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by WILL FOLKS
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Over the past quarter century, Democrats in South Carolina have become irrelevant in statewide elections – failing to win a race in two decades and failing to win a top-of-the-ticket race since 1998.
Democrats failed to field candidates in four of eight statewide elections in 2022, and their top vote-getter – former U.S. congressman Joe Cunningham – barely eclipsed the 40% threshold.
The last statewide election in which the Palmetto State’s perpetual minority party emerged victorious was the race for superintendent of education in 2006. Jim Rex‘s 455-vote win over Karen Floyd that year remains the narrowest margin of victory in a statewide election in South Carolina history.
Oh, and Rex later left the Democrat party…
Veteran educator and self-styled “statewide education advocate” Sylvia Wright is aiming to break her party’s recent streak of bad results, announcing her plan to campaign for the Democrat nomination for superintendent.
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“For too long, our education system has been failing students, teachers, and families,” Wright said in announcing her candidacy. “South Carolina deserves leadership that understands the classroom, respects educators, and is willing to fight for real change. I am running because our students deserve a system that prepares them to succeed, and together we can move South Carolina from the bottom of the rankings into the top ten.”
Wright’s announcement indicated she has traveled to all 46 South Carolina counties twice already, allowing her to “hear directly about the challenges facing schools.”
“Those conversations have shaped a campaign focused on improving literacy outcomes, supporting educators, strengthening accountability, and investing in the future of South Carolina’s students,” she said.
On the Republican side is incumbent Ellen Weaver, who won a hotly contested GOP primary in 2022 and then cruised to victory in that year’s general election.
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Today, I officially filed for re-election as South Carolina’s Superintendent of Education! ?
— Ellen Weaver (@ellenfored) March 16, 2026
When I first ran for this office, I promised to focus on the fundamentals: serving students, supporting teachers, and empowering parents.
Together, we’ve delivered real results.… pic.twitter.com/M0sHZwjDRm
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Weaver formally filed for reelection on Monday (March 16, 2026) – and is not expected to face serious opposition in her bid for a second term.
“When I first ran for this office, I promised to focus on the fundamentals: serving students, supporting teachers, and empowering parents,” Weaver said in announcing her bid. “Together, we’ve delivered real results. Teacher pay is up. Reading scores are rising. Classrooms are regaining focus.”
Weaver added that “parents once again have a voice in their children’s education.”
“South Carolina education is on the rise – but our work isn’t finished,” she said. “I’m running for re-election to keep raising standards, expanding opportunity, and ensuring every child in South Carolina has the chance to succeed.”
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track developments in this race and all the other upcoming South Carolina statewide elections…
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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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3 comments
We’re not hiring a “state teacher”, we’re hiring an administrator for an educational system that has 790,000 students and more than 150,000 teachers, administrators, and staff. Ms Wright is apparently a well-educated and accomplished middle school, social studies and reading teacher. However, she is woefully under accomplished in any experience at any level of real administration.
In her “20+ Years” of “Blessed with Incredible Education Opportunities”, she has been an administrator exactly once, for about 2 years and from the looks of her job title, she was mostly involved in curriculum development, hardly the training she would need to be an effective statewide superintendent. Her list of endorsers is a list of “uber left,” perineal, Democrat candidates.
Sorry, she isn’t even close to what we need.
And what is Weaver with her fast track Bob Jones degree so she could even qualify to run? Please explain how she is qualified.
Never claimed Weaver was qualified.