Democratic Party

A special election to fill the S.C. Senate seat previously held by the late Sen. John Scott will be Jan. 2, 2024.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected. At a campaign rally Monday in South Carolina, Haley promised not to touch the benefits of older people who retired with certain guarantees of a financial future. But she said her children, both in their 20s, are part of the generation for whom benefits should be altered.

South Carolina is accustomed to increased attention in the years leading up to presidential elections, given that the state has hosted the South's first voting contests for several of the last cycles. Yet the 2024 campaign season is starting to feel different. For one, Democrats have elevated South Carolina to the top of their presidential primary calendar, leapfrogging Iowa and New Hampshire. On the Republican side, there could potentially be two homegrown South Carolina presidential candidates in the race.

No sooner had President Joe Biden told Democrats his preference for reordering the presidential primary calendar than states began balking. Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada all have state laws mandating when their voting will take place. Nonetheless, the Democratic National Committee's rule-making arm has approved a revamped schedule for early votes for the 2024 presidential primary. It says the first to vote should be South Carolina, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on the same day, then Georgia and finally Michigan. If states defy the national party and hold primaries on their own schedule, there are a few possible penalties, including refusal to seat the state's delegates at the national convention.

South Carolina Republicans tallied key victories on a night when the GOP nationwide struggled to generate the wins historically associated with a midterm election under an opposing party's president. They won the governor's race by the largest margin in over 30 years and reached a supermajority in the legislature. South Carolina GOP officials attribute their success in part to a historically large ground campaign, strong candidates at the top and record straight-ticket voting. After sustaining such great losses, some state Democrats are questioning the enthusiasm among the party's base.

With midterms nigh, voters in President Joe Biden's strongest base say his absence in South Carolina is noticeable, and that his presence could have been engaging voters in critical local and state races.

Republican candidates have given wildly differing responses to South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's plan to ban abortion nationwide at 15 weeks. A Republican Senate challenger in Colorado describes the proposed ban as "reckless." GOP Senate contenders in Georgia and Arizona have quickly pledged their support. And in Pennsylvania and Nevada, Republican Senate nominees are avoiding taking firm positions. The explosive issue threatens to upend the GOP's overwhelming political advantages just eight weeks before Election Day. Democrats have been quick to point to the measure to warn that handing control of Congress to Republicans could lead to a broader erosion of rights.

Upending the midterm elections, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has introduced a nationwide abortion ban. The bill would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the physical health of the mother. The legislation introduced Tuesday is sending shockwaves through both parties with just weeks before voters go to the polls. Graham's own Republican colleagues did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-held Congress.

Democrats may be moving toward shaking up their presidential nominating process starting in 2024. They're poised to boot Iowa from the lead-off spot as part of a broader effort to allow to go earlier less overwhelmingly white states that better reflect the party's diverse electorate. The Democratic National Committee rule-making arm is delaying the decision until after the November midterm election. But rules committee members say the party is leaning toward having either New Hampshire or Nevada go first - or perhaps on the same day. South Carolina would move from fourth to third. That'd free up a larger, midwestern state to perhaps go next, with Michigan and Minnesota making strong cases.

The Democratic Party is delaying a decision on potentially reordering its primary calendar for the 2024 presidential election until after November's midterm elections. The Democratic National Committee's rules committee had planned to decide during meetings in Washington set to begin next week. The question is whether to recommend that presidential voting should continue to begin with Iowa and New Hampshire. Some party leaders and activists say more diverse states should move up, including the current No. 3 and No. 4 states, Nevada and South Carolina.