South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2026
From Ballotpedia
| 2026 South Carolina House Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | Pending |
| General | November 3, 2026 |
| 2026 Elections |
|---|
| Choose a chamber below: |
Elections for the South Carolina House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.
The South Carolina House of Representatives is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Party control
| Party | As of March 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 34 | |
| Republican Party | 88 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 124 |
Candidates
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
This list will be updated after the candidate filing deadline has passed and the official list of candidates becomes available. Please contact us if you notice an official candidate missing from the list or the inclusion of a candidate who withdrew.
Primary
General election
Voting information
- See also: Voting in South Carolina
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Competitiveness
This section will be updated with information about the competitiveness of state legislative elections in South Carolina. For more information about Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Title 7, Chapter 11 of the South Carolina Code
In South Carolina, a candidate can run as the nominee of a political party, as an independent, or as a write-in.
For partisan candidates
"Statement of Intention of Candidacy/Party Pledge Form," 2013
Each non-presidential candidate seeking a political party's nomination to run in a general or special election must file a "Statement of Intention of Candidacy/Party Pledge Form" (SICPP) between noon on March 16 and noon on March 30. A candidate for federal office or statewide office (i.e., governor or secretary of state) must file with the South Carolina State Election Commission. A candidate for the state legislature, a countywide office, or a less-than-countywide office must file with the county election commission in the candidate's county of residence. The candidate must also file a statement of economic interests with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission. A candidate who files as a Democrat or Republican must pay a filing fee.[1][2][3]
For independent candidates
An independent candidate must be nominated by petition. The petition must contain signatures equaling at least 5 percent of the qualified registered electors in the geographical area of the office being sought. No petition candidate is required to collect more than 10,000 signatures for any office.[4][5]
Petition candidates for multi-county offices must file their petitions with the South Carolina State Election Commission. All petition candidates for the state legislature also file with the State Election Commission. A petition candidate must also file a statement of economic interests with the State Ethics Commission. Signature requirements are detailed in the table below.[4][6]
| Petition signature requirements for independent candidates in South Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Office sought | Number of signatures needed |
| Governor and other statewide offices | 5 percent of the qualified registered voters in the state |
| State legislators | 5 percent of the qualified registered voters in the district or area to be represented |
For write-in candidates
Generally, there are no filing forms or fees required to run as a write-in candidate. However, a write-in candidate should notify the appropriate election commission in writing that he or she is conducting a write-in campaign. A candidate who was defeated in a political party's primary may not actively campaign as a write-in candidate for the ensuing election.[7][8]
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the South Carolina House of Representatives, a candidate must be:[9]
- A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
- 21 years old at the filing deadline time
- A resident of the district at the filing deadline time
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[10] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $10,400/year | $231/day |
When sworn in
South Carolina legislators assume office the Monday after the election.[11]
South Carolina political history
Trifectas
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.
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 |
Presidential politics in South Carolina
2024
- See also: Presidential election, 2024
 |
There were no incumbents in this race The results have been certified. |
Total votes: 2,548,140 |
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
|
Incumbents are bolded and underlined The results have been certified. |
Total votes: 2,513,329 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, South Carolina, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 40.7% | 855,373 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
54.9% | 1,155,389 | 9 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 2.3% | 49,204 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 0.6% | 13,034 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Castle/Scott Bradley | 0.3% | 5,765 | 0 | |
| Independence | Evan McMullin/Nathan Johnson | 1% | 21,016 | 0 | |
| American | Peter Skewes/Michael Lacy | 0.2% | 3,246 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 2,103,027 | 9 | |||
| Election results via: South Carolina Election Commission |
South Carolina presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
- 1 other win
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | SR[12] | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Redistricting following the 2020 census
South Carolina enacted new state legislative district maps on December 10, 2021, when Gov. McMaster signed a proposal approved by the South Carolina House and Senate into law. The South Carolina Senate approved House and Senate map proposals in a 43-1 vote on December 7, 2021, and the House approved the new districts in a 75-27 vote on December 9, 2021. Gov. McMaster signed the bill into law the next day.[13]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-15(a)," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Nomination by Political Party," accessed October 24, 2013
- ↑ South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-15(a)," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-70," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Nomination by Petition," accessed October 24, 2013
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Nomination by Petition," accessed October 24, 2013
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Write-in Candidates," accessed October 24, 2013
- ↑ South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-210," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina Secretary of State, "Qualifications for office," accessed December 18, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ South Carolina Constitution, "Article III, Section 10," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
- ↑ LegiScan, "South Carolina House Bill 4493," accessed December 14, 2021
Leadership
Speaker of the House:G. Murrell Smith
Majority Leader:Davey Hiott
Minority Leader:James Rutherford
Representatives
Republican Party (88)
Democratic Party (34)
Vacancies (2)
