S.C. Special Elections Send Three Conservative Lawmakers to Columbia

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by WILL FOLKS

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South Carolina’s General Assembly will welcome two new conservative members – and welcome back a conservative firebrand from its past – following the results of a trio of low-turnout special elections held on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).

And while few voters bothered to participate in these off-year races, their results are being viewed as key barometers in the coming battle – which pits uniparty politicians controlled by wealthy special interests against a growing cohort of populist leaders.

In the Upstate, former state senator Lee Bright is now (officially) senator-elect Lee Bright – easily winning a special election for S.C. Senate District 12 (.pdf), a seat which came open in early August following the resignation of senator Roger Nutt. Bright previously held this seat from 2009 to 2017. His victory marks a significant pickup for the conservative wing of the GOP over its left-of-center establishment.

Bright was all but assured of reclaiming his seat following his Republican primary victory over the GOP establishment two months ago, but Democrats put up a stronger-than-expected write-in campaign after failing to place a nominee on the ballot against him.

Sundra Proctor Smith had initially filed to campaign as a Democrat for the seat, but she withdrew her name prior to the primary election.

Establishment Republicans previously sought to install state representative Bobby Cox into this seat, but he abruptly withdrew from the contest almost as quickly as he entered it.

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With all precincts reporting, Bright received 3,536 votes – or 67.37% of all ballots cast. However, a surprisingly high number of voters (1,713 – or 32.63% of all ballots cast) wrote in the name of someone else. Most of those write-in votes were likely cast on behalf of Steve Evered, whose candidacy was pushed by Upstate progressives.

Spartanburg Democrats noted they were “incredibly proud of the effort put forward by our write-in candidate Steve Evered, the voters, volunteers, and organizers across both counties.”

“The most extreme Senator in recent memory is walking back into the State House,” the party statement continued. “We will never stop fighting extremism in our community and our work is more important now than ever.”

“Thank you to every supporter,” Bright said following his victory. “Looking forward to serving you in Columbia.”

In addition to the far left, Bright’s successful comeback bid was opposed by many of his “Republican” colleagues – meaning he is likely to enter the state capital on January 13, 2025 with a huge chip on his shoulder.

Conservatives picked up another victory in the S.C. House of Representatives on Tuesday evening – the S.C. House District 21 seat (.pdf) vacated by Cox ahead of his aborted bid for the Senate. Conservative activist Dianne Mitchell – whose candidacy was backed by the S.C. Freedom Caucus – claimed this seat with 1,494 votes (or 70.34% of all ballots cast).

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Mitchell was also challenged by an aggressive write-in campaign organized by Upstate liberals – with 630 voters (or 29.66% of all ballots cast) writing in the name of someone else. Most of those likely supported Dexter Reaves, whose candidacy was pushed by many of the same interests supporting Evered.

In the Midlands region of the state, conservatives retained a seat vacated in August by disgraced state representative RJ May III – the former Freedom Caucus leader who pleaded guilty three months ago to graphic child pornography charges.

Lexington County pastor John Lastinger – whose candidacy was backed by the Freedom Caucus – was targeted for defeat by the GOP establishment in the race for S.C. House District 88 (.pdf) in Lexington County. Lastinger was slammed with multiple negative ads from the so-called S.C. Growth and Freedom Alliance – a dark money group organized by supporters of status quo S.C. House speaker Murrell Smith.

“John Lastinger is backed by convicted pedophile RJ May’s shady network including a state representative who owes RJ May money,” the group said in attacking his candidacy.

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The uniparty broadsides failed to move the needle, however, with Lastinger edging county recreation commissioner Brian Duncan in a GOP runoff election last month. Even with multiple prominent “Republicans” supporting his Democrat rival on Tuesday, Lastingter cruised to victory in the special election with 1,672 votes (or 62.32% of all ballots cast). Retired U.S. Army colonel Chuck Hightower, the Democrat nominee, received 1,010 votes (or 37.64% of all ballots cast).

“I’m humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve you at the State House,” Lastinger said in a statement following his victory.

With two victories, a held seat and zero losses, Tuesday’s special election was another victory for the Freedom Caucus – and another sign voters simply aren’t buying the dark money attacks from speaker Smith’s left-of-center special interest allies.

Freedom Caucus candidates were on the receiving end of a multi-million dollar smear campaign from the Palmetto State’s “Republican” establishment during the 2024 election cycle – yet managed to successfully defend all of their seats (and actually pick up a few districts) during last year’s primary elections.

That trend is clearly continuing… a storyline we will be tracking as the 2026 election approaches.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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