Wednesday, June 10
The turnout
10 a.m.
The South Carolina Election Commission reported a total of 855,370 ballots cast in the primary election. About 25% of the state's 3.38 million registered voters voted. It was the largest number of votes cast in a state primary election since 1984, which is as far back as the SEC provides public data. And percentage wise, it was the highest participation percentage for a state primary election since 2010, or when the state had about 2.58 million registered voters.
At the county level, Hampton County led the field in voter turnout with about 37% of its registered voters participating in the primary election. The county has 10,840 registered voters.
Registered votes in Chesterfield County turned out the least of any county. About 18.3% of the county's 25,932 registered voters participated in the primary election.
While exact party participation is not yet available, 472,588 people voted in the Republican gubernatorial primary race, which is about 98,000 more votes cast than the previous raw number record. And for Democrats, 371,728 people participated in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race. It was not a record total for the Democrats, but it is the largest number of votes cast in the Democratic state primary since 1984.
Morning Edition host Kristina Thacker looks at a race that's too close to call
5 a.m.
Reagan Knight reports from Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette's watch party
4 a.m.
Victoria Hansen reports from Attorney General Alan Wilson's watch party
3 a.m.
Rochelle Dean reports from state Rep. Jermaine Johnson's watch party
2 a.m.
Watch SCETV's live primary election night coverage
1 a.m.
SCETV and South Carolina Public Radio provided a two-hour live feed during the June 9 primary election available to watch below:
Republican race for agriculture commissioner headed to runoff election
12:30 a.m.
Republican candidates Danny Ford and Cody Simpson will head to a June 23 runoff election for the commissioner of agriculture seat.
Simpson, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, lead the race with 38.1% of the race's votes. Ford placed shortly behind Simpson and received about 37.3% of the vote. Candidate Jeremy Cannon received 13.7% of the vote and placed third in the race. Fred West received the remaining 10.9% of the vote.
The winner of the runoff election would go on to face Democratic nominee DeShawn Blanding, United Citizens nominee Chris Nelums and Libertarian nominee Michael Sullens in the November General Election.
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Tuesday, June 9
Democratic nominee for State Treasurer decided
11:50 p.m.
Democrat Vincent Poe defeated Trav Robertson Jr. in the Democratic contest for state treasurer nominee.
All precincts and counties have counted their votes; with about 350,000 reported votes in the race, Poe received about 55.8% of the total votes cast. Robertson Jr. received about 44.2%.
Poe will be joined by incumbent Republican candidate Curtis Loftis on the General Election ballot.
Republican race for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District will head to runoff election
10:55 p.m.
Republican Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt and state Rep. Mark Smith will be on the ballot in a June 23 runoff election.
Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace decided to run for governor and left the seat up for grabs.
Honeycutt received 22.1% of the vote in the race. Smith received about 18% of the vote in a pool of among 11 Republican candidates.
The Democratic side of this race, too, will head to a runoff. Candidates Nancy Lacore and Mac Deford will appear on the ballot in June 23's runoff.
Democratic nominee for Superintendent of Education decided
10:15 p.m.
Sylvia Wright will appear on November's General Election ballot as the Democratic candidate for State Superintendent of Education. Wright received about 61.5% of the votes in the race with about 318,000 ballots counted.
She defeated Lisa Ellis in the race. Wright will be on the ballot with Republican incumbent Ellen Weaver and United Citizens Party candidate Baba Amin Ojuok.
Democratic nominee for South Carolina's 5th Congressional District race decided
9:58 p.m.
Democrat Mallory Dittmer will appear on November's General Election ballot. Dittmer — with about 54.3% of the vote — defeated Andrew Clough in the Democratic race.
Dittmer will face against Republican state Sen. Wes Climer and Former Party candidate Andy Kaplan in November's General Election.
South Carolina's 5th Congressional has no incumbent running, as current U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman chose to run for governor.
Democratic nominee for South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District race decided
9:50 p.m.
Democrat Eunice Lehmacher will face Republican incumbent Sheri Biggs and Libertarian Brian Corriea in November's General Election.
Biggs and Corriea each ran with no in-party competition.
Lehmacher — who received about 53.4% of the vote with 65% of counties reporting — defeated Ernest Mackins to advance as the Democratic nominee for South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District.
South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District Democratic race will head to a runoff
9:36 p.m.
Two Democratic nominees for South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District will be on the ballot in June 23's runoff election.
David Robinson and Zyon Khalifa will compete for the Democratic U.S. House of Representatives nomination. The pair netted the two highest number of votes among a pool of four candidates.
Robinson received 42.1% of the vote with about 41,500 votes counted. And Khalifa received about 33.1% of the vote as of the time of reporting.
South Carolina's Republican race for attorney general will go to a runoff election
9:30 p.m.
Republican candidates for attorney general Stephen Goldfinch and David Stumbo will face each other in the June 23 runoff election, according to the Associated Press.
With about 342,000 votes counted, Goldfinch has received 41.4% of the vote and Stumbo has received 34.9% of the vote. Candidate David Pascoe is trailing at third with 23.8% of the vote.
South Carolina's Republican gubernatorial race is heading to a runoff election
9:03 p.m.
Evette was endorsed by Gov. Henry McMaster and President Donald Trump. She has received about 29.2% of the vote with 305,000 votes counted.
Wilson has received about 26.1% of the vote.
About 16.7% of the votes counted have been for U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman.
Businessman Rom Reddy has received about 14.9% of the vote.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has received about 11.5% of the vote. Mace conceded from the race before the results were official and endorsed Wilson.
The runoff election is June 23.
Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham wins nomination for U.S. Senate
8:58 p.m.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the incumbent in the race to represent South Carolina in the Senate, will be on the ballot in November's General Election, according to the Associated Press.
Graham walks out of a field of six Republican candidates with the victory. He has received about 58.3% of the vote in the race. Candidate Mark Lynch received about 27.8% of the vote and was the only other candidate in the race to receive more than 5% of the vote share.
Graham will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in the November General Election.
Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson wins nomination for governor
8:45 p.m.
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, who represents parts of Richland County and Kershaw County, has won the Democratic nomination for governor and will appear on November's General Election ballot.
He leads with about 58.2% of the vote and 219,000 votes counted. Businessman Billy Webster garnered 31.2% of the vote, and attorney Mullins McLeod finished third with about 10.6% of the vote.
SCETV hosted a debate June 3 with all three candidates.
South Carolina Public Radio reporter Rochelle Dean reports from the event:
Democratic race for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District heads to a runoff
8:36 p.m.
Candidates Nancy Lacore and Mac Deford will appear on the ballot in June 23's runoff.
Lacore and Deford were the two candidates with the largest share of the votes among seven candidates. With about 31,400 votes counted, Lacore received about 36.4% of the vote and Deford received about 31.7% of the vote.
Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate
8:31 p.m.
Candidate Annie Andrews won the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, according to the Associated Press. Her name will appear on the ballot in November's General Election.
With about 191,000 votes counted, Andrews leads the race with 61.1% of the votes. Candidate Brandon Brown has received about 30% of the vote, and candidate Kyle Freeman received 8% of the vote.
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson wins nomination for U.S. House
8:25 p.m.
Congressman Joe Wilson, the incumbent in the race for South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District, has won the Republican nomination for the seat and will appear on the ballot in November's General Election, according to the Associated Press.
Just about 18,000 of the votes in the race have been counted, but Wilson has garnered 74% of the vote so far. Challengers Sam Gibbons and Hamp Redmond trail behind with about 12% of the vote each.
Where our reporters are
8 p.m.
Candidate-hosted events have begun to let people inside. SCETV and South Carolina Public Radio are live with public affairs reporter Gavin Jackson hosting.
South Carolina Public Radio has reporters attending four gubernatorial candidates' events:
- Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman
- Republican Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette
- Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson
- Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson
Reporter Scott Morgan spoke with Norman as results continued to come in.
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House
7:52 p.m.
Congressman Jim Clyburn, the incumbent in the race for South Carolina's 6th Congressional District, has won the Democratic nomination for the seat and will appear on the ballot in November's General Election, according to the Associated Press.
Just about 10,800, or 15%, of the votes in the race have been counted, but Clyburn has garnered 92% of the vote so far. Challenger Frederick Goodwin is the other Democratic candidate. He has received about 8% of the vote.
Results begin to come in
7:38 p.m.
Eight counties have begun to report election results, but the South Carolina Election Commission has tallied no more than 17,000 votes in any race.
Chesterfield County, Darlington County, Kershaw County, Laurens County, Oconee County, Newberry County, Horry County and Hampton County begin the night's reporting.
Polls are now closed
7 p.m.
Polls are now closed for South Carolina's June 9 primary election. Anyone already in line to vote can still cast their ballot.
Results and turnout numbers will soon begin to trickle in. South Carolina Public Radio and SCETV will host live primary election night coverage with public affairs reporter Gavin Jackson at 8 p.m.
Voting in Charleston County
11:30 a.m.
About 274,328 people are registered to vote in Charleston County.
Voters have a chance to choose between candidates in numerous races specific to the area depending on which political party's primary they participate in and where exactly in the county they live:
- South Carolina's 1st Congressional District
- South Carolina's 6th Congressional District
- State House District 94
- State House District 112
- State House District 116
- Charleston County Council District 2
- Charleston County Council District 9
South Carolina Public Radio's Victoria Hansen visited a voting location at Moultrie Middle School in Charleston County's city of Mount Pleasant:
Primary election prep
9:30 a.m.
South Carolina Public Radio's Kristina Thacker gives a brief synopsis of what the primary election will entail:
Hear from Lexington County
8:30 a.m.
Schools and churches make up the majority of Lexington County polling places. County Voter Registration Director Lenice Shoemaker said voters, especially new residents to South Carolina, should be aware of some key tips when it comes to voting:
- A valid photo ID is required to vote and identify individuals
- No campaign material can be worn while voting or be within 500 feet of polling locations
- Advisory questions at the bottom of ballots are simply to gauge voter opinion and thought
Lexington County saw 16,767 people vote during early primary voting. Shoemaker said she enjoyed the enthusiasm in early participation, but she understood some people like to vote on the day of the primary.
"Some people just enjoy going on Election Day to their polling location, and we just hope that everyone who is a registered voter in our county would just go out and vote and let your voice be heard," she said. "Vote for the people you think is going to be best in our offices — this is such an important process in being an American citizen."
Shoemaker said the county feels equipped for the entire day and that each of the county's polling locations are fully staffed.
Polls are now open
7 a.m.
Voters can begin to cast their ballots in South Carolina's June 9 primary election. More than 318,000 people voted during early primary voting, which is a state early primary voting participation record.
A valid photo ID is required to vote. People can participate in just one political party's primary. Polling locations are available at scvotes.gov.
South Carolinians can help narrow down options for offices like governor, U.S. House of Representatives and some local county council positions.
Polls will close at 7 p.m., and anyone in line by that time can still vote.
