South Carolina Republicans are taking a victory lap. In off-year elections, a few days before the main holiday, they managed to win three seats in the state legislature.
Former State Senator Lee Bright is back in the ring to win the District 12 seat. gains 68 percent votes for progressive write-in candidate.
Congratulations @leebright about your huge victory in the general special election tonight! We are so grateful to have another courageous Christian who will stand up for equal protection for our unborn neighbors! 🎉 🎈 https://t.co/SUe3WdNGf6 pic.twitter.com/14R0nn8ujB
— Equal Protection SC (@EPSouthCarolina) December 24, 2025
The results are clear following Tuesday's special election: Lee Bright is returning to the South Carolina Senate to represent District 12.
He won with 68.43% of the votes, with the remaining 31.57% of the votes cast as write-ins.
Bright, known for his vocal conservatism, previously served in District 12 from 2009 to 2017. He announced his candidacy after Sen. Roger Nutt announced in April that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Nutt will retire in January.
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But the SC GOP claims they blew the vote, and there may be some truth to that. Even though Democrats rallied their candidates, Republicans held on and won the state seat. House of Representatives.
Tomorrow, South Carolinians will have a chance to make their voices heard in three important special elections!
Write to Steve Evered – Senate District 12
Write to Dexter Reeves – District 21.
Vote for Chuck Hightower – District 88#SCVotes #SCDems #VoteBlue pic.twitter.com/yCyHFijPt3— South Carolina Democratic Party (@scdp) December 22, 2025
Meanwhile, activist Diane Mitchell won through a four-person primary, a runoff and subsequent recount to claim the seat representing the 21st House District, which includes south Greer, Taylors, Roper Mountain, Sugar Creek, Pelham Road and parts of Five Forks.
[…]
Mitchell is no stranger to the Statehouse either. In 2022, she led the effort to pass the Save Women's Sports Act, speaking in committee in support of legislation that would require transgender students to participate on sports teams that correspond to their gender assigned at birth, rather than the one with which they identify.
She also opposed a record Scout Motors stimulus package and an income tax reform package proposed this spring by Republicans that would have raised taxes on middle- and low-income people by hundreds of dollars.
Now retired, she headed several republican organizations. She was previously president of the Greenville Republican Women's Club.
She defeated Democratic write-in candidate Dexter Reeves with 70 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.
The South Carolina grassroots freedom group is celebrating the defeat of establishment Republican candidates. The Freedom Caucus backed Mitchell and Pastor John Lastinger to win the 88th House District seat once held by disgraced Republican.
In the state's Midlands region, Conservatives retained the seat vacated in August by disgraced state Rep. RJ May III, a former Freedom Caucus leader who pleaded guilty three months ago to charges of depicting child pornography.
Lexington County Pastor John Lastinger, whose candidacy was endorsed by the Freedom Caucus, was defeated by the GOP establishment in the race for SC House District 88 (.pdf) in Lexington County. Lastinger has been subjected to a slew of negative ads from the so-called SC Growth and Freedom Alliance, a dark money group organized by supporters of the status quo of SC House Speaker Murrell Smith.
South Carolina House Special Election 88
Fully reported:
🔴 John Lastinger – 1672 (62.3%)
🔵 J. Chuck Hightower – 1010 (37.7%)In 2024, this district had Trump+37, so that's a 12-point Democratic lead.
— Voting (@VoteHub) December 24, 2025
🚨JUST IN: John Lastinger (R) WON the 88th special election for the South Carolina House of Representatives by a landslide, defeating Chuck Hightower (D), 62%-38% pic.twitter.com/GI70bPzY4E
— DK🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 (@1Nicdar) December 24, 2025
As we saw in Tennessee's District 7 race between now-Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Epps and progressive Democrat Aftin Ben, the left wing of the Democratic Party is both relentless and well-organized. Therefore, Republicans must also become equally resilient and strengthen their organization, especially as the midterm elections loom larger. With the US Senate hanging in the balance, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is once again vulnerable as he is being hunted by both Democrats and rank-and-file Republicans.
With a 10 point lead, we can defeat Lindsey Graham for the US Senate in 2026! Donate to my US Senate campaign today!https://t.co/mhhbHe1jE0
— Catherine Fleming Bruce (@BruceNotGraham) December 24, 2025
This grassroots victory at the local level can translate to the national level. All eyes are now on 2026.
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