SC special election is coming up to fill late Sen. Scott’s seat. Here’s what to know before voting
Voters in S.C. Senate District 19 will pick their new senator on Jan. 2.
The special election to finish the late Sen. John Scott’s term features four candidates in the heavily Democratic Richland County district. Scott’s term had one more year remaining when he died in August.
Scott was elected to the seat in 2008 when he carried 91% of the vote in the general election. In Scott’s three other Senate elections, he only faced a primary challenger in 2016, but he carried 61% of the vote in the primary. He was unopposed in the 2012, 2016 and 2020 general elections.
The winner of the Jan. 2 election will have to run again in 2024 in order to win a full four-year term.
To find out if you are a District 19 voter, check your voter registration at scvotes.gov.
Who are the candidates
▪ Tameika Isaac Devine is the Democratic nominee, a former Columbia City Council member who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2021. She served on the city council for 20 years and is a real estate and probate attorney. Devine won the special election Democratic primary with 52% of the vote.
▪ Kizzie Smalls, of Blythewood, is the Republican nominee. She ran for the S.C. House against state Rep. Kambrell Garvin in 2022 and was the only Republican to file for the District 19 special election. She currently serves as the S.C. Republican Party’s second vice chair. Her role with the state party is to focus on minority outreach. Smalls is a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker and as a compliance specialist for Intermark in the affordable housing industry.
▪ Chris Nelums is the United Citizens Party candidate. The pastor unsuccessfully ran for state agriculture commissioner in 2022.
▪ Michael A. Addison, of Columbia, who challenged U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Santee, in the 2022 Democratic primary, filed to run as an independent.
When to vote
Early voting is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and runs through Friday, Dec. 29, at the Richland County Voter Registration and Elections office at 2020 Hampton St. in Columbia and at the Richland County Early Voting Center at 2011 Hampton St. in Columbia.
For those who plan to wait until the Jan. 2 Election Day to vote, go to scvotes.gov to find your polling place. Precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
This story was originally published December 27, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
