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| South Carolina State Senate District 45 | ||
| Current incumbent | Margie Bright Matthews  | |
South Carolina's forty-fifth state senate district is represented by Democratic Senator Margie Bright Matthews.
South Carolina state senators represent an average of 100,551 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 87,218 residents.
Members of the South Carolina State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. South Carolina legislators assume office the Monday after the election.
To be eligible to serve in the South Carolina State Senate a candidate must be:
| State legislators | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $10,400/year | $202.03/legislative day |
If there is a vacancy in the senate, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. If candidates plan to seek the nomination through a party convention, the filing period begins on the third Friday after the vacancy happened. The qualifying deadline is ten days after the filing period opens.
If a candidate plans to seek the nomination via petition, all signatures must submitted to the appropriate filing officer no later than sixty days before the election. All signatures must be verified by the filing officer no later than 45 days before the election.
A primary election must be held on the eleventh Tuesday after the vacancy occurs. If necessary, a primary runoff must be held on the thirteenth Tuesday after the vacancy occurs. The special election is held on the eighteenth Tuesday after vacancy occurs. No special election can be held less than 60 days before the general election.
This district is one of 710 state legislative districts that intersects with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.
The 206 Pivot Counties are located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. The partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties is slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.
Elections for the office of South Carolina State Senate will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for June 9, 2020, and a primary runoff is scheduled for June 23, 2020. The filing deadline is March 30, 2020.
Elections for the South Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The primary election runoff was held on June 28, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2016.
Incumbent Margie Bright Matthews ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 45 general election.South Carolina State Senate, District 45 General Election, 2016
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Margie Bright Matthews Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 29,994 | |
| Total Votes | 29,994 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
South Carolina State Senate, District 45 Democratic Primary, 2016
| Party | Candidate | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Margie Bright Matthews Incumbent (unopposed) |
A special election for the position of South Carolina State Senate District 45 was called for October 20. A primary election took place on September 1. A primary runoff election took place on September 15. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 13.
The seat was vacant following the death of Clementa Pinckney (D) on June 17, 2015, in a mass shooting at an AME church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Margie Bright Matthews, R. Keith Horton, Richmond Truesdale, Korey Williams, John E. Washington, Kenneth Hodges, William Bowman, Chauncey Barnwell, Sheree Darien, Libbie Henry Green and Kent Fletcher faced off in the Democratic primary. Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Bright Matthews and Hodges, met in a runoff election, which Bright Matthews won. Alberto Fernandez was unopposed in the Republican primary. Leilani Bessinger withdrew from the race before the Republican primary. Bright Matthews defeated Fernandez in the special election.
South Carolina State Senate, District 45, Special election, 2015
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Margie Bright Matthews |
88.5% | 5,763 | |
| Republican | Alberto Fernandez | 11.5% | 750 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 0% | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 6,515 | |||
South Carolina State Senate, District 45, Democratic Runoff, 2015
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Margie Bright Matthews |
56.2% | 3,908 | |
| Democratic | Kenneth Hodges | 43.8% | 3,042 | |
| Total Votes | 6,950 | |||
South Carolina State Senate, District 45 Democratic Primary, 2015
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Margie Bright Matthews (advanced to runoff) |
36.9% | 2,622 |
| Kenneth Hodges (advanced to runoff) |
34.7% | 2,467 |
| Korey Williams | 9.3% | 663 |
| Kent Fletcher | 4.4% | 316 |
| William Bowman | 4% | 288 |
| Sheree Darien | 3.6% | 253 |
| R. Keith Horton | 3.4% | 245 |
| John E. Washington | 1.4% | 99 |
| Libbie Henry Green | 1.1% | 78 |
| Chauncey Barnwell | 0.7% | 53 |
| Richmond Truesdale | 0.4% | 29 |
| Total Votes | 7,113 | |
Elections for the office of South Carolina State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 12, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2012. Incumbent Clementa Pinckney (D) defeated Leilani Bessinger (R) in the general election. Neither candidate faced opposition in their primary.
South Carolina State Senate, District 45, General Election, 2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Clementa Pinckney Incumbent |
66.1% | 26,825 | |
| Republican | Leilani Bessinger | 33.6% | 13,652 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 0.3% | 110 | |
| Total Votes | 40,587 | |||
From 2002 to 2016, candidates for South Carolina State Senate District 45 raised a total of $168,160. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $12,935 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.
Campaign contributions, South Carolina State Senate District 45
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $14,764 | 1 | $14,764 |
| 2012 | $9,804 | 2 | $4,902 |
| 2010 | $750 | 1 | $750 |
| 2008 | $46,676 | 3 | $15,559 |
| 2006 | $1,000 | 1 | $1,000 |
| 2004 | $20,850 | 1 | $20,850 |
| 2002 | $2,550 | 1 | $2,550 |
| 2000 | $71,766 | 3 | $23,922 |
| Total | $168,160 | 13 | $12,935 |
