The 2016 South Carolina Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state senators in all 46 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the South Carolina Senate, with all the up for election each cycle.
The primary election was on June 14, 2016, and the primary runoff on June 28, 2016, determined which candidates appeared on the November 8, 2016 general election ballot.
Following the 2012 state senate elections, Republicans maintained effective control of the Senate with 28 members. To reclaim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to gain 6 Senate seats. Republicans retained control of the South Carolina Senate following the 2016 general election and the overall numerical composition of the chamber was unaltered.
Special election
District 42 (October 1, 2013) After Democratic incumbent Robert Ford resigned citing health problems amidst an ethics probe, a special election was triggered for District 42. A Democratic primary took place on August 13, a Democratic primary took place on August 27, and the special election took place on October 1, 2013, with Marlon Kimpson elected to serve.
District 32 (November 4, 2014) When Democratic incumbent Yancey McGill became President Pro Tem of the Senate and then Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, he vacated his seat. A Democratic primary and primary runoff were held on September 2 and 16, respectively. The special election was concurrently held with the 2014 United States Election, where Ronnie Sabb was elected to represent District 32.
District 45 (October 20, 2015) The District 45 seat was left vacant after Reverend Clementa C. Pickney was murdered during the Charleston church massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. A Democratic primary and primary runoff were held on September 1 and 15, respectively. The special election was held on October 20 and Margie Bright Matthews was elected to District 45.
District 4 (May 17, 2016) After Billy O'Dell died in office due to heart problems, a special election was held. A Republican primary was held on March 22, and a primary runoff was held on April 5.
Initially, five Republicans ran in the primary, with a runoff initiated between Michael Gambrell and Rockey Burgess when no candidate received a majority of the votes. Gambrell defeated Burgess in the runoff with 57% of the vote. With no opposition, Gambrell won the special election on May 17.
Predictions SourceRankingAs of Governing | October 12, 2016
Results DistrictIncumbent PartyElected Senator PartyResult1st1st Thomas C. Alexander Rep Thomas C. Alexander RepRepublican HOLD2nd2nd Larry A. Martin Rep Rex Rice RepRepublican HOLD3rd3rd Kevin L. Bryant Rep Kevin L. Bryant RepRepublican HOLD4th4th Michael Gambrell Rep Michael Gambrell RepRepublican HOLD5th5th Tom Corbin Rep Tom Corbin RepRepublican HOLD6th6th Michael Fair Rep William Timmons RepRepublican HOLD7th7th Karl B. Allen Dem Karl B. Allen DemDemocratic HOLD8th8th Ross Turner Rep Ross Turner RepRepublican HOLD9th9th Danny Verdin Rep Danny Verdin RepRepublican HOLD10th10th Floyd Nicholson Dem Floyd Nicholson DemDemocratic HOLD11th11th Glenn G. Reese Dem Glenn G. Reese DemDemocratic HOLD12th12th Lee Bright Rep Scott Talley RepRepublican HOLD13th13th Shane Martin Rep Shane Martin RepRepublican HOLD14th14th Harvey S. Peeler Jr. Rep Harvey S. Peeler Jr. RepRepublican HOLD15th15th Robert W. Hayes Jr. Rep Wes Climer RepRepublican HOLD16th16th Greg Gregory Rep Greg Gregory RepRepublican HOLD17th17th Creighton B. Coleman Dem Mike Fanning DemDemocratic HOLD18th18th Ronnie Cromer Rep Ronnie Cromer RepRepublican HOLD19th19th John L. Scott Jr. Dem John L. Scott Jr. DemDemocratic HOLD20th20th John Courson Rep John Courson RepRepublican HOLD21st21st Darrell Jackson Dem Darrell Jackson DemDemocratic HOLD22nd22nd Joel Lourie Dem Mia McLeod DemDemocratic HOLD23rd23rd Katrina Shealy Rep Katrina Shealy RepRepublican HOLD24th24th Tom Young Jr. Rep Tom Young Jr. RepRepublican HOLD25th25th Shane Massey Rep Shane Massey RepRepublican HOLD26th26th Nikki Setzler Dem Nikki Setzler DemDemocratic HOLD27th27th Vincent Sheheen Dem Vincent Sheheen DemDemocratic HOLD28th28th Greg Hembree Rep Greg Hembree RepRepublican HOLD29th29th Gerald Malloy Dem Gerald Malloy DemDemocratic HOLD30th30th Kent Williams Dem Kent Williams DemDemocratic HOLD31st31st Hugh Leatherman Rep Hugh Leatherman RepRepublican HOLD32nd32nd Ronnie Sabb Dem Ronnie Sabb DemDemocratic HOLD33rd33rd Luke Rankin Rep Luke Rankin RepRepublican HOLD34th34th Raymond Cleary Rep Stephen Goldfinch RepRepublican HOLD35th35th Thomas McElveen Dem Thomas McElveen DemDemocratic HOLD36th36th Kevin Johnson Dem Kevin Johnson DemDemocratic HOLD37th37th Lawrence Grooms Rep Lawrence Grooms RepRepublican HOLD38th38th Sean Bennett Rep Sean Bennett RepRepublican HOLD39th39th John W. Matthews Jr. Dem John W. Matthews Jr. DemDemocratic HOLD40th40th Brad Hutto Dem Brad Hutto DemDemocratic HOLD41st41st Paul Thurmond Rep Sandy Senn RepRepublican HOLD42nd42nd Marlon Kimpson Dem Marlon Kimpson DemDemocratic HOLD43rd43rd George Campsen Rep George Campsen RepRepublican HOLD44th44th Paul G. Campbell Jr. Rep Paul G. Campbell Jr. RepRepublican HOLD45th45th Margie Bright Matthews Dem Margie Bright Matthews DemDemocratic HOLD46th46th Tom Davis Rep Tom Davis RepRepublican HOLD
Source:
Detailed results 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__NOTOC__ Note: If a district does not list a primary or a runoff, then that district did not have a primary or runoff election (i.e., there may have only been one candidate file for that district).
District 1 District 1 covers parts of Oconee and Pickens Counties. Incumbent Thomas C. Alexander ran uncontested in the Republican primary and general election. He was reelected to a sixth full-term in the Senate.
District 2 District 2 consists of parts of Pickens County. During the Republican primary, incumbent Larry Martin was challenged by three other Republicans, Rex Rice, Dos Joslyn, and Allan Quinn. Initially, Martin came in first with Rice lagging more than 10 percentage points behind. However, since no candidate received a majority of the votes, the election went to a runoff between Martin and Rice. The result was a surprising upset in which Rice defeated Martin, capping his Senate career at 24 years. Martin's loss was attributed to a combination of factors including anti-incumbency fervor and dark money political action committees. In the general election, Rice ran unopposed and was subsequently elected to the Senate.
District 3
District 4 District 4 is made up of parts of Abbeville, Anderson and Greenwood Counties. Republican Rockey Burgess challenged Gambrell for a second time after losing to him just a few months prior during the special election. In the general election, Gambrell won an uncontested race and was elected to his first full term.
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 Republican incumbent John Courson was challenged by Green Party candidate Scott West.
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
See also 2016 South Carolina elections 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina Elections in South Carolina
References