The 2020 South Carolina State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 2020 United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state senators in all 46 senate districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the South Carolina Senate, with all of the seats up for election each cycle. The primary elections on June 9, 2020, determined which candidates appeared on the November 3, 2020, general election ballot.

Following the previous election in 2016, Republicans had control of the South Carolina Senate with 27 seats to Democrats' 19 seats.

Special Election

District 3 (May 30, 2017)

Following the succession of Republican Kevin Bryant to Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, the seat for District 3 became vacant. A primary was held April 11, a primary runoff was held on April 25, and the special election took place on May 30, 2017. The primary field was initially crowded with eight candidates including:

Don Bowen: ex-Representative of the 8th district in the South Carolina House of Representatives, 2007–2014. Carol Burdette: Ex-towncouncil member and ex-Mayor of Pendleton, South Carolina. Richard Cash: A business owner and anti-abortion activist. He previously challenged Lindsey Graham for his U.S. Senate seat in the 2014 United States Senate election in South Carolina with campaign messaging that Graham isn't conservative enough. Cash came in third in that primary with roughly 8% of the vote (26,000 votes). James Galyean: Attorney who previously spent eight years as a chief counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. John William Tucker Jr.: ex-Representative of the 4th district in the South Carolina House of Representatives, 1985–1996.

Bryant endorsed Cash, and Cash ultimately won the primary after a head-to-head runoff with Burdette. Although he faced an uncontested general election, a last minute write-in effort was attempted. The majority of the write-ins were for Burdette, though she denied participating in the effort. Ultimately, the effort failed and Cash received almost 82% of the vote.

District 20 (November 6, 2018)

In March 2017, Republican John Courson was suspended from his seat on charges of corruption in the South Carolina State House. After pleading guilty to misconduct in office, he resigned in June, triggering a special election. Democratic and Republican primaries were held on August 14, a Republican primary runoff was held on August 28, and a special election was held on November 6, concurrently with the 2018 South Carolina House of Representatives election. Ultimately, Courson would escape jail time and only be required to perform 100 hours of community service for using campaign funds for personal expenses.

District 6 (March 26, 2019) After William Timmons succeeded Trey Gowdy in representing South Carolina's 4th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, a special election was held to find a replacement senator for the 6th District. A Republican primary was held on January 22 and a special election was held on March 26.

Results PartyVotesSeats%+/−%South Carolina Republican Party1,399,65959.5230 +365.22South Carolina Democratic Party924,53539.3116 -334.78Write-in17,7350.75000.00Alliance Party7,9280.34000.00Libertarian Party of South Carolina1,9090.08000.00Total2,351,766100.0046±0 100.00Registered voters3,547,181100.00Turnout2,351,76666.3Source: South Carolina Election Commission

Summary DistrictIncumbent PartyElected Senator PartyResult1st1st Thomas C. Alexander Rep Thomas C. Alexander RepRepublican HOLD2nd2nd Rex Rice Rep Rex Rice RepRepublican HOLD3rd3rd Richard Cash Rep Richard Cash RepRepublican HOLD4th4th Michael Gambrell Rep Michael Gambrell RepRepublican HOLD5th5th Tom Corbin Rep Tom Corbin RepRepublican HOLD6th6th Dwight Loftis Rep Dwight Loftis RepRepublican HOLD7th7th Karl B. Allen Dem Karl B. Allen DemDemocratic HOLD8th8th Ross Turner Rep Ross Turner RepRepublican HOLD9th9th Danny Verdin Rep Danny Verdin RepRepublican HOLD10th10th Floyd Nicholson Dem Billy Garrett RepRepublican GAIN11th11th Glenn G. Reese Dem Josh Kimbrell RepRepublican GAIN12th12th Scott Talley Rep Scott Talley RepRepublican HOLD13th13th Shane Martin Rep Shane Martin RepRepublican HOLD14th14th Harvey S. Peeler Jr. Rep Harvey S. Peeler Jr. RepRepublican HOLD15th15th Wes Climer Rep Wes Climer RepRepublican HOLD16th16th Greg Gregory Rep Michael Johnson RepRepublican HOLD17th17th Mike Fanning Dem Mike Fanning DemDemocratic HOLD18th18th Ronnie Cromer Rep Ronnie Cromer RepRepublican HOLD19th19th John L. Scott Jr. Dem John L. Scott Jr. DemDemocratic HOLD20th20th Dick Harpootlian Dem Dick Harpootlian DemDemocratic HOLD21st21st Darrell Jackson Dem Darrell Jackson DemDemocratic HOLD22nd22nd Mia McLeod Dem Mia McLeod DemDemocratic HOLD23rd23rd Katrina Shealy Rep Katrina Shealy RepRepublican HOLD24th24th Tom Young Jr. Rep Tom Young Jr. RepRepublican HOLD25th25th A. Shane Massey Rep A. Shane Massey RepRepublican HOLD26th26th Nikki G. Setzler Dem Nikki G. Setzler DemDemocratic HOLD27th27th Vincent Sheheen Dem Penry Gustafson RepRepublican GAIN28th28th Greg Hembree Rep Greg Hembree RepRepublican HOLD29th29th Gerald Malloy Dem Gerald Malloy DemDemocratic HOLD30th30th Kent M. Williams Dem Kent M. Williams DemDemocratic HOLD31st31st Hugh Leatherman Rep Hugh Leatherman RepRepublican HOLD32nd32nd Ronnie A. Sabb Dem Ronnie A. Sabb DemDemocratic HOLD33rd33rd Luke A. Rankin Rep Luke A. Rankin RepRepublican HOLD34th34th Stephen Goldfinch Rep Stephen Goldfinch RepRepublican HOLD35th35th Thomas McElveen Dem Thomas McElveen DemDemocratic HOLD36th36th Kevin L. Johnson Dem Kevin L. Johnson DemDemocratic HOLD37th37th Larry Grooms Rep Larry Grooms RepRepublican HOLD38th38th Sean Bennett Rep Sean Bennett RepRepublican HOLD39th39th John W. Matthews Jr. Dem Vernon Stephens DemDemocratic HOLD40th40th Brad Hutto Dem Brad Hutto DemDemocratic HOLD41st41st Sandy Senn Rep Sandy Senn RepRepublican HOLD42nd42nd Marlon Kimpson Dem Marlon Kimpson DemDemocratic HOLD43rd43rd Chip Campsen Rep Chip Campsen RepRepublican HOLD44th44th Paul G. Campbell Jr. Rep Brian Adams RepRepublican HOLD45th45th Margie Bright Matthews Dem Margie Bright Matthews DemDemocratic HOLD46th46th Tom Davis Rep Tom Davis RepRepublican HOLD

Outgoing incumbents Retiring

Democrats John W. Matthews Jr. (D–Orangeburg), representing District 39 since 1984. He had previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1975 to 1984. He announced that he would not seek re-election on March 10, 2020.

Republicans Greg Gregory (R–Lancaster), representing District 16 from 1992 to 2008 and then since 2011. He announced that he would not seek re-election on October 23, 2019. Paul G. Campbell Jr. (R–Berkeley), representing District 44 since 2007. He announced that he would not seek re-election on March 23, 2020.

Defeated No incumbents were defeated in their primaries. Luke A. Rankin (R–Horry), who has represented District 33 since 1992, was the only incumbent whose primary was forced to go to a runoff after he failed to obtain a majority share of the vote. The runoff took place on June 23, 2020, between Rankin and challenger John Gallman, and was won by Rankin.

Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political ReportOctober 21, 2020

Detailed results District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46

District 1 District 1 covers parts of Oconee and Pickens Counties. Incumbent Thomas C. Alexander ran unopposed in the Republican primary and the general election. He was reelected to a seventh full-term in the Senate.

District 2 District 2 is a part of Pickens County. Incumbent Rex Rice ran unopposed in the Republican primary and the general election. He was reelected to his second term in office.

District 3 District 3 consists of the Northern parts of Anderson County.

Incumbent Richard Cash was challenged by Anderson County Councilman Craig Wooten in the Republican Primary. Both candidates took conservative stances, opposing abortion and illegal immigration while supporting the Second Amendment, economic development in the wake of COVID-19, and infrastructure improvements. Cash framed his candidacy around being a proven conservative who introduced legislation to stop abortions in South Carolina and to expand the rights to conceal-carry weapons. In contrast, Wooten framed himself as a less absolutist, more pragmatic conservative who sought to politically elevate Anderson County to the level of other major areas in South Carolina, such as Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia. During the primary race, over $150,000 was raised, and Cash was endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund, Republican Liberty Caucus, and South Carolina Citizens for Life. Cash defeated Wooten with 57% of the vote.

Retired teacher Judith Polson ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, Cash was again endorsed by the same groups with the addition of the SC Chamber of Commerce. Cash was reelected with 74% of the vote, marking his first election to a full term.

District 4 District 4 is made up of parts of Abbeville, Anderson and Greenwood Counties. Incumbent Michael Gambrell ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Jose Villa ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, Villa campaigned on Medicaid expansion and education and criminal justice reform. However, Gambrell defeated him with 73% of the vote, and was elected to his second term.

District 5 Incumbent Tom Corbin faced opposition in the Republican primary. Michael McCord ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

District 6 Incumbent Dwight Loftis ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Hao Wu ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

District 7 Incumbent Karl B. Allen faced opposition in the Democratic primary. Jack Logan ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

District 8 Incumbent Ross Turner faced opposition in the Republican primary, but ran unopposed in the general election.

District 9 Incumbent Danny Verdin ran unopposed in the Republican primary and the general election.

District 10 Incumbent Floyd Nicholson ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Two candidates ran in the Republican primary.

District 11 Incumbent Glenn Reese ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Josh Kimbrell ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

District 12 Incumbent Scott Talley faced opposition in the Republican primary. Dawn Bingham ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

District 13 Incumbent Shane Martin ran unopposed in the Republican primary and the general election.

District 14 Incumbent Harvey S. Peeler Jr. ran unopposed in the Republican primary, but faced opposition from a third-party candidate in the general election.

District 15 Incumbent Wes Climer ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Vickie Holt ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

District 16 This seat was one of three open seats in this election cycle. Four candidates ran in the Republican primary, with two advancing to a runoff. Ramin Mammadov ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

District 17 Incumbent Mike Fanning faced opposition in the Democratic primary. Erin Mosley ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

District 18 Incumbent Ronnie Cromer faced opposition in the Republican primary. Christopher Thibault ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

District 19