South Carolina Senate

South Carolina State Senate
South Carolina General Assembly

Type
Type	Upper House
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 10, 2017
Leadership
President of the Senate	Kevin L. Bryant (R) Since January 25, 2017
President Pro Tem of the Senate	Hugh Leatherman (R) Since January 25, 2017
Majority Leader	A. Shane Massey (R) Since April 6, 2016^[1]
Minority Leader	Nikki G. Setzler (D) Since November 12, 2012
Structure
Seats	46

Political groups	Majority Republican (28) Minority Democratic (18) Vacant (0)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article III, South Carolina Constitution
Salary	$10,400/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016 (46 seats)
Next election	November 3, 2020 (46 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place

State Senate Chamber South Carolina State House Columbia, South Carolina
Website
South Carolina State Senate

The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the same time as United States Presidential elections.

The South Carolina Constitution of 1895 provided for each county to elect one senator for a four-year term. The election of senators was staggered so that half of the state Senate was elected every two years. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1964 for the case Reynolds v. Sims, the state Senate was reapportioned in 1966 as a temporary measure into 27 districts with 50 members for two-year terms. In 1967, the state Senate was again reapportioned, this time into 20 districts with 46 members for four-year terms. The number of districts was reduced to 16 in 1972 and in 1984, they were eliminated with the creation of single member districts.

The annual session of the General Assembly convenes at the State Capitol Building in Columbia on the second Tuesday of January of each year. However, after convening, either the House or the Senate may call for itself a 30-day recess by a majority vote, or a longer recess by a two-thirds vote.^[2]

Composition

Leadership

South Carolina Senate Officers
Position	Name	Party
Lieutenant Governor / President of the Senate	Kevin L. Bryant	Republican
President Pro Tempore	Hugh Leatherman	Republican
Majority Leader	A. Shane Massey	Republican
Minority Leader	Nikki G. Setzler	Democratic

Members of the South Carolina Senate

Except as noted, all Senators were elected in November 2016. All terms expire in November 2020.

District	Representative	Party	Residence
1	Thomas C. Alexander	Republican	Walhalla
2	Rex Rice	Republican	Easley
3	Richard Cash	Republican	Powdersville
4	Michael Gambrell	Republican	Honea Path
5	Thomas D. Corbin	Republican	Travelers Rest
6	William Timmons	Republican	Greenville
7	Karl B. Allen	Democratic	Greenville
8	Ross Turner	Republican	Greenville
9	Daniel B. Verdin III	Republican	Laurens
10	Floyd Nicholson	Democratic	Greenwood
11	Glenn G. Reese	Democratic	Inman
12	Scott Talley	Republican	Spartanburg
13	Shane Martin	Republican	Spartanburg
14	Harvey S. Peeler Jr.	Republican	Gaffney
15	Wes Climer	Republican	Rock Hill
16	Greg Gregory	Republican	Lancaster
17	Mike Fanning	Democratic	Great Falls
18	Ronnie W. Cromer	Republican	Prosperity
19	John L. Scott Jr.	Democratic	Columbia
20	John E. Courson	Republican	Columbia
21	Darrell Jackson	Democratic	Hopkins
22	Mia McLeod	Democratic	Columbia
23	Katrina Frye Shealy	Republican	Lexington
24	Tom Young Jr.	Republican	Aiken
25	A. Shane Massey	Republican	Edgefield
26	Nikki G. Setzler	Democratic	West Columbia
27	Vincent A. Sheheen	Democratic	Camden
28	Greg Hembree	Republican	North Myrtle Beach
29	Gerald Malloy	Democratic	Hartsville
30	Kent M. Williams	Democratic	Marion
31	Hugh Leatherman	Republican	Florence
32	Ronnie A. Sabb	Democratic	Greeleyville
33	Luke A. Rankin	Republican	Myrtle Beach
34	Stephen Goldfinch	Republican	Murrells Inlet
35	Thomas McElveen	Democratic	Sumter
36	Kevin L. Johnson	Democratic	Manning
37	Lawrence K. Grooms	Republican	Bonneau
38	Sean Bennett	Republican	Summerville
39	John W. Matthews Jr.	Democratic	Bowman
40	Brad Hutto	Democratic	Orangeburg
41	Sandy Senn	Republican	Charleston
42	Marlon Kimpson	Democratic	Charleston
43	George E. Campsen III	Republican	Isle of Palms
44	Paul G. Campbell Jr.	Republican	Goose Creek
45	Margie B. Matthews	Democratic	Charleston
46	Tom Davis	Republican	Beaufort

Past composition of the Senate

Year	Democratic Party	Republican Party	Independent / Other	Majority
1865	0	0	31	31
1868	6^(a)	25	0	19
1870	5	26	1	21
1872	8	25	0	17
1874	0	26	7^(b)	19
1876	15	18	0	3
1878	28	5	0	23
1880	33	2	0	31
1882	33	2	0	31
1884	32	3	0	29
1886	33	2	0	31
1888	35	0	0	35
1890	32	3	0	29
1892	36	0	0	36
1894	29	0	7^(c)	22
1896	36	0	0	36
1898– 1908	41	0	0	41
1910– 1916	44	0	0	44
1918– 1964	46	0	0	46
1966	43	6	1	37
1968	47	3	0	44
1970	44	2	0	42
1972	43	3	0	40
1976	42	4	0	38
1980	39	7	0	32
1984	36	10	0	26
1988	35	11	0	24
1992	30	16	0	14
1996	25	21	0	4
2000	22^(d)	24^(d)	0	2
2004	20	26^(e)	0	6
2008	19	27	0	8
2012	18	28	0	10
2016	18	28	0	10

^(a) The election of a Democrat from Abbeville was declared void and the seat remained vacant.
^(b) All 7 were members of the Conservative Party of South Carolina.
^(b) All 7 were Independent Democrats.
^(d) After the 2000 elections, the Senate was evenly split between 23 Democrats and 23 Republicans. A Democrat, J. Verne Smith of Greer, switched to the Republicans to break the tie.
^(e) Republicans gained an additional seat in a 2007 special election.

References

↑ http://www.wltx.com/news/politics/massey-named-new-sc-senate-majority-leader/122786378
↑ "ARTICLE 3. Legislative Department., SECTION 9. Sessions of General Assembly.". 2010 South Carolina Constitution - Unannotated. Retrieved January 16, 2012.

Dubin, Michael J. (2007) Party affiliations in the state legislatures : a year by year summary, 1796-2006.

External links

South Carolina State House Online
- South Carolina Legislative Information Tracking System allows users to track legislative information via custom reports, tracking lists or subscription services. Services are provided via web search or Palm Pilot.
The South Carolina Senate Democratic Caucus
The South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus
Project Vote Smart – State Senate of South Carolina

Members of the South Carolina State Senate
President of the Senate: Kevin L. Bryant (R) President pro Tempore: Hugh Leatherman (R) Majority Leader: Harvey S. Peeler Jr. (R) Minority Leader: Nikki G. Setzler (D)
Thomas C. Alexander (R) Rex F. Rice (R) Vacant Michael Gambrell (R) Thomas D. Corbin (R) William Timmons (R) Karl B. Allen (D) Ross Turner (R) Daniel B. Verdin III (R) Floyd Nicholson (D) Glenn G. Reese (D) Scott Talley (R) Shane Martin (R) Harvey S. Peeler Jr. (R) Wes Climer (R) Greg Gregory (R) Mike Fanning (D) Ronnie W. Cromer (R) John L. Scott Jr. (D) John E. Courson (R) Darrell Jackson (D) Mia McLeod (D) Katrina Frye Shealy (R) Tom Young Jr. (R) A. Shane Massey (R) Nikki G. Setzler (D) Vincent A. Sheheen (D) Greg Hembree (R) Gerald Malloy (D) Kent M. Williams (D) Hugh Leatherman (R) Ronnie A. Sabb (D) Luke A. Rankin (R) Stephen L. Goldfinch (R) Thomas McElveen (D) Kevin L. Johnson (D) Lawrence K. Grooms (R) Sean Bennett (R) John W. Matthews Jr. (D) Brad Hutto (D) Sandy Senn (R) Marlon Kimpson (D) George E. Campsen III (R) Paul G. Campbell Jr. (R) Margie Bright Matthews (D) Tom Davis (R)
Republican (27) Democratic (18) Vacant (1) South Carolina General Assembly South Carolina House of Representatives South Carolina State Senate

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Coordinates: 33°50′10″N 81°09′49″W / 33.836081°N 81.1637245°W / 33.836081; -81.1637245

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