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The 2014 United States Senate special election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 2014, concurrently with the regular election for the other South Carolina Senate seat. The special-election Senate seat was formerly held by Republican Jim DeMint, who resigned on January 2, 2013, to become president of The Heritage Foundation.
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County results Scott: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Dickerson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Nikki Haley, the Republican Governor of South Carolina, announced the appointment of U.S. Representative Tim Scott to fill the seat. Scott ran in the special election and won by beating Democratic candidate and Richland County councilwoman Joyce Dickerson in the November election. Scott became the first black Senator in the state's history and the first in a former Confederate state since 1881.
The election was noted for being the second U.S. Senate election since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment and the first in a former Confederate state where both major party nominees were black.[b] This was also the first of three consecutive elections to this seat where both major party nominees were black.
On December 6, 2012, Senator Jim DeMint announced his intention to resign effective January 1, 2013, to become the president of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.[1]
Nikki Haley, the Governor of South Carolina, appointed a replacement to fill the seat until the special election.[2] Haley indicated that she would not appoint a "placeholder" to the seat, but would appoint someone who would stand in a 2014 special election to serve the remaining two years of DeMint's term.[3] On December 17, 2012, Haley announced that she would appoint Scott to DeMint's seat following his resignation.[4]
According to sources close to Governor Haley, as of December 11, 2012, she had narrowed the list of potential appointees down to five:
Other politicians mentioned as possible replacements for DeMint included U.S. Representatives Mick Mulvaney[6] and Joe Wilson, former U.S. Representative Gresham Barrett, state representative Nathan Ballentine, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, former Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, former South Carolina Republican Party chair Katon Dawson, and Haley's deputy chief of staff Tedd Pitts.[7]
Liberal comedian Stephen Colbert, a South Carolina native, expressed interest in being appointed the seat, asking his fans to tweet Haley that she should appoint him.[8] Chad Walldorf, the owner of the Sticky Fingers restaurant chain, had also been mentioned as a potential placeholder.[9]
A Public Policy Polling poll released on December 10, 2012, which asked respondents who they wanted to replace DeMint, showed Colbert with the highest total. Colbert had support at 20 percent, followed by Scott at 15 percent, Gowdy at 14 percent, and Sanford at 11 percent.[10] Haley said that she would not appoint Colbert to the seat.[11]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tim Scott (incumbent) | 276,147 | 89.98% | |
| Republican | Randall Young | 30,741 | 10.02% | |
| Total votes | 306,888 | 100.00% | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Joyce Dickerson |
Sidney Moore |
Harry Pavilack |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson University[23] | May 26 – June 2, 2014 | 400 | ± 6% | 11% | 7% | 3% | 79% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joyce Dickerson | 72,874 | 65.39% | |
| Democratic | Sidney Moore | 26,310 | 23.61% | |
| Democratic | Harry Pavilack | 11,886 | 11.06% | |
| Total votes | 111,437 | 100.00% | ||
Individuals
Organizations
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[36] | Solid R | November 3, 2014 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[37] | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[38] | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |
| Real Clear Politics[39] | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Tim Scott (R) |
Joyce Dickerson (D) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports[40] | July 9–10, 2014 | 750 | ± 4% | 53% | 31% | 6% | 11% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov[41] | July 5–24, 2014 | 1,180 | ± 5.4% | 52% | 40% | 2% | 9% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov[42] | August 18 – September 2, 2014 | 833 | ± 5% | 54% | 33% | 0% | 13% |
| Winthrop University[43] | September 21–28, 2014 | 1,082 | ± 3% | 52.4% | 31.8% | 1.9%[44] | 13.8% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov[45] | September 20 – October 1, 2014 | 2,663 | ± 2% | 54% | 31% | 0% | 14% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov[45] | October 16–23, 2014 | 1,566 | ± 4% | 57% | 28% | 0% | 15% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tim Scott (incumbent) | 757,215 | 61.12% | −0.36% | |
| Democratic | Joyce Dickerson | 459,583 | 37.09% | +9.44% | |
| American | Jill Bossi | 21,652 | 1.75% | N/A | |
| n/a | Write-ins | 532 | 0.04% | −1.62% | |
| Total votes | '1,238,982' | '100.0%' | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
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