State Sen. Wes Climer,who is the frontrunner to succeed U.S. Rep.Ralph Norman in the 5th Congressional District, will resign from the seat on Nov. 2, he announcedSaturday afternoon.
His resignation comes as the state Senate has passed aresolution to hold a special election, to replace anyone who submits an irrevocable resignation by March 1, on the same time schedule as the elections later this year: filing in March, a primary in June and general election in November. The resolution would only apply to this year.
The resolution needs to be passed by the House and signed by the governor. House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, expects the state House to pass the resolution “quickly to prevent the cost of a special election,”he told the South Carolina Daily Gazette.
Climer, a York County Republican, said a special election, with a competitive primary and general election would cost between $150,000 to $270,000.
“It’s always bothered me that when someone in elected office runs for another office and wins, their parting gift to their constituents is often a special election that leaves taxpayers on the hook for an expensive special election and unrepresented for a period of time,” Climer said in a statement.
The 2026 General Election is Nov. 3.
His planned resignation, dated for the future, would ensure a senator can continue to represent the district while the election to replace him takes place.
“This should be permanent law — it would save taxpayers millions of dollars and greatly increase voter participation — but the process of changing permanent law would take longer than is feasible for this upcoming election,” Climer said.
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