At least one Democratic candidate will run in every South Carolina legislative seat on the ballot in 2026.
“124 House Seats!” posted the South Carolina Democratic Party. ”Every State House seat is contested. Every statewide race has a Democratic candidate. The most offices contested by Democrats in modern history. We’re building the team to flip the future.”
The effort, particularly finding candidates in deep red parts of the state, is partly thanks to an effort by Democratic state Reps. Heather Bauer and Gilda Cobb-Hunter, who headed The Comeback SC, a political group with the goal of breaking a Republican supermajority in the House.
Cobb-Hunter said she cannot remember a time the party fielded a candidate in every House district. She followed the example of groups in other states, such as 90 for 90, which more than a decade ago pushed to field candidates in every Virginia Commonwealth precinct and ultimately helped the party seize control of the Virginia House and Senate.
“It shows people are out there willing to sign up for public service. This is a noble calling and they feel they have something to offer,” she said.
Republicans are still favored in most races. But by comparison, there were more than 20 state House races this cycle where no Republican qualified to run.
Bauer also helped launch The Comeback effort last Summer, largely because she was sick of serving in a super-minority. “I felt personally frustrated,” she said.
But traveling across every corner of the state, she found many voters felt the same way.
“We heard folks all over, wanting to see a fight and to show up at the state house and the ballot box to fight for their voice,” Bauer said. “The best way to dissent in our country is at the ballot box, and we can’t do that if you are not on the ballot.”
Few expect a Democratic majority in South Carolina to win election in the Fall, but Bauer said the party only has to net six seats to break a supermajority. And running a slate of candidates serves as a way for voters to make their own concerns heard regardless of election outcome.
“We recognize we will not be victorious in all of these seats, but we call it building blocks,” Cobb-Hunter said. “It is creating opportunities in parts of the state where we have been virtually non-existent.”
Cobb-Hunter said the effort has shown what issues resonate among voters at the ground level, from affordability to fears about an escalating conflict in Iran.
The party will also field candidates in each of seven U.S. House seats up for grabs in South Carolina. None are currently considered competitive by Cook Political Report or by Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
The same goes for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, but Democrats have a strong contender there as well with Annie Andrews, who has already raised more than $4.3 million for the race.
Democrats also qualified in the U.S. Senate seat on the ballot this year, and for every statewide race including Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, Comptroller General, Education Superintendent and Agriculture Commissioner.
Longtime Democrats cheered the slate.
“For the first time in my lifetime, South Carolina Democrats have recruited a candidate for every statewide, federal, and statehouse race,” posted Jaime Harrison, a former Democratic National Committee Chair from the state. “Proud of (South Carolina Democratic Party) Chair Christale Spain and our incredible recruitment team. Honored to have co-chaired this effort.”
