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South Carolina State Senate elections

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This page displays election information for the South Carolina State Senate.

Elections

South Carolina state senators serve four-year terms, with all seats up for election every four years. South Carolina holds elections for its legislature in even years.

2024

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2024

Elections for the South Carolina State Senate took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was June 11, 2024, and the primary runoff was June 25, 2024. The filing deadline was April 1, 2024.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a 30-15 majority with one vacancy. Republicans gained four seats in the election, giving them a 34-12 majority.

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

2020

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2020

Elections for the office of South Carolina State Senate took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for June 9, 2020, and a primary runoff was scheduled for June 23, 2020. The filing deadline was March 30, 2020.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a 27-19 majority. Republicans gained three seats in the election, giving them a 30-16 majority.

South Carolina State Senate
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 19 16
     Republican Party 27 30
Total 46 46

2016

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 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. All 46 seats in the South Carolina State Senate were up for election in 2016.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a 28-18 majority. No partisan change occurred in the election.

South Carolina State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 18 18
     Republican Party 28 28
Total 46 46


Historical party control

Republicans won control of the South Carolina State Senate in 2000. In 2024, they won a 34-12 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the South Carolina Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

South Carolina State Senate election results: 1992-2024

Party '92 '96 '00 '04 '08 '12 '16 '20 '24
Democrats 30 26 22 19 19 18 18 16 12
Republicans 16 20 24 27 27 28 28 30 34

Trifecta history

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Between 1992 and 2023, South Carolina was under the following types of trifecta control:

  • Democratic trifecta: None
  • Republican trifecta: 2003-2023
  • Divided government: 1992-2002

South Carolina Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Follow the Money, "South Carolina 2008 Candidates," accessed July 31, 2013
  2. ↑ Follow the Money, "South Carolina 2004 Candidates," accessed July 31, 2013
  3. ↑ Follow the Money, "South Carolina 2000 Candidates," accessed July 31, 2013
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