In a surprising turn of events, the South Carolina Senate is set to become even more dominated by Republicans. All forty-six seats in this part of the state legislature were contested on Tuesday night. However, many of these races weren’t competitive, largely due to how the political map is drawn in South Carolina.
Most elections are decided during the partisan primary elections held in June, especially in the Republican primaries.
Before the recent elections, the Senate consisted of 30 Republicans, 15 Democrats, and one independent. By Wednesday morning, the Republican Party had gained four new seats, reinforcing their strong presence in the Senate and changing the balance of power even more.
Several incumbent Democrats, including Mike Fanning, Kevin Johnson, Gerald Malloy, and Vernon Stephens, lost their seats in closely contested races. Notably, Fanning’s race is likely heading for a recount due to him losing by a mere 32 votes against Republican Everett Stubbs out of nearly 56,000 votes cast.
In other notable losses, Johnson was defeated by former Air Force veteran Jeff Zell, Malloy lost to farmer JD Chaplin, and Stephens was bested by conservative lawyer Tom Fernandez.
These four Democrats joined others who had already faced defeat in the June primaries – including Democrat Dick Harpootlian and Republicans Penry Gustafson, Sandy Senn, and Katrina Shealy, who are known as the “sister senators” for their alignment on certain issues.
Three other senators, Mia McLeod (independent), Thomas McElveen, and Nikki Setzler (both Democrats), chose not to run for reelection. Their seats were won by Democratic candidates.
The few victories for Democrats, such as Russell Ott holding onto a seat in the Midlands and Jeffrey Graham winning in a rural district, were overshadowed by an otherwise poor showing for the Democratic Party in South Carolina.
As one party official put it bluntly, “South Carolina Democrats got destroyed.”
This recent election marks a significant moment in South Carolina politics as the GOP continues to expand its influence in the Senate.
