Democrats mark legislative wins in deeply red South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. -Even in deeply red South Carolina, where all statewide offices are held by Republicans, Democrats are making some inroads in the legislature, wresting three legislative seats from Republican control on Tuesday.

The legislative wins come nowhere close to shifting the balance of power in either chamber. But the victories, coupled with the pickup of a congressional seat held by Republicans for decades, are being characterized by Democrats as signs that they could be chipping away at the GOP's longtime hold on state government.

The pickups in South Carolina's House and Senate chambers came on a night when Democrats regained control of the U.S. House from Republicans and even picked up one U.S. House seat in South Carolina that hadn't been held by a Democrat since 1980. In the 1st District, Joe Cunningham defeated Republican Katie Arrington, becoming South Carolina's first new congressional Democrat to join the delegation in more than 25 years.



https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/south-carolina/article221341020.html#storylink=cpy