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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolinians availed themselves of early voting in droves this year – shattering previous records for partisan primary elections and setting up some decidedly uncertain political calculus for tomorrow’s actual day of decision (June 9, 2026).
Most of the record-breaking surge in early primary voting came from Democrats eager to deal U.S. president Donald Trump an ignominious defeat in his bid to redraw the Palmetto State’s congressional boundaries. Concerned about his agenda stalling – and Democrats impeaching him (again) – Trump pushed red states to redraw their political maps ahead of the 2026 elections, hoping to pad GOP’s razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
However, South Carolina Republicans were late to the game in responding to Trump’s wishes – and Democrats showed up in unprecedented force to make sure GOP lawmakers didn’t try and ram his preferred maps through at the last minute. On the first day of early voting alone, 45,966 South Carolinians participated in the Democrat primary – or 81.5% of all first-day early voters.
With so many votes already cast, Republicans bailed on their bid to accommodate Trump’s wishes… but even with his signature redistricting bill dying on the vine, the Palmetto State’s perpetual minority party kept sending “souls to the polls.”
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Democrats maintained their edge throughout the nine-day early-voting period – which concluded last Friday (June 5, 2026) – but the GOP was able to considerably narrow the partisan advantage. According to data published by the S.C. Election Commission (SCVotes), a whopping 188,006 of South Carolina’s 319,580 early primary voters – or 58.8% of the early-voting electorate – participated in the Democrat primary.
By contrast, 131,574 South Carolinians – or 41.2% of early voters – participated in the GOP primary.
While these numbers seem like a big deal for Democrats – and they very well could be – it’s important to view them in context. As we have previously reported, the last time South Carolina held partisan primary elections for statewide office (in 2022), 181,590 people cast ballots in a competitive Democrat gubernatorial race. Meanwhile, 368,005 people voted in the Republican gubernatorial primary – even though incumbent Henry McMaster was facing a little-known, poorly funded challenger.
Democrats have already eclipsed their entire 2022 turnout (including early voting and election day ballots) – while Republicans are at 35.7% of their total 2022 turnout.
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In the statewide primary election eight years ago, 240,468 people voted in a competitive Democrat gubernatorial race compared to 367,983 who cast ballots on the Republican side. Additionally, 343,635 Republicans turned out two weeks later to vote in a GOP gubernatorial runoff election – which McMaster narrowly won over Greenville businessman John Warren.
If those numbers serve as our benchmark, Democrats are currently at 78.1% of their total turnout – while Republicans are once again right at 35.7%.
Will Democrats shock the state – and defy conventional wisdom – by continuing to turn out voters through election day? Or have they shot their proverbial wad?
As for Republicans, will the large number of undecided voters in their GOP primary election ultimately stay home? Or can the majority party match its previous turnout levels?
We’re a day away from finding out…
For decades, the GOP gubernatorial nomination in South Carolina has been the race to watch – as no Democrat has won a top-of-the-ticket statewide race since 1998. That streak is unlikely to break in 2026, although Democrats appear poised for a much better election cycle than many suspect.
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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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