By Skyler Baldwin | Voters on Nov. 3 will decide several key races in South Carolina, including every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and S.C. House of Representatives. A pivotal U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office are also on Palmetto State ballots.
With election day fast approaching, voters still have until Saturday to vote early, an option more than 750,000 South Carolinians have already chosen. Early voting for the 2026 midterm elections began Oct. 19, and as of 5 p.m. Oct. 28, more than 800,000 mail-in and early in-person votes had been cast.
That number smashed the previous nonpresidential record set in 2022, when about 562,000 voters cast a ballot ahead of election day during the entire early voting period. The state’s all-time early-voting record was set in 2024, with more than 1.5 million in-person and absentee votes cast.
Charleston County Board of Registration and Elections Executive Director Isaac Cramer didn’t sound surprised by this year’s record numbers.
“[Early voting] has been popular since it was first instituted in 2022,” Cramer told the Charleston City Paper. “People are liking the convenience of voting early, and as more and more voters experience that, I expect it to become the new mode of casting a ballot.”
This year’s early voting turnout as of Oct. 28 represents about 22%of the state’s 3.7 million registered voters.
On this year’s ballot
South Carolinians are deciding several key state and federal elections in this year’s midterms.
S.C. governor
South Carolina is set to have a new governor for the first time in nearly a decade as S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster is term-limited. Vying for the office are Republican Alan Wilson, the current attorney general; Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson, a member of the S.C. House; Green Party candidate Walid Hakim and United Citizens Party candidate Michael Addison.
A recent poll put Wilson at a double-digit lead only a week away from Election Day, with 51% of voters saying they are likely to vote or have already voted for Wilson, compared to Johnson’s 41%.
U.S. Senate
The summer death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime S.C. Republican leader nationally, flipped the 2026 U.S. Senate race on its head. The late senator’s sister, sitting U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, is going head-to-head with Democratic candidate Annie Andrews. According to recent polling from the S.C. Policy Council and The New York Times, the two are locked in a neck-and-neck race.
Pollsters point to voters’ lack of familiarity with Graham as fuel for the competitive race. Meanwhile, Andrews has been courting voters and rolling out big-name endorsements from former S.C. governors, including David Beasley, a Republican, and Jim Hodges, a Democrat.
U.S. House District 1
With U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., opting not to run for reelection to make a since-failed bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, the U.S. House seat for District 1 is up for grabs. Republican Jenny Honeycutt and Democratic nominee Nancy Lacore are the two major party candidates vying for the seat in one of the state’s most closely watched races.
The First Congressional District was long considered a Republican bastion until Democratic candidate Joe Cunningham flipped it blue in 2020. Mace took the seat back for Republicans in 2022.
Honeycutt enters the final week with a slight advantage in poll numbers, but Lacore’s military background and firm focus on affordability have made the race competitive.
Attorney general
With Wilson leaving the office behind in a bid for the governor’s chair, Democratic candidate Richard Hricik of Mount Pleasant and Republican David Stumbo of the Upstate are competing for the vacant seat. During the race, the two have outlined different approaches to public safety, law enforcement and consumer protection.
Voters are choosing a leader for the office for the first time in 16 years. Wilson’s successor will oversee the state’s legal priorities and play a leadership role in coordinating with prosecutors and law enforcement agencies across South Carolina. He will also oversee the state’s handling of high-profile legal matters, including proceedings related to the Alex Murdaugh case, which has drawn national attention and continued scrutiny through retrial proceedings.
Secretary of state
Democratic candidate Jason Belton is seeking to unseat incumbent Secretary of State Mark Hammond, a Republican. Belton is running on a platform to “restore election integrity” and bring “accountable leadership at the ballot.” The secretary of state, however, has nothing to do with ballot security, so Belton’s plan would require state lawmakers to change the office’s priorities and responsibilities.
A seven-term incumbent, Hammond ran unopposed on the Republican side. He’s said he would welcome changes to the office’s duties — but doesn’t think the legislature would go for it.
Other statewide offices
Voters will also settle several additional state-level contests. For more on these races, see the City Paper’s Oct. 16 down-ballot election preview.
For Superintendent of Education, first-term incumbent Republican Ellen Weaver faces Democratic challenger Sylvia Wright and Baba Amin Ojuok of the United Citizens Party.
In the State Treasurer race, incumbent Republican Curtis Loftis squares off against Vincent Coe.
The open Comptroller General race pits Republican Mike Burkhold against Democratic candidate Tiffany Boozer.
And the also-open Commissioner of Agriculture contest features Republican Cody Simpson, Democratic nominee DeShawn Blanding, Libertarian Michael Sullens and United Citizens’ Chris Nelums.
On voting
Early voting ends Oct. 31. Voting centers are open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On election day, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 3. Voters can vote at their polling place, based on their address. You can find your polling place at scvotes.gov.
“Voting is not just a right, but it’s an important way to exercise your voice to be heard,” Cramer said. “Regardless of what you believe — or how you feel about the direction we’re headed locally, nationally — everything is on the ballot. This is something we should all be proud to do.”
Statehouse bureau chief Jack O’Toole contributed to this report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
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