by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina senator Mike Reichenbach will take the oath of office on January 13, 2027 as the Palmetto State’s 94th lieutenant governor, but before he does that – he’ll be resigning his seat in the upper chamber of the S.C. General Assembly.
The 55-year-old Florence, S.C. car salesman – who was elected alongside governor-elect Alan Wilson this week – will submit a letter to S.C. Senate president Thomas Alexander in the coming days. That letter will contain an “irrevocable declaration” of his intention to step down. While Reichenbach will remain in office until he is sworn in as lieutenant governor, his declaration will trigger a special election to fill the Florence County seat, per the S.C. code of laws (§ 8-1-145).
Reichenbach will reportedly submit his irrevocable declaration no later than November 16, 2026. Assuming that happens, partisan primary elections in the race to replace him would be held on January 26, 2027, with runoff elections held two weeks later on February 9, 2027, if necessary.
The general election would follow on April 6, 2027.
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Reichenbach won a special election on March 29, 2022 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of longtime legislative leader Hugh Leatherman. He ran unopposed in the June 2024 GOP primary election – and convincingly defeated Democrat Belinda B. Timmons that fall with 65.96% of the vote.
Numerous GOP candidates are already campaigning to replace Reichenbach – and we haven’t even gotten to the formal filing period for the office. Among those who have already announced their intentions are trial lawyer Hood Temple, oral surgeon Dr. Mark Lawhon, former prosecutor and barbecue joint owner John Holt, county councilman and businessman William Schofield and insurance agent Richard Skinner (who ran unsuccessfully for this seat back in 2016 with the endorsement of then-governor Nikki Haley).
State representative Jay Jordan – who nearly won this seat in 2022 – was also reportedly considering a bid, but according to our sources he seems disinclined to enter the crowded field.
Despite Republicans occupying this seat for decades – and winning recent races in Florence County by wide margins – Democrats are aggressively recruiting candidates to run in the special election.
“We are actively encouraging qualified individuals – especially women ready to step up for working families, public education and healthcare access – to consider running,” a release from the Democratic Women of Florence County noted.
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RELATED | PANIC AT S.C. STATE HOUSE
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The race for Reichenbach’s seat will be one of the first high-profile battles following this week’s surprisingly competitive general election in the Palmetto State. Democrats captured a U.S. Senate seat for the first time in thirty years, flipped a Republican congressional district and poached ten seats in the S.C. House of Representatives.
While the party remains very much in the minority in South Carolina, its leaders will be looking for opportunities to expand upon these gains – and a special election in the rural Pee Dee region of the state would seem to be a prime target.
Republicans currently occupy thirty-four (34) of the forty-six (46) seats in the S.C. Senate – although this supermajority has done precious little to address the affordability issues that dominated the 2026 campaign. GOP leaders will have another chance to get it right during the 2027-2028 legislative session – which starts in January.
They’d better seize that opportunity with both hands, too…
Every seat in the S.C. General Assembly – all 46 Senate seats and all 124 seats of the S.C. House of Representatives – will be up for grabs in the 2028 election cycle. That includes the winner of this special election, who will have to defend his or her new seat just over a year after claiming it.
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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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