By james art 
South Carolina may not be the best presidential battleground as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris battle it out for 270 electoral votes, but voters in the Palmetto State still face an election that could change the political landscape here and even remain in history.
Will South Carolina see a second Republican woman added to the federal delegation?
Can a Democrat defy the odds in the upstate — a conservative stronghold that has long been hostile ground for the party — and pull off a shocking upset?
Will Charleston County Get a New Sheriff? Will an ex-prosecutor beat his ex-boss in the Charleston-Berkeley attorney race?
And who will keep their seats in the State House — and which newcomers will take their ideas to Columbia in the next legislative session that begins in January?
Here are the South Carolina races to watch on election night as the results roll in on November 5.
Congress
What throw? Congressional candidates are widely expected to win re-election this year, thanks in part to redistricting. But not everyone is interested in returning to Washington.
Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan of Lawrence announced he would not seek re-election after 14 years in Washington, a departure that drew a slew of GOP candidates in the state’s most conservative congressional district.
Republican Sherry Biggs defeated six other candidates in a crowded GOP primary to run against MAGA pastor Mark Burns, leader of a multinational Christian television conglomerate in Easley, whose campaign was nearly $1 million in debt.
But in deep red South Carolina, where state lawmakers draw political boundaries for their own legislative districts and congressional maps after each census every ten years, the GOP primary in June is often the deciding contest.
Now, more than half of those races have already been decided: filings show 19 of the 46 Senate seats are uncontested, along with 70 of those 124 in the House.
This year, Democrats are on the offensive in the House, trying to extend their influence where they can, and playing defense in the Senate to hold on to the seats they have.
Here are the main races:
State house
Democrats this year are hoping that enthusiasm for the presidential race will lead to fewer votes. The climb will still be tough: Democrats hold just 35 seats compared to Republicans, who represent 87 seats. (There are two vacancies.)
In an interview earlier this year, state Democratic Party Executive Director Jay Parmley told The Post and Courier that he believed the party could actually win some seats in the Legislature if it could match or exceed the turnout they saw. for President Joe Biden in 2020
Most of the action will take place in the Lowcountry.
House district 115
After a narrow 1.6 percent victory in 2020, Folly Beach Democratic incumbent Spencer Wetmore will compete in a redrawn (and geographically larger) district that census data show is the most competitive district in the state. She is being challenged by Republican Warren Sloan, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of James Island in 2010.
House district 116
Drama has taken center stage in the battle to represent western Charleston County. The race between Democrat Charlie Murray and Republican James Teeple has been marred by multiple ethics allegations, a lawsuit targeting an opponent’s family member and a disturbing video that has surfaced of a candidate threatening a parent during a school bus accident in 2022
The battle over a vote for an open state House seat on Nov. 5 is among the biggest political clashes in South Carolina this year.
Republicans are eager to hold on to the seat they won two years ago, when Johns Island Republican Matt Leber narrowly defeated Hollywood Democrat Chardale Murray, the first black woman ever elected to office and Charlie Murray’s sister. (Leber is now running for a seat in the state Senate.) Democrats see the seat as one of their best chances to get it.
House district 75
Over the past decade, this Richland County seat has been the rare competitive seat where political manipulation hasn’t taken hold. In 2012, 2020, and 2022, the winner’s margin of victory was determined by fewer than 300 votes.
This year, it’s the rematch between former Republican Rep. Kirkman Finley and current Democratic Rep. Heather Bauer. In 2022, the dominant issue was abortion. This go-around, the governance issues of the local school district, Richland One and the state’s education system were a dominant focus for both candidates.
The neighborhood—a compact urban area spanning several young and affluent neighborhoods in downtown Columbia—could be another problem.
State Senate
Senate District 26
There are several Senate seats that will be competitive on election night, mostly in the Midlands. But among them, the race for Senate District 26 between Democrat Russell Ott and Republican Jason Gerry will be among the most closely watched of the evening.
Ott, who has served in the House since taking over for his father, former House Minority Leader Harry Ott, in 2013, is one of the strongest candidates Democrats have. He proved his acumen to win tough races in a heated primary with former state Democratic Party chairman and Alex Murdoch attorney Dick Harpoutlian. It’s a competitive district, so Gurry is likely to see strong support from deep-red Lexington County and rural parts of the district.
Senate District 41
On paper, Senate District 41, centered in western Charleston County, is not expected to be competitive. Census data shows Republicans favored here by about a dozen points. But the big question here may not be whether the Republican wins, but by how much.
Republican Matt Leber narrowly defeated more moderate incumbent Sandy Sen in one of the state’s fiercest primary races in June, in part because of their views on abortion.
His opponent, Democrat Rita Adkins, has avoided attacking Leber in the final weeks of the election, so it remains to be seen whether Sen’s opposition from the primary will hinder Leber on Tuesday night.
Vote Down: Sheriffs, Attorneys and More
Voters will also participate in various county-level elections across the state, including races for county council and judicial offices such as sheriff, attorney, clerk of courts, probate judge and coroner.
In Charleston County, the sheriff’s race is the most closely watched race and has the potential to be one of the most competitive races on the ballot.
Sheriff Christine Graziano, who stunned many in 2020 when she became the first Democratic sheriff elected here in 32 years and the first openly gay female sheriff ever elected in South Carolina, is facing former Mount Pleasant Chief Carl Ritchie, a Republican. whose campaign is focusing on his more than three decades of experience in local law enforcement.
Dorchester County also has a closely watched sheriff’s race with the potential to make history. If elected, Republican Sam Richardson, who has the support of Attorney General Alan Wilson, would be South Carolina’s only black Republican sheriff.
For more information about your local races and to confirm your ballot choices and voter registration, visit scvotes.gov, the website of the SC State Election Commission.
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Reporter Nick Reynolds contributed to this report from Columbia, South Carolina