See also: 2016 United States Senate elections.
| Election Name: | 2016 United States Senate election in South Carolina |
| Country: | South Carolina |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2014 United States Senate special election in South Carolina |
| Previous Year: | 2014 (special) |
| Next Election: | 2022 United States Senate election in South Carolina |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Image1: | File:Tim Scott, official portrait, 113th Congress (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Tim Scott |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,241,609 |
| Percentage1: | 60.57% |
| Nominee2: | Thomas Dixon |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 757,022 |
| Percentage2: | 36.93% |
| Map Size: | 230px |
| U.S. Senator | |
| Before Election: | Tim Scott |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Tim Scott |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 2016 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Carolina, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Both major parties held their primaries on June 14.
Incumbent Republican Senator Tim Scott won re-election to a first full term in office.[1]
This was the second U.S. Senate election in South Carolina (and the second of three consecutive elections for this seat) where both major party nominees were black, and the third overall since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment.
Two-term Republican senator Jim DeMint was re-elected with 61.48% of the vote in 2010. He resigned at the start of 2013 to become President of The Heritage Foundation and U.S. Representative Tim Scott of South Carolina's 1st congressional district was appointed to replace him by Governor Nikki Haley.[2] Scott subsequently won the special election in 2014 for the remaining two years of the term.
| Source | Ranking | As of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[9] | November 2, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[10] | November 7, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Rothenberg Political Report[11] | November 3, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Daily Kos[12] | November 8, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Real Clear Politics[13] | November 7, 2016 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Tim Scott (R) | Thomas Dixon (D) | Other | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyMonkey[14] | November 1–7, 2016 | 1,698 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 59% | 38% | – | 3% | |
| SurveyMonkey[15] | October 31–November 6, 2016 | 1,642 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 58% | 39% | – | 3% | |
| SurveyMonkey[16] | October 28–November 3, 2016 | 1,583 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 58% | 39% | – | 3% | |
| SurveyMonkey[17] | October 27–November 2, 2016 | 1,501 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 58% | 39% | – | 3% | |
| SurveyMonkey[18] | October 26–November 1, 2016 | 1,588 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 57% | 40% | – | 3% | |
| SurveyMonkey[19] | October 25–31, 2016 | 1,762 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 56% | 39% | – | 5% | |
| Starboard Communications (R)[20] | September 7–9, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.8% | align=center | 58% | 22% | – | 16% | |
| Public Policy Polling[21] | August 9–10, 2016 | 1,290 | ± 2.7% | align=center | 45% | 30%[22] | 6%[23] | 20% |
with Joyce Dickerson
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Tim Scott (R) | Joyce Dickerson (D) | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[24] | November 7–8, 2015 | 1,290 | ± 2.7% | align=center | 53% | 25% | 23% |
with Bakari Sellers
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Tim Scott (R) | Bakari Sellers (D) | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[25] | February 12–15, 2015 | 868 | ± 3.3% | align=center | 56% | 28% | 16% |
with Leon Lott
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Tim Scott (R) | Leon Lott (D) | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling | February 12–15, 2015 | 868 | ± 3.3% | align=center | 54% | 27% | 19% |
with Jim Hodges
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Tim Scott (R) | Jim Hodges (D) | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling | February 12–15, 2015 | 868 | ± 3.3% | align=center | 54% | 32% | 15% |
Scott won 6 of 7 congressional districts.[26]
| District | Scott | Dixon | Representative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65% | 33% | Mark Sanford | ||||
| 63% | 34% | Joe Wilson | ||||
| 71% | 27% | Jeff Duncan | ||||
| 67% | 30% | Trey Gowdy | ||||
| 59% | 38% | Mick Mulvaney | ||||
| 35% | 63% | Jim Clyburn | ||||
| 61% | 37% | Tom Rice |