Democrat state Sen. Gerald Malloy loses in recount solidifying SC Senate GOP supermajority

Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Hartsville, talks during a South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in Columbia, S.C. on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)

State Sen. Gerald Malloy narrowed the gap with his opponent Republican JD Chaplin in a recount of votes from the Nov. 5 general election Thursday but it was not enough to change the results. The 22-year incumbent's defeat makes official a new GOP supermajority in the South Carolina Senate, the first time since Reconstruction.

The loss of the Hartsville Democrat means there will be just 12 Democrats remaining in the 46-member chamber. Eight of those Democrats had no Republican opposition.

Chaplin lead by 278 votes ahead of the recount. After all counties rescanned ballots and reported the recount results , the Republican's lead shrank to just 87 votes — with Malloy picking up 51 votes in the largely rural district and Chaplin losing 140 votes. Votes counted in Lee County accounted for the greatest difference in the numbers.

The state Election Commission is expected to meet later today to certify the recount results.

"It was the biggest Republican wave in this state since Ronald Reagan," South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick said the day after the election, referring to the so-called Reagan revolution of 1980 that followed South Carolina's first ever GOP presidential primary.

In addition to Malloy's seat, South Carolina Republicans flipped seats held by Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Manning, a 12-year incumbent; freshman Sen. Vernon Stephens, D-Bowman, and Sen. Mike Fanning, who unlike Malloy, waived a recount in his race.

The Great Falls Democrat officially conceded his bid for a third term late last week, losing his seat to Republican Everett Stubbs by less than 30 votes.

Democrat Sen. Fanning concedes, leaving 1 recount in state Senate

In the House, the GOP maintained their beyond-supermajority advantage — two years after flipping eight seats — with Republican Harriet Holman defeating 20-year incumbent Rep. Joe Jefferson from rural Berkeley County.

The Pineville Democrat was the fourth Black Democrat ousted of the night, losing to Holman, who will be South Carolina's first Black female Republican legislator.

Christale Spain, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, blamed the losses on Trump's coattails.

"We worked hard, we spent money, but we came up short," she told reporters the day after the election. "Trump ended up having pretty strong tailwinds."

The re-election of freshman Rep. Heather Bauer of Columbia was one of just a few silver linings for Democrats. In November 2022, she was the lone flip for Democrats. She kept her seat in a hard-fought rematch against Republican Kirkman Finlay, who sought to retake the seat he previously held for a decade.

Republicans also failed to pick up open seats vacated by Sen. Thomas McElveen of Sumter, who didn't seek a fourth term, and the dramatically redrawn district of retiring Sen. Nikki Setzler of West Columbia.

Democrat Jeffrey Graham, the former mayor of Camden, beat out Republican Mike Jones for the seat held by McElveen since 2012. And state Rep. Russell Ott, a Calhoun County Democrat who's been in the state House since 2013, won the seat held for 48 years by Setzler, the longest-serving senator in state history.