South Carolina Senate

South Carolina State Senate
South Carolina State Senate
South Carolina General Assembly
	Seal of the South Carolina Senate
Type
Type	Upper House
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 9, 2024
Leadership
President	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
Seats	46
Political groups	Majority Republican (30); Minority Democratic (15); Independent (1);
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 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)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; South Carolina State House; Columbia, South Carolina
Website
	South Carolina State 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.

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	15	1	46	0

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	First Elected
1	Thomas C. Alexander, president	Republican	Walhalla	1994*
2	Rex Rice	Republican	Easley	2016
3	Richard Cash	Republican	Powdersville	2017*
4	Michael Gambrell	Republican	Honea Path	2016*
5	Tom Corbin	Republican	Travelers Rest	2012
6	Dwight Loftis	Republican	Greenville	2019*
7	Karl B. Allen	Democratic	Greenville	2012
8	Ross Turner	Republican	Greenville	2012
9	Danny Verdin	Republican	Laurens	2000
10	Billy Garrett	Republican	Greenwood	2020
11	Josh Kimbrell	Republican	Inman	2020
12	Scott Talley	Republican	Spartanburg	2016
13	Shane Martin	Republican	Spartanburg	2008
14	Harvey S. Peeler Jr.	Republican	Gaffney	1980
15	Wes Climer	Republican	Rock Hill	2016
16	Michael Johnson	Republican	Tega Cay	2020
17	Mike Fanning	Democratic	Great Falls	2016
18	Ronnie Cromer	Republican	Prosperity	2003*
19	Tameika Isaac Devine	Democratic	Columbia	2024*
20	Dick Harpootlian	Democratic	Columbia	2018*
21	Darrell Jackson	Democratic	Hopkins	1992
22	Mia McLeod	Independent^[2]	Columbia	2016
23	Katrina Shealy	Republican	Lexington	2012
24	Tom Young Jr.	Republican	Aiken	2012
25	A. Shane Massey	Republican	Edgefield	2007*
26	Nikki G. Setzler	Democratic	West Columbia	1976
27	Penry Gustafson	Republican	Camden	2020
28	Greg Hembree	Republican	North Myrtle Beach	2012
29	Gerald Malloy	Democratic	Hartsville	2002*
30	Kent M. Williams	Democratic	Marion	2004
31	Mike Reichenbach	Republican	Florence	2022*
32	Ronnie A. Sabb	Democratic	Greeleyville	2014*
33	Luke A. Rankin	Republican	Myrtle Beach	1992
34	Stephen Goldfinch	Republican	Murrells Inlet	2016
35	Thomas McElveen	Democratic	Sumter	2012
36	Kevin L. Johnson	Democratic	Manning	2012
37	Larry Grooms	Republican	Bonneau	1997*
38	Sean Bennett	Republican	Summerville	2012
39	Vernon Stephens	Democratic	Bowman	2020
40	Brad Hutto	Democratic	Orangeburg	1996*
41	Sandy Senn	Republican	Charleston	2016
42	Deon Tedder	Democratic	Charleston	2023*
43	Chip Campsen	Republican	Isle of Palms	2004
44	Brian Adams	Republican	Goose Creek	2020
45	Margie Bright Matthews	Democratic	Charleston	2015*
46	Tom Davis	Republican	Beaufort	2008

*Senator was first elected in a special election

Composition of the Senate over time

Year	Democratic Party	Republican Party	Independent / Other	Majority
1865	0	0	31	31
1868	6^[a]	25	0	19
1870	5	26	1	21
1872	8	25	0	17
1874	0	26	7^[b]	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^[c]	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^[d]	24^[d]	0	2
2004	20	26^[e]	0	6
2008	19	27	0	8
2012	18	28	0	10
2016	18	28	0	10
2020^[3]	15^[f]	30	1	14

^ The election of a Democrat from Abbeville was declared void and the seat remained vacant.
^ All 7 were members of the Conservative Party of South Carolina.
^ All 7 were Independent Democrats.
^ ^a ^b 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.
^ Republicans gained an additional seat in a 2007 special election.
^ One independent, Mia McLeod, was formerly a member of the Democratic Party until January 10, 2023.