kent Williams 33,156

District 31

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Hugh Leatherman a Incumbent Leatherman assumed office in 1980.

November 6 General election candidates:

Hugh Leatherman 31,613

District 32

June 12 Democratic primary:

• John Yancey McGill 6,375 a Incumbent McGill assumed office in 1988.
• Cezar McKnight 6,294

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

John Yancey McGill 34,985

District 33

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Luke A. Rankin a Incumbent Rankin assumed office in 1992.

November 6 General election candidates:

Luke A. Rankin 29,277

District 34

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Raymond Cleary a- Incumbent Cleary assumed office in 2004.

Note: Dick Withington was decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Raymond Cleary 38,928

District 35

Note: Incumbent Phil Leventis (D) did not seek re-election.

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Thomas McElveen a
• E.B. Mac McLeod

June 12 GOP primary:

• Tony Barwick 1,820 a Barwick advanced to the primary runoff election
• Eddie Drayton 200
• Wade Kolb 1,689 a Kolb advanced to the primary runoff election

June 26 GOP primary runoff:

• Tony Barwick 1,909 a
• Wade Kolb 1,453

November 6 General election candidates:

Thomas McElveen 22,459

Tony Barwick 18,498

District 36

Note: Incumbent John Land (D) did not seek re-election.

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Kevin L. Johnson a

Note: Eleazer Carter and Shaun Kent were decertified from the ballot.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Leon Winn a

November 6 General election candidates:

Kevin L. Johnson 25,637

Eleazer Carter Petition Candidate 1,138

Leon Winn 12,111

Shaun Kent Petition Candidate 4,136

District 37

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Larry Grooms a Incumbent Grooms assumed office in 1997.

November 6 General election candidates:

Larry Grooms 32,003

District 38

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Sean Bennett 4,197 a
• Mike Rose 2,798 - Incumbent Rose assumed office in 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

Sean Bennett 29,231

District 39

June 12 Democratic primary:

• John Matthews a Incumbent Matthews assumed office in 1984.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

John Matthews 35,945

District 40

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Brad Hutto a Incumbent Hutto assumed office in 1996.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Brad Hutto 35,803

District 41

Note: District 41 was vacant.

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Paul Tinkler a

June 12 GOP primary:

• Paul Thurmond a

Note: Wally Burbage, Sean Pike, and John Steinberger were decertified from the ballot.

November 6 General election candidates:

Paul Tinkler 22,039

Paul Thurmond 27,845

District 42

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Robert Ford a- Incumbent Ford assumed office in 1992.

Note: Master P. Bines and Frederick A. Fielding were decertified from the ballot.

June 12 GOP primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Robert Ford 30,064

District 43

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Chip Campson a Incumbent Campson assumed office in 2004.

November 6 General election candidates:

Chip Campson 35,618

District 44

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

Note: Barbara McGowin was decertified from the ballot.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Paul G. Campbell, Jr. a Incumbent Campbell assumed office in 2007.

November 6 General election candidates:

Paul G. Campbell, Jr. 25,928

District 45

June 12 Democratic primary:

• Clementa Pinckney a Incumbent Pinckney assumed office in 2000.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Leilani Bessinger a

November 6 General election candidates:

Clementa Pinckney 26,825

Leilani Bessinger 13,652

District 46

June 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

June 12 GOP primary:

• Tom Davis a Incumbent Davis was assumed office in 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

Tom Davis 37,722

See also

• South Carolina State Senate
• South Carolina State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2012

External links

• South Carolina State Election Commission - Official Primary Results
• South Carolina State Election Commission - 2012 General Election Republican Candidates by Office
• South Carolina State Election Commission - 2012 General Election Democratic Candidates by Office
• South Carolina State Election Commission - 2012 General Election Third Party Candidates by Office
• South Carolina State Election Commission - 2012 General Election Petition Candidates by Office
• South Carolina State Election Commission - Official General Election Results

Footnotes

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Current members of the South Carolina State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Thomas Alexander

Majority Leader:Shane Massey

Minority Leader:Brad Hutto

Senators

District 1

Thomas Alexander (R)

District 2

Rex Rice (R)

District 3

Richard Cash (R)

District 4

Michael Gambrell (R)

District 5

Tom Corbin (R)

District 6

Jason Elliott (R)

District 7

Karl Allen (D)

District 8

Ross Turner (R)

District 9

Daniel Verdin (R)

District 10

Billy Garrett (R)

District 11

Josh Kimbrell (R)

District 12

Roger Nutt (R)

District 13

Shane Martin (R)

District 14

Harvey Peeler (R)

District 15

Wes Climer (R)

District 16

Michael Johnson (R)

District 17

Everett Stubbs (R)

District 18

Ronnie Cromer (R)

District 19

Tameika Isaac Devine (D)

District 20

Ed Sutton (D)

District 21

Darrell Jackson (D)

District 22

Overture Walker (D)

District 23

Carlisle Kennedy (R)

District 24

Tom Young (R)

District 25

Shane Massey (R)

District 26

Russell Ott (D)

District 27

Allen Blackmon (R)

District 28

Greg Hembree (R)

District 29

J.D. Chaplin (R)

District 30

Kent Williams (D)

District 31

Mike Reichenbach (R)

District 32

Ronnie Sabb (D)

District 33

Luke Rankin (R)

District 34

Stephen Goldfinch (R)

District 35

Jeffrey Graham (D)

District 36

Jeffrey Zell (R)

District 37

Lawrence Grooms (R)

District 38

Sean Bennett (R)

District 39

Tom Fernandez (R)

District 40

Brad Hutto (D)

District 41

Matthew Leber (R)

District 42

Deon Tedder (D)

District 43

George Campsen (R)

District 44

Brian Adams (R)

District 45

Margie Matthews (D)

District 46

Tom Davis (R)

Republican Party (34)

Democratic Party (12)