South Carolina Republicans lost their veto-proof supermajority in the state House on Election Day after Democrats flipped 10 seats across the Palmetto State, according to unofficial results from the state Election Commission. Republicans still hold a commanding 79 of the chamber's 124 seats, but the losses end a run of two-thirds control that began four years ago, and at least one contest is close enough to trigger an automatic recount.
A Supermajority Built in 2022 Starts to Crack
The GOP first secured two-thirds control of the South Carolina House in 2022, according to South Carolina Daily Gazette. That year, Republicans won 88 of the chamber's 124 seats and toppled five Democratic incumbents on their way to a veto-proof majority, per multistate.us. This week's results chip away at that margin substantially, even though Republicans remain firmly in control of the chamber.
Half of the 10 flipped seats came out of the Lowcountry, the Gazette's report notes, where three Republican incumbents barely survived. Sylleste Davis, Gary Brewer and Jordan Pace — who leads the House Freedom Caucus — each won their races by fewer than 400 votes, according to the same account.
Several Incumbents and First-Term Lawmakers Ousted
A string of sitting House members lost their seats outright. Daniel Gibson, a two-term Greenwood representative and commercial pilot, was defeated by Democrat Jumelle Brooks, who beat him by nearly 10 percentage points in Greenwood and McCormick counties, the Gazette reported. Brandon Cox, a two-term lawmaker and U.S. Air Force veteran, also lost his seat, as did Lucas Atkinson, who was first elected in 2016.
Other losses included Fawn Pedalino, who had flipped a Clarendon County seat for Republicans in 2022; Jackie Terribile; Bill Hager, who also flipped his seat in 2022; and Harriet Holman, who had ousted Democrat Joe Jefferson in 2024. James Teeple, first elected in 2024 after Matt Leber won a state Senate race, and Greg Ford, who had won a January special election to replace Chris Murphy after Murphy's resignation, rounded out the night's Republican losses, per the same account.
Majority Leader's Seat Heads to a Recount
Perhaps the most closely watched race of the night involves House Majority Leader Micah Caskey, who was first elected to his seat roughly a decade ago. Unofficial returns show Democrat Joe Madge ahead of Caskey by just over 100 votes, a margin the Gazette's report says falls under the 1% threshold that requires state election officials to order a recount. The Post and Courier similarly reported preliminary results showing Caskey trailing Madge by 101 votes in House District 89, within the range for a state-required recount.
Archived state statute cited by the South Carolina Legislature states that a recount must be ordered when the difference between candidates' vote totals is no more than 1% of the total votes cast for that office, unless the trailing candidate waives it in writing. A second race, in the Simpsonville area, is also headed to a recount: the Gazette's report lists David Vaughn as the 42-vote winner over Democrat John MacCarthy. The Greenville News reported the same race under the spelling David Vaughan, with a 9,135 to 9,093 tally producing the identical 42-vote margin.
Party Leaders React to the Results
South Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Christale Spain said the results send a message to the Republican-led General Assembly and signal her party's intent to expand its footprint. “We're ready to start really competing all across the state,” Spain said, according to the Gazette's reporting. She added that she believes the outcome could lower tensions in the chamber following an unsuccessful last-minute effort to redraw South Carolina's congressional map, and said Democrats would not treat the results as a reason to stop fighting.
Republican leaders struck a steadier tone. House Speaker Murrell Smith said Republicans have important work ahead and are looking forward to returning to work, while Brandon Newton said the party intends to continue delivering results, per the same report. With the party still holding 79 seats, the GOP retains firm control of the chamber even without the two-thirds supermajority it built in 2022.
