South Carolina State Senate
Special Election for
District 15 in York County
There will be a ‘Special Election’ and Special Primary for State Senate for District 15 in 2026, and another Special Primary to replace Lindsey Graham on the November ballot….
… all leading to a crowded and confusing election calendar. Until we have time to build a comprehensive calendar page, we have the details of the State Senate District 15 Special Election and Primary here, and details of the US Senate Special Republican Primary on our Meet the Candidates page for the US Senate.
tl;dr
The Special Election on this page is to fill a vacancy in the State Senate seat for District 15 because incumbent Wes Climer is running for Congress against Democrat Mallory Dittmer in the SC 5th District. Climer has resigned his State Senate seat, effective November 3. The actual ‘Special Election’ will be part of the General Election on November 3, but as we have two Democratic candidates who have officially filed for the election, there will be a Special Primary in September. In general, the State Senate terms run four years, with elections in ‘Presidential’ years, so this is the only election for State Senate this year. And only voters who are registered in SC Senate District 15 will participate in this part of the election.
Where is District 15?
State Senate District 15 is located entirely inside York County. It is carefully gerrymandered to include the Republican areas of western and northern Rock HIll, the Lake Wylie area, and the City of York. It does not include Fort Mill.
Only voters who are registered in District 15 will see this election on their ballot. Check your registration at SCVotes.gov to see if you are in the District.
Why a Special Election and Primary?? (we’ll get to when…)
The incumbent State Senator, Republican Wes Climer, has resigned the seat (effective November 3) and is running against Democratic candidate Mallory Dittmer for US House District 5, the seat vacated by Ralph Norman in his failed bid for the Republican nomination for Governor (note that Norman will get another shot at the nomination in the Special Republican Primary following the death of Lindsey Graham).
Climer’s resignation from his State Senate seat is ‘irrevocable’, so when he loses the election for US House to Mallory Dittmer, he can’t return to his State Senate seat. The term for that seat would normally run until the next election in 2028 — State Senators have four-year terms, and elections are held in ‘Presidential’ years.
OK… When? (and stay tuned for Who? later on this page)
This is the unusual part, and we direct your attention to the Special Primary. We’re calling this a ‘Special Election’, but the actual election day is November 3, 2026… yes, that’s the date of the General Election for everything else this year. That stemmed from a deal Climer reached with the State Senate to avoid some of the expense of a separate, really ‘special’ election.
Again, note that only voters registered in State Senate District 15 will see this election on their ballot. The rest of us in York County will not (much as we might want to).
So… that Special Primary? Yes, that, and a few other dates to note:
Candidate filing period: Noon, July 10 – Noon, July 18, 2026
As of July 13, two candidates – Chad Williams and Monika White – have filed for the Democratic nomination. Check the SC Votes Candidate Listing for the most recent updates.
Only James Burns has filed for the Republican nomination.
A little strategy to consider here. If no other Republican files before July 18, there will only be a Democratic Special Primary. But, South Carolina has open primaries, so District 15 Republicans (actually, anyone registered to vote in District 15) can vote in the Special Primary.
Special Primary: September 1, 2026
Since two Democratic candidates have officially filed, there will also be a Special Primary on September 1, with early voting the week before (see below). As of July 13, only one Republican has filed, so there may not be a Republican Special Primary. But see our note on a little strategy in the previous paragraph.
Special primary runoff: September 15, 2026 (if needed)
If at least one more Democrat files (or three or more Republicans file) , and if none of them receive more than 50% of the vote, then we will have a Special Primary Runoff on September 15.
A runoff is the only time a South Carolina voter is required to take a specific party ballot. For example, if this Special Primary results in both a Democratic and Republican runoff (not looking likely so far, but if…), and you took a Democratic ballot in the Special Primary, you can only take a Democratic ballot in the runoff.
Does last June’s Primary/runoff apply?
Nope. This Special Primary, and the other Special Primary for the Republican nomination for US Senate (because Lindsey Graham died), are both separate, independent elections. Your ‘party status’ is ‘reset’ and we are all independent voters in the eyes of the Election Commission.
Early Voting? 🥱
Now that at least two Democrats have filed, we know there will be a Special Primary. The South Carolina Elections Commission has this web page with dates and locations. It says:
Voter registration deadline:
Sunday, August 2, 2026 (mail-in registration forms will be accepted if postmarked by Monday, August 3, 2026).
Early voting period – Special Primary:
Monday, August 17 – Friday, August 28, 2026 (Monday- Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)
Early voting period – Special Primary Runoff (if needed):
Wednesday, September 9 – Friday, September 11, 2026
(Monday- Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)
Early voting location for Special Primary and Special Runoff:
Board of Voter Registration & Elections Office of York County, 6 South Congress Street, Suite 1201, York, SC
this is the York County Government building in the City of York (which is in District 15). Note that this office has not been part of early voting in recent election cycles, but it is the only early voting site listed for this Special Primary
As usual, the polls on the day of this Special Primary (or Runoff - if needed) will be at your Precinct voting location (check your voter registration).
And since the ‘Special Election’ itself is part of the General Election on November 3, all the early voting and location data applies.
Who’s Running 🏃🏾♂️🏃♂️🏃🏾♀️🏃♀️?
Candidate filing is July 10-18, and candidates are beginning to appear on the SC Votes Candidate Listing web page.
As of July 13, Democrats Chad Williams and Monica White have officially filed. They now appear on our Meet the Candidates page for State Senate and House.
Filing closes at noon on July 18, so more Democratic, Republican, independent or third party candidates have time to file. Stay Tuned.
James Burns is the only Republican to file as of July 13. We’ll let the YCGOP ballyhoo their candidate.
As always, the YCDP does not endorse Democratic candidates ahead of a Primary. We attempt to list all qualified candidates equally. If we missed a candidate announcement, let us know at ycdptv@gmail.com.