Live Updates: Democrats claim victory in Midlands’ hotly contested State House races
Polls are closed in South Carolina.
More than 130,000 people had showed up in person on Tuesday to vote in the Midlands as of mid-afternoon, after more than 1.5 million ballots were cast statewide during early voting.
All seven of the state’s U.S. Congress seats and every S.C. State House seat were on the ballot, and a couple of those state-level seats in the Midlands look to see close margins. Democratic incumbent state Rep. Heather Bauer is fighting to keep her District 75 seat from the man she beat last time around, Republican former state Rep. Kirkman Finlay. In redrawn Senate District 26, state Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, faces Republican businessman Jason Guerry.
Large school districts in Richland and Lexington counties are concluding school board races that could dramatically reshape their representation.
Voters in Richland County decided whether to keep a 1% sales tax for roads.
We’ll post results here Tuesday night as they begin to roll in, along with any other election news that breaks.
11:52 p.m. - Ott declared winner, Bauer maintains lead
The Associated Press has declared state Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, the winner in state Senate District 26, besting Republican businessman Jason Guerry with 54.9% of the vote.
As of 11:47 p.m., with nearly 81% of the vote counted, Democratic state Rep. Heather Bauer maintained a 1,015 vote lead to try to keep her District 75 seat over Republican former state Rep. Kirman Finlay in the Midlands’ other tightly contest State House race.
While a significant portion of the vote remains listed as uncounted, Bauer declared victory at her watch party around 10:45 p.m.
11:25 p.m. - Support for the Richland penny tax remains strong
As of 11:25 p.m., there have been 88,026 ballots, or 62% of the vote, counted in favor of keeping the tax, which pays for things like road work and the local bus system. There have been 54,900 votes opposed to keeping the tax. That margin has remained steady throughout the night. Just about 64% of precincts are reporting so far.
11:08 p.m. - One side of Lexington-Richland 5 school board race appears decided
Once all the votes were counted on the Lexington County side of Lexington-Richland 5, USC professor Scott Herring led in unofficial results Tuesday with 34% of the vote, followed closely behind by board incumbent Catherine Huddle who was only 98 votes behind as of 10:45 p.m. Former board member Ken Loveless trailed at 31%. The top two vote-getters in that district will win seats on the school board.
In the Richland County side of the district, Jason Baynham had a narrow lead over Mike Ward, 50% to 49%.
Around 70% of the votes were “yes” on a district-wide referendum to approve a $240 million bond issue to fund a slew of school improvement projects.
In the central part of Lexington County, voters in Lexington 1 chose four board members from nine candidates in an at-large, district-wide election.
School board incumbent Kathy Henson came in first in unofficial results with 15% of the vote, followed by former journalist McKenzie Flashnick at 12%, and S.C. Department of Transportation employee Nicholas Pizzuti at 11%. Mike Anderson (11%), the only other incumbent in a crowded field, had a narrow lead over real estate agent Shelton Yonce (10.13%) and claims adjuster Dana Homesley (10.1%) for the fourth seat.
Lexington 1 covers the central part of the county, from the south shores of Lake Murray through the town of Lexington to Gilbert and Pelion.
In Lexington 2, candidates chose another four seats on the school board that covers the cities of Cayce and West Columbia.
Mary Burkett led with 17% of the vote, followed by Liz Castles with 15%, and Craig Aull with 14% and Tre Bray with 13%.
10:51 p.m. - Richland 1 school board votes close to being counted
Two at-large seats and two district-specific seats on the Richland 1 school board were on the 2024 ballot.
Two candidates ran for the District 4 seat, including an incumbent. At 10:30 p.m., with about 83 precincts reporting, challenger Ericka Hursey has a secured a strong edge against incumbent Cheryl Harris. Hursey received 62.89% of the vote while Harris received 36.79%.
Five candidates ran for the at-large seats. Challengers Richard Moore and Angela Brown led the race, with 25.47% and 24.4% of the vote, respectively. Incumbent Angela Clyburn trailed trailed closely behind with 24.19%. Incumbent Tamika Myers received 17.73% of votes and John Black received 7.75%.
Four candidates ran for the District 2 seat, with incumbent Jamie Devine in the lead with 33.59%. Steven Diaz received 28.22%, Christa Williams received 28.02% and Lee Carroll received 9.82%.
Ten candidates were vying for three at-large seats on the Richland 2 school board that were up for election. Incumbent Monica Elkins and newcomer Shelley Williams lead the race, with 18.39% and 14.56%, respectively. Incumbent Lashonda McFadden and newcomer Brenda Branic were tied for the third open seat with 10.98% each. The other six candidates had received 10% or less of the vote.
10:44 p.m. - State House races appear close to being called
Early results in the Midlands South Carolina State House races show some very close to an official call.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Chris Wooten is leading with 81% of the early vote against Libertarian candidate Allen James Broadus in House District 69 with about 94% of precincts counted.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Heather Bauer is in the lead by just 6 percentage points in a close race against former state Rep. Kirkman Finlay, a Republican. Both candidates feel confident in their chances so far.
Bauer has about 53% of the vote and Finlay has 47% with nearly 76% of the precincts reported in the race as of 10:25 p.m.
Bauer’s campaign told reporters that by a large margin, at least 57% of early voters in the district were women, so they are feeling confident that once these are counted, they will claim victory.
Incumbent Democratic Rep. Leon Howard is leading in House District 76 against Workers Party candidate Gary Votour, who has about 8% of the vote, with about 43% of precincts reported as of 10:25 p.m.
Democratic nominee Hamilton Grant is leading against Republican nominee Rebecca Madsen, 76% to 23% as of 10:25 p.m. in House District 79 with nearly 46% of precincts reported.
Republican Rep. Micah Caskey is with 60% of the vote against Democratic nominee Wayne Borders with 89% of precincts reported.
10:09 p.m. - Ott leads in redrawn state Senate district
State Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, has the edge so far in the race for state Senate District 26.
He told supporters at Savage Craft Ale Works in West Columbia, “We feel supremely confident of where we are right now.”
As of 10 p.m., Ott was leading by more than 1,000 votes over Republican Jason Guerry.
They are hoping to succeed state Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-Lexington, who decided not to run again
10:03 p.m. - AP calls U.S. House District 6 for Clyburn
The Associated Press has now called all seven of South Carolina’s U.S. House races.
Jim Clyburn will remain the U.S. representative for the 6th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. He won with nearly 58 percent of the vote.
9:46 p.m. - AP calls U.S. House District 4 for Timmons
Securing nearly 61% of the vote, U.S. Rep. William Timmons defeats Democrat Kathryn Harvey and Mark Hackett of the Constitution Party in South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District.
The district covers the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg in the Upstate.
9:33 p.m. - AP calls U.S. House District 1 for Mace
In U.S. House District 1, incumbent Republican Nancy Mace, faced off with Michael Moore, a Democrat.
According to the Associated Press, with 58% of the vote, Mace will continue to serve in the seat. Moore received nearly 42% of the vote.
District 1 serves Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper counties.
9:27 p.m. - Hursey leads in Richland 1 school board race
In the hotly contested Richland 1 school board race, Ericka Hursey leads incumbent Cheryl Harris with 62.64% of the 2,069 votes cast for the District 4 seat. Harris has received 36.93% of the vote.
Of the 2,808 ballots cast for the District 2 seat, incumbent Jamie Devine is ahead with 33.23% of the vote, with challengers Christa Williams and Steven Diaz closely trailing with 28.45% and 27.35% of the vote, respectively.
Candidates for two at-large seats are neck and neck, with 17,333 ballots cast.
Richard Moore currently leads with 25.22% of the vote, followed by Angela Brown with 24.93%. Incumbent Angela Brown has received 22.93% of the vote and incumbent Tamika Myers has received 18.48%.
9:17 p.m. - Yes votes in the lead for Richland penny tax, Lexington-Richland 5 bond referendum
As of 9:06 p.m., there have been 19,338 ballots counted in favor of keeping Richland County’s 1% Sales and Use tax dedicated to transportation projects. That’s about 57% of all votes counted so far. There have been 14,498 votes opposed to keeping the tax, with 25.5% of precincts reporting.
Voters narrowly approved the tax in 2012 on the condition that it would collect money for 22 years or until it collected $1.07 billion. The tax is expected to collect that amount by the end of 2026. If voters don’t approve extending the tax, it will expire by 2027.
Voters are now deciding whether to extend the tax for another 25 years or until it collects $4.5 billion.
In the Lexington-Richland 5 school district, voters were giving the go-ahead to a $240 million bond issue, which led with 68% voting yes as of 9 p.m.
The $240 million bond issue would lead to the construction of a new school and the expansion or additions of several others. Increasing capacity at existing schools will also lessen the need for rezoning in the Chapin-Irmo district.
9:10 p.m. - Lott with big lead in Richland sheriff race
With 38 of 149 precincts reporting, incumbent Leon Lott leads Jim Walker by 17 thousand votes, according to the South Carolina Election Commission.
Lott, 71, has served in law enforcement for 49 years, with the last 28 as sheriff. If reelected, he said his top three priorities will be gun violence, gun violence and gun violence.
Walker, who’s also had an extensive law enforcement career, previously serving as a Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy. He, too, plans to tackle gun violence, along with domestic violence while creating increased transparency.
9:04 p.m. - AP calls four U.S. House races
Republican Sheri Biggs, who ran in place of U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, wins in South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District with 71% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
She faced a challenge from Democrat Byron Best, who secured nearly 25% of the vote.
The outlet is also calling District 2 for incumbent Joe Wilson, defeating David Robinson 65% to 34%.
In District 7, the AP has called a victory for Republican incumbent Russell Fry, who faced off with Democrat Mal Hayman, and in District 5, it has called the race for incumbent Ralph Norman over Democrat Evangeline Hundley.
8:52 p.m. - Mace, Norman lead Congressional races
In South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, incumbent Nancy Mace leads Democratic contender Michael Moore 57.3% to 42.7%, with 55% of precincts reporting.
In U.S. House District 5, incumbent Ralph Norman leads Democrat Evangeline Hundley 62.2% to 37.8%, with 69% of precincts reporting.
8:43 p.m. - Clyburn leads in 6th Congressional District
In a crowded race for South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, Jim Clyburn leads by 54.5 percent with 40 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.
Clyburn faces challenges from from Republican Duke Buckner, Gregg Dixon of the United Citizens Party, Michael Simpson of the Libertarian Party and Joseph Oddo of the Alliance Party.
So far, Buckner has more than 42% of the vote, Dixon more than 1 percent, Simpson nearly 2% and Oddo less than 1%.
U.S. House District 6 covers Allendale, Bamberg, Calhoun, Charleston, Claredon, Collenton, Dorchester, Florence, Hampton, Jasper, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter and Williamsburg counties.
8:36 p.m. - AP calls vote for SC Amendment 1
A proposed edit to the state’s constitution will get approved, according to to the Associated Press.
The outlet has called the vote to change language that previously said every U.S. citizen can vote to stipulate that only U.S. citizens can vote, saying that the measure will pass.
As of 8:36 p.m., with no counties fully reporting, the South Carolina Election Commission had the amendment carrying nearly 85% of the vote with more than 611,000.
8:02 p.m. - AP calls South Carolina for Trump
South Carolina will cast nine electoral votes for former President Donald Trump, according to a call by the Associated Press.
The AP called the race in South Carolina for Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris at 8:01 p.m. Tuesday as results of the election began coming in.
Trump has been popular in the Palmetto State and also carried the state in 2016 and 2020, as well the GOP presidential primaries in 2016 and 2024.
Trump won South Carolina in the general election in 2020 by 12 points. He carried the state in 2016 by 14 points.
7:36 p.m. - Election day voter count in Midlands ticks above 155,000
As of 7:27 p.m., the South Carolina Elections Commission is reporting the following numbers out of the Midlands. These are unofficial, and based on the number of people that have checked in to vote, said John Michael Catalano, the public information officer at the state elections commission:
Calhoun – 3,408
Richland – 60,356
Lexington – 59,688
Orangeburg – 14,935
Sumter – 16,741
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 7:00 PM.
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