South Carolina results for every midterm race
There’s an unusual amount of Democratic energy in South Carolina’s First Congressional district this year after incumbent Rep. Mark Sanford (R) lost his primary in June.
Sanford, a prominent critic of Trump, was beaten by conservative state lawmaker Katie Arrington, who embraced Trump and got the president’s endorsement in the process. But the fact that the seat doesn’t have an incumbent means Democrats see an opportunity. They’re fielding engineer Joe Cunningham to run against Arrington. To be clear, this is a pretty conservative district in a state that Trump won by about 13 points in 2016. Still, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates it Lean Republican.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) is also running for reelection and faces challenger James Smith (D), a state representative. McMaster’s approval ratings are decent: 49 percent of state residents approve of him, while 29 percent disapprove, according to Morning Consult.
The South Carolina statehouse is Republican-controlled, and Daily Kos rates it as likely to stay that way, as the entire state House of Representatives is on the ballot (the state Senate will be up for reelection in 2020).
President Trump remains popular here, like much of the rest of the South. Morning Consult finds his approval rating in the mid-50s.