South Carolina U.S. Senate election history

Every South Carolina U.S. Senate election from 1978 to 2022: winners, parties, margins and the seats that changed hands.

Current senators

South Carolina Senate races: Republican minus Democratic share, in points. Bars above the line lean Republican, below lean Democratic.

Year	Seat	Winner	Party	Runner-up	Margin	Votes
2022	Class III	Tim Scott	Republican	Krystle Matthews	25.9	1,695,702
2020	Class II	Lindsey Graham	Republican	Jaime Harrison	10.3	2,515,104
2016	Class III	Tim Scott	Republican	Thomas Dixon	26.2	2,049,893
2014	Class II	Lindsey Graham	Republican	Charles Bradley Hutto	17.4	1,240,075
2014 special	Class III	Tim Scott	Republican	Joyce Dickerson	22.1	1,208,982
2010	Class III	Jim DeMint	Republican	Alvin Greene	33.8	1,318,794
2008	Class II	Lindsey Graham	Republican	Bob Conley	15.3	1,871,431
2004 flip	Class III	Jim DeMint	Republican	Inez Tenenbaum	9.6	1,597,221
2002	Class II	Lindsey Graham	Republican	Alex Sanders	10.2	1,102,912
1998	Class III	Ernest F. Hollings	Democratic	Bob Inglis	7.0	1,069,063
1996	Class II	Strom Thurmond	Republican	Elliott Close	9.4	1,161,231
1992	Class III	Ernest F. Hollings	Democratic	Tommy Hartnett	3.1	1,180,438
1990	Class II	Strom Thurmond	Republican	Bob Cunningham	31.7	750,716
1986	Class III	Ernest F. Hollings	Democratic	Henry McMaster	27.5	737,962
1984	Class II	Strom Thurmond	Republican	Melvin Purvis	35.0	965,130
1980	Class III	Ernest F. Hollings	Democratic	Marshall Mays	40.7	870,500
1978	Class II	Strom Thurmond	Republican	Charles D. Ravenel	11.4	632,063

Tim Scott won in 2022 by 25.9 points.

Darline Graham (Republican, term ends 2027) and Tim Scott (Republican, term ends 2029).

In 1998, when Ernest F. Hollings won.

In 2022, when Tim Scott won.

Results: FiveThirtyEight (from 1976 for Senate, 1996 for governor). Current members: congress-legislators.