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←2022
South Carolina Superintendent of Education
Election details
Filing deadline: March 30, 2026
Primary: June 9, 2026 Primary runoff: June 23, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in South Carolina
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
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South Carolina is holding an election forsuperintendent of education onNovember 3, 2026. The primary is June 9, 2026, and a primary runoff is June 23, 2026. The filing deadline is March 30, 2026.

There are noofficial candidates yet for this election.

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

See also:South Carolina Superintendent of Education election, 2022

General election

General election for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

Ellen Weaver defeatedLisa Ellis andPatricia Mickel in the general election for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellen Weaver (R)	55.5	937,493
		Lisa Ellis (D / Alliance Party)	42.8	722,013
	Submit photo	Patricia Mickel (G)	1.6	27,468
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,744

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,688,718
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

Ellen Weaver defeatedKathy Maness in the Republican primary runoff for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellen Weaver	63.9	111,643
	Submit photo	Kathy Maness	36.1	63,080

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 174,723
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

Lisa Ellis defeatedGary Burgess andJerry Govan Jr. in the Democratic primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lisa Ellis	50.1	87,529
		Gary Burgess	31.2	54,464
		Jerry Govan Jr.	18.7	32,665

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 174,658
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kathy Maness	30.6	103,608
✔		Ellen Weaver	23.3	79,077
	Submit photo	Travis Bedson	13.9	47,241
	Submit photo	Bryan Chapman	12.5	42,498
		Kizzi Gibson	11.1	37,743
		Lynda Leventis-Wells	8.5	28,755

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 338,922
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Cindy Bohn Coats (R)
• Sheri Few (R)

Alliance Party convention

Alliance Party convention for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

Lisa Ellis advanced from the Alliance Party convention for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on April 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Lisa Ellis (Alliance Party)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Green convention

Green convention for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

Patricia Mickel advanced from the Green convention for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on May 7, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Patricia Mickel (G)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also:South Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2018

General election

General election for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

IncumbentMolly Mitchell Spearman won election in the general election for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Molly Mitchell Spearman (R)	98.1	998,057
		Other/Write-in votes	1.9	18,866

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,016,923
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• James Robbins (Independent)
• Israel Romero (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

Israel Romero advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Israel Romero

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education

IncumbentMolly Mitchell Spearman advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina Superintendent of Education on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Molly Mitchell Spearman

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also:South Carolina down ballot state executive elections, 2014

RepublicanMolly Mitchell Spearman won election on November 4, 2014.

South Carolina Superintendent, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Molly Mitchell Spearman	57%	699,081
	Democratic	Tom Thompson	38.8%	476,358
	American	Ed Murray	3.8%	46,695
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.4%	5,055
Total Votes				1,227,189
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.

• Presidential elections
• Statewide elections
• State partisanship
• Demographics

See also:Presidential voting trends in South Carolina andThe Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for South Carolina, 2026

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

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, South Carolina

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

See also:List of United States Senators from South Carolina

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in South Carolina.

U.S. Senate election results in South Carolina

Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	62.9%	37.0%
2020	54.5%	44.2%
2016	60.5%	37.0%
2014	54.3%	38.8%
2014	61.1%	37.1%
Average	58.7	38.8

Gubernatorial elections

See also:Governor of South Carolina

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in South Carolina.

Gubernatorial election results in South Carolina

Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	58.0%	40.7%
2018	54.0%	45.9%
2014	55.9%	41.4%
2010	51.4%	46.9%
2006	55.1%	44.8%
Average	54.9	43.9

See also:Party control of South Carolina state government

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.

State executive officials in South Carolina, 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 January 2026
	Democratic Party	12
	Republican Party	34
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		46

South Carolina House of Representatives

Party		As of January 2026
	Democratic Party	36
	Republican Party	88
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
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.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

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.

See also

South Carolina	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis
South Carolina State Executive OfficesSouth Carolina State LegislatureSouth Carolina Courts	2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016South Carolina elections:2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017 •2016	Party control of state governmentState government trifectasState of the state addressesPartisan composition of governors

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• South Carolina superintendent of education official website

Footnotes

	v • e State ofSouth Carolina Columbia (capital)
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