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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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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.
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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]
Senate replacement process
According to sources close to Governor Haley, as of December 11, 2012, she had narrowed the list of potential appointees down to five:
- Tim Scott, U.S. Representative (SC-01)
- Trey Gowdy, U.S. Representative (SC-04)
- Henry McMaster, former South Carolina Attorney General,
- Jenny Sanford, former First Lady of South Carolina
- Catherine Templeton, head of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.[5]
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]
Polling on DeMint's replacement
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]
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Candidates
Declared
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tim Scott (incumbent) | 276,147 | 89.98% | |
| Republican | Randall Young | 30,741 | 10.02% | |
| Total votes | 306,888 | 100.00% | ||
Candidates
Declared
- Joyce Dickerson, Richland County Councilwoman and former chair of the National Foundation for Women Legislators[15][16]
- Sidney Moore, former York County Councilman[17]
- Harry Pavilack, attorney and candidate for South Carolina's 7th congressional district in 2012[18]
Withdrew
- Rick Wade, former United States Department of Commerce official and nominee for Secretary of State of South Carolina in 2002[19][20]
Declined
- Jim Hodges, former governor of South Carolina[21]
- John L. Scott, Jr., state senator[22]
- James E. Smith, Jr., state representative (running for re-election)[21][13]
- Leon Stavrinakis, state representative (running for re-election)[21][13]
Polling
| 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% |
Results
| 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% | ||
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Candidates
Declared
- Jill Bossi (American Party), vice president of the American Red Cross[24]
Removed from ballot
- Brandon Armstrong (Independent), businesswoman[25][26]
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 28, 2014
Endorsements
Tim Scott
Individuals
- Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, Republican Vice-Presidential nominee in 2008 [27]
Organizations
- American Conservative Union[28]
- FreedomWorks[29]
- Government Is Not God PAC (GING-PAC)[30]
- United States Chamber of Commerce[31]
Joyce Dickerson
Predictions
| 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 |
Polling
| 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% |
Results
| 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 | |||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
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