Democrat Sweeps to Stunning Victory in South Carolina Special Election

The Democratic candidate in a South Carolina special election swept to a landslide victory Tuesday night, becoming the youngest person elected to the state legislature in nearly a decade.

Keishan Scott, 24, was elected to the state House to represent South Carolina’s 50th district, which encompasses Lee County and parts of Kershaw and Sumter counties. He won just under 71 percent of the nearly 3,700 votes cast, beating his Republican opponent by about 41 percentage points.

It’s not entirely surprising that a Democrat won the district. Scott was running to replace Democratic Representative Will Wheeler, who shockingly announced his resignation in January right after winning a fifth term.

The big shock comes from how handily Scott beat his opponent. Wheeler ran unopposed in four of his five elections, but the one year he had a Republican opponent (2022), Wheeler won by about 20 points—half of Scott’s victory margin.

Kamala Harris won the district by only about five points in the November election, and Joe Biden won the district by 15 points in 2020.

Scott pledged to capitalize on his overwhelming support. “I can promise you that every day I go into the Statehouse, I will carry the people with me,” he said in a victory speech. “Because certainly, it’s about people more than politics.”

“Your vote of confidence, it means the world to me,” he added.

U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn, a fellow South Carolina Democrat, had endorsed Scott ahead of the race and stressed that the special election was a must-win for the liberal party.

Electing Scott “will be the beginning of a Democratic comeback here in South Carolina,” said Clyburn, whose endorsement was critical for turning around Biden’s struggling 2020 campaign. “Irrespective of where you live, how old you may be, whatever gender you may be, this is about the future of Democrats in South Carolina.”

Scott’s victory is a welcome morale boost for the state Democratic Party. Republicans currently hold a supermajority in the state House, with 88 seats to Democrats’ now 36.