South Carolina Senate

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.

South Carolina State Senate
South Carolina General Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Seal of the South Carolina Senate
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 10, 2023
Leadership
Thomas C. Alexander (R)
since December 6, 2021
Majority Leader
A. Shane Massey (R)
since April 6, 2016
Minority Leader
Brad Hutto (D)
since November 17, 2020
Clerk
Jeffrey S. Gossett
since January 9, 2001
Assistant Clerk
Kenneth M. Moffitt
since September 2, 2014
Reading Clerk
John O. Wienges
since January 11, 1994
Sergeant at Arms
"Chuck" D. Williams, Jr.
since December 6, 2016
Structure
Seats46
Composition of the South Carolina Senate
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (30)

Minority

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle III, South Carolina Constitution
Salary$10,400/year + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 3, 2020
(46 seats)
Next election
November 5, 2024
(46 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
South Carolina State House
Columbia, South Carolina
Website
South Carolina State Senate
A diagram of the Senate Chamber, 1917

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

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Republican Democratic Independent Vacant
Start of 2023 Session 30 15 1 46 0
Current 30 13 1 44 2

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.

District Representative Party Residence
1Thomas C. Alexander, presidentRepublicanWalhalla
2Rex RiceRepublicanEasley
3Richard CashRepublicanPowdersville
4Michael GambrellRepublicanHonea Path
5Thomas D. 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
19Vacant[lower-alpha 1]
20Dick HarpootlianDemocraticColumbia
21Darrell JacksonDemocraticHopkins
22Mia McLeodIndependent[2]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
42Vacant[lower-alpha 2]
43Chip CampsenRepublicanIsle of Palms
44Brian AdamsRepublicanGoose Creek
45Margie Bright MatthewsDemocraticCharleston
46Tom DavisRepublicanBeaufort

Composition of the Senate over time

Year Democratic
Party
Republican
Party
Independent
/ Other

Majority
1865 0 0 31 31
1868 6[lower-alpha 3] 25 0 19
1870 5 26 1 21
1872 8 25 0 17
1874 0 26 7[lower-alpha 4] 19
1876 15 18 0 3
1878 28 5 0 23
1880 33 2 0 31
1882 33 2 0 31
1884 32 3 0 29
1886 33 2 0 31
1888 35 0 0 35
1890 32 3 0 29
1892 36 0 0 36
1894 29 0 7[lower-alpha 5] 22
1896 36 0 0 36
1898–
1908
41 0 0 41
1910–
1916
44 0 0 44
1918–
1964
46 0 0 46
1966 43 6 1 37
1968 47 3 0 44
1970 44 2 0 42
1972 43 3 0 40
1976 42 4 0 38
1980 39 7 0 32
1984 36 10 0 26
1988 35 11 0 24
1992 30 16 0 14
1996 25 21 0 4
2000 22[lower-alpha 6] 24[lower-alpha 6] 0 2
2004 20 26[lower-alpha 7] 0 6
2008 19 27 0 8
2012 18 28 0 10
2016 18 28 0 10
2020[3] 15[lower-alpha 8] 30 0 14
  1. John L. Scott Jr. died on August 13, 2023.
  2. Marlon Kimpson resigned on May 11, 2023.
  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. 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. McLeod, Mia. "New Year, New Direction!". miaforsenate. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. "South Carolina Election Results". 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.

33.836081°N 81.1637245°W / 33.836081; -81.1637245

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