State Senate and
State House
The offices in this section serve only parts of York County, and some extend beyond the county boundries. See the York County Political Maps section of this website to see the various political subdivisions.
State Senate
There are no State Senate offices up for election in 2026. The South Carolina State Senate elections follow a four-year cycle on Presidential Election years, with the next one due in 2028. There are no term limits for state Senate seats.
There are four South Carolina Senate districts that include part of York County: 14, 15 16 and 17. District 15 is located entirely within the County.
State House of Representatives
State House seats are elected every two years, so all House members are up for reelection in 2026. There are no term limits for House seats.
There are eight South Carolina House Districts that include parts of York County: 26, 29, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49 and 66. John R King is the incumbent Democrat in District 49, and that seat has been reliably Democratic. The other incumbents are Republicans. Often they run unopposed in the General Election, but in 2026 the YCDP has recruited candidates for ALL of them!
Below are State House races
with Democratic candidates:
SC House District 26
Jenny Desch
Jenny Desch is running for office for the first time. She addressed the 2026 YCDP County Convention. She has no Primary opposition, so she skips the June Primary and in November she will take on either Republican incumbent David Martin, who is in his first term or Elizabeth Enns, who has also filed in the Republican primary, and Kiral Mace who filed from the Worker’s Party.
Jenny is an Assistant Prosecutor (Solicitor) in the SC 5th Judicial Circuit. In her address to the YCDP convention, she noted that if elected, she would have to resign her job as Solicitor because she wouldn’t be allowed to hold two government positions. Note that being a State Representative is not a full-time job, and only had a base annual salary of $10,400 (the per-diem can bring that up to ~$35,000).
SC House District 29
Marina Franco
Marina Franco filed at the last minute as a Democratic candidate for State House District 29 which encompasses parts of Cherokee, Spartanburg, and York counties. Marina is from Cowpens in Spartanburg County. With her filing, we now have a Democratic candidate in ALL York County State House races!
As the only Democrat in the SC House 29 race, Marina skips the June 9 Primary and heads straight to the November 3 General Election.
SC House District 47
Pete Martinez
Pete Martinez is running for office for the first time. He spoke at the 2026 YCDP County Convention, and YCDP TV found him at No Kings 3.
Pete has a Democratic Primary opponent, Justin N. Bennett, so they will appear on the June Primary ballot.
SC House District 47
Justin N. Bennett
Justin N. Bennett has officially filed to run for State House in SC 47. He did not speak at the County Convention on March 14. He will face Primary opponent Pete Martinez in June.
On his Facebook page, Bennet says, “I'm an FDR Social Democrat, running to make a New Deal for The people of SC!”
Note that there was a Democratic candidate for Governor with a similar name, Justin A. Bennett, who never officially filed, but you may see his name appear on some web pages.
SC House District 48
Rustin Terry
Rustin Terry announced his candidacy for SC House 48 on March 8, 2026. SC House 48 runs from the northeast side of Rock Hill, along the south/west side of the Catawba River and Lake Wilie to the North Carolina border (see map). His opponent is Republican Brandon Guffey, who ran unopposed in 2024. As the only Democratic candidate in the SC House 48 race, Rustin skips the June Primary and heads straight to the November General election.
Here is Terry’s address to the 2026 YCDP County Convention on March 14.
SC House District 49
Rep. John King (Rock Hill)
John has represented SC House District 49 since 2009. He ran unopposed for the seat in 2024, and facing only write-in oppositon, he received 98% of the vote. In previous elections where he did have opposition, he typically received over 60% of the vote.
Here is his address to the 2026 YCDP County Convention on March 14.
John will face Democratic opponent Perry Sutton in the June Primary.
SC House District 49
Perry Sutton
Perry Sutton is a former Rock Hill City Councilman (a nonpartisan office). In the 2025 election he lost the seat to YCDP Chair Nikita Jackson. He is now challenging John King in the Primary for SC House District 49, and he spoke at the 2026 YCDP County Convention.
SC House District 66
Heather Hart
Heather Hart is a first-time candidate, running in a State House District that was ‘relocated’ to York County following the 2020 Census, part of a Republican gerrymander in 2021. The incumbent is Jackie Terribile, who is in her first term. As the only Democratic candidate in the SC House 66 race, Heather gets to skip the June Primary and head straight to the November General Election.
Heather addressed the 2026 YCDP County Convention on March 14.