WASHINGTON (AP) — South Carolina will hold runoff elections Tuesday to decide a handful of races in which no candidate received a majority of votes in primaries held just two weeks earlier.
In the 3rd Congressional District, a candidate endorsed by the former president Donald Trump is taking on the Republican administration’s favorite candidate. Henry McMaster in a contest that will likely determine who will succeed retiring GOP U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan.
Voters in the June 11 primary left the crowded Republican field to Pastor Mark Burns and nurse Sheryl Biggs. Burns has Trump’s support and was the top vote-getter in the primaries, with about 33% of the vote. Biggs came in second with about 29%.
Biggs has the support of McMasters and also prominently displays photos of herself with Trump on her campaign website. Biggs slightly outpaced Burns for the cycle, but Burns had nearly triple the campaign money that Biggs had available heading into the primaries.
The winner will face Democratic nominee Byron Best, the manager of a paint store in Greenwood. Both Burns and Biggs would be heavy favorites in the safe Republican district in November. Trump won the area with 68% of the vote in 2020 and 67% in 2016. Duncan was unopposed in 2022.
Also on Tuesday’s ballot are eight elections for the Senate and four for the House of Representatives. All 170 of the state’s legislative seats are up for election in November. The Republicans enjoy a lopsided majority in both Houses.
Here’s what to expect on Tuesday:
PRIMARY ELECTION DAY
The South Carolina primaries will be held on Tuesday. Polls close at 7:00 PM ET.
WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT
The Associated Press will announce voting results and declare winners in thirteen runoff elections, including one election for the U.S. House of Representatives, eight state Senate elections and four elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.
WHO CAN VOTE
Registered voters may participate in a partisan primary if they voted in the same party’s primary on June 11 or if they did not vote in the primary. In other words, Republican primaries cannot vote in a Democratic runoff, or vice versa.
DECISION NOTES
The 3rd Congressional District covers some or all of eleven counties, with Anderson and Pickens typically generating the most votes. Trump carried both counties in the presidential primaries with 69% and 68% of the vote, respectively. In the competitive 2018 Republican primary for governor, McMaster narrowly lost to Pickens but won a plurality of votes in Anderson. He also won five of the counties in the southern half of the district by double-digit margins.
The AP does not make forecasts and will only declare a winner if it has been established that there is no scenario with which the underlying candidates can close the gap. If no race is called, the AP will continue to report on any newsworthy developments, such as concessions to candidates or declarations of victory. The AP will make it clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
In South Carolina, recounts occur automatically if the margin between the winning and losing candidates is no more than 1% of the total votes. The AP can declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
What do attendance and presales look like?
As of June 5, there were approximately 3.3 million registered voters in South Carolina. The state does not register voters by party.
In the June 11 primary, turnout was 14% of registered voters. About 32% of votes were cast before Election Day, according to data from the South Carolina Election Commission.
As of the second day of early voting on Thursday, a total of 7,850 ballots had been cast before Election Day, almost all through in-person early voting.
How long does vote counting usually take?
During the June 11 primary, the AP first reported results at 7:18 p.m. ET, or 18 minutes after polls closed. Election night tabulation ended at 10:53 PM ET with 99.9% of the total votes counted.
ARE WE THERE YET?
As of Tuesday, there are 133 days until the November general election.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
