South Carolina Secretary of State election, 2026
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←2022 |
| South Carolina Secretary of State |
|---|
 |
| General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 30, 2026 |
| Primary:Pending Primary runoff:Pending General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| South Carolina executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
South Carolina is holding an election forsecretary of state onNovember 3, 2026.
There are noofficial candidates yet for this election.
To learn more about other elections on the ballot,click here.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia definesofficial candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
There are noofficial candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Candidate profiles
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Voting information
- See also:Voting in South Carolina
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for South Carolina Secretary of State
IncumbentMark Hammond defeatedRosemounda Peggy Butler in the general election for South Carolina Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mark Hammond (R) | 63.3 | 1,071,451 |
 | Rosemounda Peggy Butler (D)  | 36.6 | 619,341 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,109 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 1,691,901 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled.Rosemounda Peggy Butler advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina Secretary of State.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for South Carolina Secretary of State
IncumbentMark Hammond defeatedKeith Blandford in the Republican primary for South Carolina Secretary of State on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Hammond | 75.1 | 257,131 |
 | Keith Blandford | 24.9 | 85,050 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 342,181 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for South Carolina Secretary of State
IncumbentMark Hammond defeatedMelvin Whittenburg in the general election for South Carolina Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Hammond (R) | 57.1 | 970,576 |
 | Melvin Whittenburg (D) | 42.8 | 727,952 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 968 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 1,699,496 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for South Carolina Secretary of State
Melvin Whittenburg advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina Secretary of State on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Melvin Whittenburg |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. | |||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for South Carolina Secretary of State
IncumbentMark Hammond defeatedJoshua Putnam,Nelson Faerber, andKerry Wood in the Republican primary for South Carolina Secretary of State on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Hammond | 65.4 | 218,215 |
 | Joshua Putnam | 13.4 | 44,639 | |
 | Nelson Faerber | 12.5 | 41,570 | |
 | Kerry Wood | 8.7 | 29,075 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. | Total votes: 333,499 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
Republican incumbentMark Hammond won re-election on November 4, 2014.
| Secretary of State of South Carolina, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mark HammondIncumbent | 59.5% | 730,739 | |
| Democratic | Ginny Deerin | 40.4% | 496,344 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 788 | |
| Total Votes | 1,227,871 | |||
| Election results viaSouth Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| District | Incumbent | PVI |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina's 1st | Nancy Mace | R+6 |
| South Carolina's 2nd | Joe Wilson | R+7 |
| South Carolina's 3rd | Sheri Biggs | R+21 |
| South Carolina's 4th | William Timmons | R+11 |
| South Carolina's 5th | Ralph Norman | R+11 |
| South Carolina's 6th | Jim Clyburn | D+13 |
| South Carolina's 7th | Russell Fry | R+12 |
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris | Donald Trump |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina's 1st | 43.0% | 56.0% |
| South Carolina's 2nd | 42.0% | 56.0% |
| South Carolina's 3rd | 28.0% | 71.0% |
| South Carolina's 4th | 37.0% | 61.0% |
| South Carolina's 5th | 38.0% | 61.0% |
| South Carolina's 6th | 61.0% | 38.0% |
| South Carolina's 7th | 36.0% | 63.0% |
| Source:The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections:Solid,Trending,Battleground, andNew. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election,76% of South Carolinians lived in one of the state's31 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and22.2% lived in one of12 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, South Carolina wasSolid Republican, having voted forDonald Trump (R) in 2016,Donald Trump (R) in 2020, andDonald Trump (R) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in South Carolina following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| South Carolina county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 31 | 76.0% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 12 | 22.2% | |||||
| Trending Republican | 2 | 1.1% | |||||
| New Republican | 1 | 0.6% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 12 | 22.2% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 34 | 77.8% | |||||
Historical voting trends
South Carolina presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16Democratic wins
- 15Republican wins
- 1other win
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | SR[1] | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in South Carolina.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also:Governor of South Carolina
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in South Carolina.
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of South Carolina's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from South Carolina | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Republican | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 7 | 9 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in South Carolina's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Henry McMaster |
| Lieutenant Governor | Pamela Evette |
| Secretary of State | Mark Hammond |
| Attorney General | Alan Wilson |
State legislature
South Carolina State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 12 | |
| Republican Party | 33 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 46 | |
South Carolina House of Representatives
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 36 | |
| Republican Party | 86 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 124 | |
Trifecta control
South Carolina Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
The table below details demographic data in South Carolina and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for South Carolina | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | United States | |
| Population | 5,118,425 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 30,063 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 64.1% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 25.3% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 1.7% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 2.7% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 5.8% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.1% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89.6% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 31.5% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $66,818 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 14.2% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the censushere. | ||
Secretary of State elections in 2026
There are 26secretary of state seats on the ballot in2026.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑States' Rights Democratic Party
