A diagram of the Senate Chamber, 1917

The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the same time as United States presidential elections.

The South Carolina Constitution of 1895 provided for each county to elect one senator for a four-year term. The election of senators was staggered so that half of the state Senate was elected every two years. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1964 for the case Reynolds v. Sims, the state Senate was reapportioned in 1966 as a temporary measure into 27 districts with 50 members for two-year terms. In 1967, the state Senate was again reapportioned, this time into 20 districts with 46 members for four-year terms. The number of districts was reduced to 16 in 1972 and in 1984, they were eliminated with the creation of single member districts.

The annual session of the General Assembly convenes at the State Capitol Building in Columbia on the second Tuesday of January of each year. However, after convening, either the House or the Senate may call for itself a 30-day recess by a majority vote, or a longer recess by a two-thirds vote.[1]

Composition

AffiliationParty
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
RepublicanDemocraticIndependentVacant
Start of 2023 Session30151460
Current30151460

Members of the South Carolina Senate

Except as noted, all senators were elected in November 2020 and terms began on January 12, 2021. All terms expire in January 2025.

DistrictRepresentativePartyResidence
1Thomas C. Alexander, presidentRepublicanWalhalla
2Rex RiceRepublicanEasley
3Richard CashRepublicanPowdersville
4Michael GambrellRepublicanHonea Path
5Tom CorbinRepublicanTravelers Rest
6Dwight LoftisRepublicanGreenville
7Karl B. AllenDemocraticGreenville
8Ross TurnerRepublicanGreenville
9Danny VerdinRepublicanLaurens
10Billy GarrettRepublicanGreenwood
11Josh KimbrellRepublicanInman
12Scott TalleyRepublicanSpartanburg
13Shane MartinRepublicanSpartanburg
14Harvey S. Peeler Jr.RepublicanGaffney
15Wes ClimerRepublicanRock Hill
16Michael JohnsonRepublicanTega Cay
17Mike FanningDemocraticGreat Falls
18Ronnie CromerRepublicanProsperity
19Tameika Isaac Devine[a]DemocraticColumbia
20Dick HarpootlianDemocraticColumbia
21Darrell JacksonDemocraticHopkins
22Mia McLeodIndependent[3]Columbia
23Katrina ShealyRepublicanLexington
24Tom Young Jr.RepublicanAiken
25A. Shane MasseyRepublicanEdgefield
26Nikki G. SetzlerDemocraticWest Columbia
27Penry GustafsonRepublicanCamden
28Greg HembreeRepublicanNorth Myrtle Beach
29Gerald MalloyDemocraticHartsville
30Kent M. WilliamsDemocraticMarion
31Mike ReichenbachRepublicanFlorence
32Ronnie A. SabbDemocraticGreeleyville
33Luke A. RankinRepublicanMyrtle Beach
34Stephen GoldfinchRepublicanMurrells Inlet
35Thomas McElveenDemocraticSumter
36Kevin L. JohnsonDemocraticManning
37Larry GroomsRepublicanBonneau
38Sean BennettRepublicanSummerville
39Vernon StephensDemocraticBowman
40Brad HuttoDemocraticOrangeburg
41Sandy SennRepublicanCharleston
42Deon Tedder[b]DemocraticCharleston
43Chip CampsenRepublicanIsle of Palms
44Brian AdamsRepublicanGoose Creek
45Margie Bright MatthewsDemocraticCharleston
46Tom DavisRepublicanBeaufort

Composition of the Senate over time

YearDemocratic
Party
Republican
Party
Independent
/ Other

Majority
1865003131
18686[c]25019
1870526121
1872825017
18740267[d]19
1876151803
1878285023
1880332031
1882332031
1884323029
1886332031
1888350035
1890323029
1892360036
18942907[e]22
1896360036
1898–
1908
410041
1910–
1916
440044
1918–
1964
460046
1966436137
1968473044
1970442042
1972433040
1976424038
1980397032
19843610026
19883511024
19923016014
1996252104
200022[f]24[f]02
20042026[g]06
2008192708
20121828010
20161828010
2020[5]15[h]30114
  1. ^ John L. Scott Jr. died on August 13, 2023; Devine was elected January 2, 2024 in a special election.[2]
  2. ^ Marlon Kimpson resigned on May 11, 2023; Tedder was elected November 7, 2023 in a special election.[4]
  3. ^ The election of a Democrat from Abbeville was declared void and the seat remained vacant.
  4. ^ All 7 were members of the Conservative Party of South Carolina.
  5. ^ All 7 were Independent Democrats.
  6. ^ a b After the 2000 elections, the Senate was evenly split between 23 Democrats and 23 Republicans. A Democrat, J. Verne Smith of Greer, switched to the Republicans to break the tie.
  7. ^ Republicans gained an additional seat in a 2007 special election.
  8. ^ One independent, Mia McLeod, was formerly a member of the Democratic Party until January 10, 2023.

References

  1. ^ "ARTICLE 3. Legislative Department., SECTION 9. Sessions of General Assembly". 2010 South Carolina Constitution – Unannotated. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  2. ^ "Election Results". WISTV. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  3. ^ McLeod, Mia. "New Year, New Direction!". miaforsenate. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Democrat wins special South Carolina Senate election and will be youngest senator". AP. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. ^ "South Carolina Election Results". The New York Times. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  • Dubin, Michael J. (2007) Party affiliations in the state legislatures : a year by year summary, 1796–2006.

External links

33°50′10″N 81°09′49″W / 33.836081°N 81.1637245°W / 33.836081; -81.1637245