# 2014 United States Senate special election in South Carolina

Elections in South Carolina :
Federal government
U.S. President
1788-89
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
Rep
Dem
2004
Dem
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Rep
2016
Dem
2020
Dem
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate
1897
sp 1898
1902
1903
1907
1908
1909
1913
1914
1918
sp 1918
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1936
1938
sp 1941
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
sp 1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
sp 2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
2028
U.S. House of Representatives
1788
1790
1793
1794
1796
1798
1800
1803
1804
1806
1808
1810
1812
1814
1816
1818
1820
1823
1824
1826
1828
1830
1833
1834
1836
1838
1840
1843
1844
1846
1848
1850
1853
1854
1856
1858
1860
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
7th 1901
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
4th 1915
1916
1918
6th 1919
7th 1919
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
4th 1953
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1st 1971
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2nd 2001
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
1st 2013
2014
2016
5th 2017
2018
2020
2022
2024
List of specials :
State offices
General elections
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1865
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
State Senate elections
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
State House elections
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
2006
Amendment 1
2008
2010
2012
2014 :
Charleston
Mayoral elections
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Columbia
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2010
2013
2017
2021 :
Rock Hill
Mayoral elections
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Greenville
Mayoral elections
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
vte :
The 2014 United States Senate special election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 2014, concurrently with the regular election for the other South Carolina Senate seat. The special-election Senate seat was formerly held by Republican Jim DeMint, who resigned on January 2, 2013, to become president of The Heritage Foundation.
Nikki Haley, the Republican Governor of South Carolina, announced the appointment of U.S. Representative Tim Scott to fill the seat. Scott ran in the special election and won by beating Democratic candidate and Richland County councilwoman Joyce Dickerson in the November election. Scott became the first black Senator in the state's history and the first in a former Confederate state since 1881.
The election was noted for being the second U.S. Senate election since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment and the first in a former Confederate state where both major party nominees were black. This was also the first of three consecutive elections to this seat where both major party nominees were black.

## Background

On December 6, 2012, Senator Jim DeMint announced his intention to resign effective January 1, 2013, to become the president of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Nikki Haley, the Governor of South Carolina, appointed a replacement to fill the seat until the special election. Haley indicated that she would not appoint a "placeholder" to the seat, but would appoint someone who would stand in a 2014 special election to serve the remaining two years of DeMint's term. On December 17, 2012, Haley announced that she would appoint Scott to DeMint's seat following his resignation.

### Senate replacement process

According to sources close to Governor Haley, as of December 11, 2012, she had narrowed the list of potential appointees down to five:
* Tim Scott, U.S. Representative (SC-01)
* Trey Gowdy, U.S. Representative (SC-04)
* Henry McMaster, former South Carolina Attorney General,
* Jenny Sanford, former First Lady of South Carolina
* Catherine Templeton, head of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Other politicians mentioned as possible replacements for DeMint included U.S. Representatives Mick Mulvaney and Joe Wilson, former U.S. Representative Gresham Barrett, state representative Nathan Ballentine, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, former Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, former South Carolina Republican Party chair Katon Dawson, and Haley's deputy chief of staff Tedd Pitts.
Liberal comedian Stephen Colbert, a South Carolina native, expressed interest in being appointed the seat, asking his fans to tweet Haley that she should appoint him. Chad Walldorf, the owner of the Sticky Fingers restaurant chain, had also been mentioned as a potential placeholder.

### Polling on DeMint's replacement

A Public Policy Polling poll released on December 10, 2012, which asked respondents who they wanted to replace DeMint, showed Colbert with the highest total. Colbert had support at 20 percent, followed by Scott at 15 percent, Gowdy at 14 percent, and Sanford at 11 percent. Haley said that she would not appoint Colbert to the seat.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Tim Scott, incumbent U.S. Senator
* Randall Young

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Tim Scott (incumbent) | 276,147 | 89.98% |
| | Republican | Randall Young | 30,741 | 10.02% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 306,888 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Joyce Dickerson, Richland County Councilwoman and former chair of the National Foundation for Women Legislators
* Sidney Moore, former York County Councilman
* Harry Pavilack, attorney and candidate for South Carolina's 7th congressional district in 2012

#### Withdrew

* Rick Wade, former United States Department of Commerce official and nominee for Secretary of State of South Carolina in 2002

#### Declined

* Jim Hodges, former governor of South Carolina
* John L. Scott, Jr., state senator
* James E. Smith, Jr., state representative (running for re-election)
* Leon Stavrinakis, state representative (running for re-election)

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Joyce Dickerson | Sidney Moore | Harry Pavilack | Undecided |
| Clemson University | May 26 – June 2, 2014 | 400 | ± 6% | 11% | 7% | 3% | 79% |

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Joyce Dickerson | 72,874 | 65.39% |
| | Democratic | Sidney Moore | 26,310 | 23.61% |
| | Democratic | Harry Pavilack | 11,886 | 11.06% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 111,437 | 100.00% |

## Independent and third parties
### Declared

* Jill Bossi (American Party), vice president of the American Red Cross

### Removed from ballot

* Brandon Armstrong (Independent), businesswoman

## General election
### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 28, 2014

### Endorsements

Individuals
* Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, Republican Vice-Presidential nominee in 2008
Organizations
* American Conservative Union
* FreedomWorks
* Government Is Not God PAC (GING-PAC)
* United States Chamber of Commerce
Organizations
* AFL-CIO
* United Automobile Workers
* International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
Individuals
* Brandon Armstrong, businesswoman and former Independent candidate for this seat
Organizations
* The Centrist Project

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid R | November 3, 2014 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |
| Real Clear Politics | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Tim Scott (R) | Joyce Dickerson (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 9–10, 2014 | 750 | ± 4% | 53% | 31% | 6% | 11% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov | July 5–24, 2014 | 1,180 | ± 5.4% | 52% | 40% | 2% | 9% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov | August 18 – September 2, 2014 | 833 | ± 5% | 54% | 33% | 0% | 13% |
| Winthrop University | September 21–28, 2014 | 1,082 | ± 3% | 52.4% | 31.8% | 1.9% | 13.8% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov | September 20 – October 1, 2014 | 2,663 | ± 2% | 54% | 31% | 0% | 14% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov | October 16–23, 2014 | 1,566 | ± 4% | 57% | 28% | 0% | 15% |

### Results

United States Senate special election in South Carolina, 2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Tim Scott (incumbent) | 757,215 | 61.12% | −0.36% |
| | Democratic | Joyce Dickerson | 459,583 | 37.09% | +9.44% |
| | American | Jill Bossi | 21,652 | 1.75% | N/A |
| | n/a | Write-ins | 532 | 0.04% | −1.62% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | '1,238,982' | '100.0%' | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Calhoun (largest town: St. Matthews)
* Clarendon (Largest city: Manning)
* Sumter (Largest city: Sumter)
* Richland (Largest city: Columbia)