South Carolina Republicans won all three special state legislative elections on Tuesday, with the party saying the results “send a clear message.”
Incumbents John Lastinger, Diane Mitchell and Senator Lee Bright easily won their races with 8,729 points. newsletters throw.
Mitchell and Bright received more than 70 and 67 percent, respectively, with no one else on either ballot. The remaining votes went to various write-in candidates.
Lastinger, a pastor, defeated retired Democratic Army Col. Joseph “Chuck” Hightower 62-37, with less than one percent planning to write candidates.
Voter turnout was low, with only about seven percent of registered voters in State House Districts 21 and 88 and State Senate District 12 casting ballots.
“Republicans won all three special elections, and that success belongs to those voters who showed up,” the South Carolina Republican Party wrote on X:
“While Democrats hoped low turnout would give them victory, Republicans proved them wrong at the ballot box. We didn't sit idly by. We showed up, we voted, and we defended conservative leadership throughout South Carolina,” SCGOP continued. “Thank you to every voter who took time away from family gatherings, travel and vacation plans to make your voice heard. It is through this commitment that we win.”
“Tonight’s results send a clear message: South Carolina Republicans show up when it matters, and we enter 2026 organized, energized and stronger than ever.”
Olivia Rondeau is a political reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter And Instagram.
