S.C. candidates officially file to appear on 2026 ballots

Candidates vying for office in South Carolina can officially file to run after months of campaigning and fundraising.

Filing ends at noon on March 30. 

The two-week period will set the ballot for the June 9 GOP and Democratic primaries. Third-party candidates nominated by convention must also file to appear on November ballots. 

All constitutional officers are on the ballot this year, as well as the state’s seven congressional seats, one U.S Senate race, and all 124 state House seats. 

The most crowded contest features an expected field of 10 Republicans and five Democrats vying to replace U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in the coastal 1st District.

Mace is among five Republicans who have announced a bid to replace term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster. The other announced GOP contenders are Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, and state Attorney General Alan Wilson.

So far, Democrats have announced bids for three statewide offices.

The latest is DeShawn Blanding of Manning, who last week announced he’s seeking to replace retiring Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers. 

Blanding, a former policy analyst for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, joins four other Republicans wanting to run the state Department of Agriculture. 

He is the third candidate for commissioner from Clarendon County.

As commissioner, Blanding said he’d advocate for legislation that would incentivize and help fund the opening of new processing facilities in the state. He said farmers are struggling to find enough places to sell their crops as processing plants they have relied on close down.

The two other generational farmers from Clarendon County are former Trump administration official Cody Simpson and Turbeville farmer Jeremy Cannon. The other announced Republicans are Danny Ford II, son of the legendary Clemson University football coach, and Fred West, director of market development for the Department of Agriculture.

West, the first to announce his candidacy, was endorsed by Weathers last year.

Gubernatorial and AG races

This year marks the first time since 2010 with no incumbent on the ballot for governor or attorney general. That’s when then-Rep. Nikki Haley was elected South Carolina’s first female and first minority governor and when voters first chose Wilson as attorney general. 

Two Democrats have announced bids to replace McMaster in the Governor’s Mansion: state Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Hopkins and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod.

They are trying to be the first Democrat elected governor since 1998, when Jim Hodges ousted GOP Gov. David Beasley. No Democrat has won a statewide office in South Carolina since 2006.

Three Republicans have announced bids to replace Wilson as the state’s chief prosecutor.

State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch of Murrells Inlet was first, followed by two solicitors: First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, chief prosecutor for Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties; and Eighth Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo, the chief prosecutor for Abbeville, Greenwood, Newberry and Laurens counties.

Pascoe, who switched parties last April after two decades as a Democratic solicitor, is running to the right of his opponents. 

Candidates must pay up

All candidates on June ballots must pay a filing fee, equal to 1% of the salary for the entire term of the job they’re seeking. The money goes toward funding the party primaries. 

The most expensive fee — $10,440 — is for the U.S. Senate race. Candidates for the state House pay the least, at $208. 

Five Democrats and three Republicans say they’re challenging U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was first elected to the job in 2002. 

Originally published at: https://scdailygazette.com/2026/03/16/sc-opens-candidate-filing-period-for-june-primary/