This episode of Simple Civics: Greenville County is brought to you by Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, providing free books to children zero to five throughout Greenville County. To sign up, visit greenvillefirststeps.org/freebooks.
The 2026 general election may seem far away, but for voters, the most critical decisions are made long before November. In this essential preview of the South Carolina 2026 election, we break down why the June primaries are where the real competition happens and how you can be an informed voter. We'll guide you through the key federal, state, and local races on your ballot, explaining why many contests are practically decided months in advance. Are you prepared for one of the most consequential election cycles in recent SC history?
In this episode, we provide a comprehensive voter's guide to the major races and dates for the 2026 election cycle. We start at the federal level, covering the U.S. House seats for districts 3 and 4 (Sheri Biggs and William Timmons) and the nationally-watched Lindsey Graham 2026 reelection campaign for his U.S. Senate seat. We then dive deep into the high-stakes South Carolina gubernatorial race 2026, which is wide open as Governor Henry McMaster is term-limited. We discuss the declared and potential candidates, including Pamela Evette, Alan Wilson, Nancy Mace, and Mullins McLeod. This episode also explains the importance of the other statewide constitutional officers up for election, such as Attorney General and Superintendent of Education.
At the state and local level, we explain why all 124 seats in the SC House of Representatives are on the ballot, while the State Senate is not. For local voters, we detail the upcoming Greenville County elections 2026, which will include half of the County Council seats and several nonpartisan School Board positions. The central focus of our discussion is the electoral timeline, especially the SC primary and runoff dates 2026. We explain why the candidate filing period in March and the primary elections on June 9, 2026, often determine the final winner in many districts with single-party competition. We provide a clear voter timeline to help you prepare, from checking your registration on President's Day to researching candidates by Tax Day and voting early after Memorial Day. Don't miss this crucial overview of the South Carolina 2026 election.
Episode Resources:
Introduction
Katy Smith: 2026 is a big election year, and it will be one of the most consequential on record for South Carolina. Do you know who will be on your ballot? I'm Katy Smith with Greater Good Greenville, and on this episode of Simple Civics Greenville County, our producer Nathaniel DeSantis and I will walk you through an early preview of your must-do voting activities. We'll look at the key races from federal level down to our local Greenville County seats. Some of your votes will have national implications. We'll also clue you in on the critical election deadlines, including the all-important June primary and primary runoff dates, and why the competition in the spring filing period matters. Get ready to mark your calendar and get informed. We're here to help you get prepared for our next big election.
Nathaniel DeSantis: Welcome back to the podcast, everyone. Nathaniel here with Katy. 2026 is a big election, and we wanted to take a look at what voters like you will be deciding on.
Katy Smith: I'm glad we're doing this because it's really never too early to look ahead. And it is a big year. Let's do it.
Federal Races on the 2026 Ballot: U.S. House and Senate
Nathaniel DeSantis: For our listeners, we're talking about all of the statewide races, the federal races, and some of the local elections that Greenville voters like you will see. Let's start at the top on the federal level. What will we be voting for in November 2026?
Katy Smith: 2026 is a big midterm year. Every one of our seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in our state will be up for election, including two that cover parts of Greenville County. That's District 3, represented by Sheri Biggs, and District 4, represented by William Timmons.
Most notably, there is a U.S. Senate seat on the ballot, and that's the one currently held by Senator Lindsey Graham. He has indicated his plans to run for a fifth term. That race is not just one to watch here in South Carolina, but of course nationally.
The 2026 South Carolina Governor's Race and Statewide Offices
Nathaniel DeSantis: The Senate race, for those of you who don't know, is always going to draw a lot of money and attention to that race. But moving down to the state level, what's happening in our favorite place, Columbia?
Katy Smith: Things do get interesting for Greenville voters next year because in 2026, we are electing a governor and our other statewide constitutional officers, which we'll talk more about.
Nathaniel DeSantis: Our current governor, Henry McMaster, I believe is term-limited.
Katy Smith: He cannot seek a third term. This means we have a wide-open gubernatorial race and we have already heard of a lot of high-profile Republicans who've announced their campaigns, including our current Attorney General, Alan Wilson, and Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, who is from Greenville County. Some of our U.S. House members have said they want to run or plan to run.
On the Democratic side, Charleston Attorney Mullins McLeod has also announced. It's already a crowded and competitive field, which means that primary in June is going to be crucial and everyone has a chance to vote in it.
Nathaniel DeSantis: Speaking of those other statewide offices, which ones are on the ballot besides governor?
Katy Smith: All of the statewide constitutional offices. That is our attorney general, our secretary of state, our treasurer, comptroller general, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture. These are executive positions that manage really important state agencies, and they have a direct impact on everyday life in South Carolina.
Just that superintendent of education role—they are responsible for our state's public schools. And many of you longer-time listeners and voters know that in that 2022 primary, it was heated on both the Republican and Democratic side with a runoff on both sides for those candidates to end up on the November ballot.
All 124 SC House of Representatives Seats Are Up for Election
Nathaniel DeSantis: That is a massive slate of candidates to choose from. Let's talk about the statehouse.
Katy Smith: Every one of our 124 seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives is up for election in 2026. All of those House districts that fall within Greenville County will be on the ballot. This is where really important legislative action happens, from budgets to infrastructure. This is really important for our local interests.
Nathaniel DeSantis: 124 seats. That is a lot. I will plug our episode with John Michael Catalano, who talks about Election Day behind the scenes, because I can only imagine what that day will be like for that team. It's got to be stressful for that many seats.
Katy Smith: It's a lot for the Election Commission to manage, and they do a great job.
Nathaniel DeSantis: They do. Go listen to that episode. We'll put it in the show notes for you. I noticed you did not mention the state Senate. Is that just not part of the 2026 election cycle?
Katy Smith: It is an important distinction for South Carolina voters. Our state Senate elections are off-cycle in 2026. Their next election will be in 2028. They run every four years on those same presidential years. The 2026 focus for the General Assembly is entirely on the statehouse.
As always, we will aim to bring candidate voices to you so you can get to meet them on the Simple Civics Greenville County podcast.
A Look at Local Races: Greenville County Council and School Board
Nathaniel DeSantis: Got it. State House, but not state Senate. That's later. We are a podcast for Greenville County, in case you didn't know that from the title. Let's shift our focus to the hyper-local level. What local county-level offices should our listeners be preparing to vote for?
Katy Smith: Our even years always bring up about half of our county council and about half of our school board. Our county council is partisan, so you will have primaries and general elections for those seats. We also have constitutional officers for the county, like our probate judge, our auditor, our solicitor, and our Greenville County treasurer.
Nathaniel DeSantis: Those are the leaders who handle wills, land records, prosecution, and the county's money. They will all be elected. That's pretty vital. We've interviewed a few people for those offices, but very vital offices.
Katy Smith: It's really interesting to think about how long we've been doing this, that it was four years ago that we brought them in when they were candidates. Now it's time for them to file again if they're interested in running for re-election.
As I mentioned, we have our nonpartisan officers like our school board seats. For the school board, half the seats will be up, including those representing Greer, Taylors, Berea, Greenville, Mauldin, and Southern Greenville County.
Key Election Dates: Filing Period, Primaries, and Runoffs
Nathaniel DeSantis: I think that's basically an overview of what is on the ballot. Let's talk about timing now. For our listeners who are thinking about supporting a candidate, or maybe even running, which we also have episodes about that we'll link in the show notes, when do these elections actually happen and when does the campaigning become official?
Katy Smith: It is a clear timeline for next year. The big election day for the general election to decide who represents you is on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026. But before that, there are other critically important steps for the candidates and for you as a voter.
For any of those partisan races—the governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, State House, County Council—we have the primaries. The statewide primary election will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. If no candidate gets an outright majority in that primary, which is really common in a crowded field like we will have already in the gubernatorial race, there will be a primary runoff election that happens two weeks later on June 23, 2026.
To make sure it's crystal clear, in November, you see what party candidates are on the ballot. You'll see the Democratic candidate for governor. You'll see the Republican candidate for governor. Other parties—the Green Party, the Constitution Party, Libertarian—should they have someone. But how to decide which of those people get on there happens in June in the primary. That's where you might see five Democrats, six Republicans. The parties choose who gets on there.
Listen, the primary could not be more important because often this is when the decisions are actually made. In 2024, almost half of the seats within or that partially covered Greenville County had candidates from only one party file to run. This means that the elections were actually decided in the June primary.
Nathaniel DeSantis: June is where the real competition begins to narrow the field. What about the all-important candidate filing period? When do potential candidates, like a listener who might be inspired, have to officially declare their intent to run?
Katy Smith: This is in the spring before that June primary. The exact window is set by the state election commission. It can be subject to change or by those local jurisdictions. It's usually, and I anticipate next year, will be noon, March 16th through noon, March 30th. For 2026, all those candidates will need to file during that time.
I just want to add a little note here that if you're thinking about running or if you're just really curious about it, people who are paying attention pay close attention to who files. You can go on every day to the South Carolina Election Commission and look up who has filed here in Greenville County. A lot of times there are folks that are watching to decide if they want to run. There are people that are literally hanging out at the filing location at the local election commission to see who shows up by noon to decide whether they want to throw their hat in the ring. It's an important time. We pay close attention because we download the whole list of who filed to invite them to be on this podcast so that you can meet them.
Nathaniel DeSantis: We've met people who have come on who were those people that would wait until the last minute to see who's running if they thought there was no better candidate than themselves and they would put their name down. That definitely happens. If you're an aspiring candidate, you need to be ready to commit well before summer.
How to Prepare: A Voter’s Timeline for the 2026 Election
Katy Smith: That's why we're seeing all the political activity right now. It takes time to get your volunteers together, raise the money, talk with people to say, "Will you support me? I'm intending to run. What else do you know? What are the issues?" We've had episodes on that, which we can tag in the show notes.
Nathaniel DeSantis: For our listeners who do want to be prepared, what do they need to be thinking about?
Katy Smith: I would say mark your calendar and I'm going to give you a few dates that I think are helpful reminders of the steps that you need to take.
I think President's Day, which in 2026 is February 16th, is a great time to double-check your voter registration with the South Carolina Election Commission. There is a National Voter Registration Day in September, but something about President's Day is just connected with elections and it's a great nudge for you to do that. Make sure it's current, especially if you've moved, and make sure if you haven't voted recently that you're still on the voter rolls.
Another good reminder day to me is Tax Day, April 15th. That's a good time to see who is running in the June primary. Filing will have closed by then, and the candidates' campaigns should be gearing up so you can look to see who's on your ballot at the South Carolina Election Commission's website. Then you can look up these candidates if they have a candidate page or if they're on Facebook to talk about what their platform is.
Remember that the June primary is for the parties to pick their candidates, and you're going to have to choose which primary you wish to vote in. It's usually the Democratic and Republican parties that hold those primaries. As of this episode posting, we do not register by party in South Carolina, so you have the opportunity to vote in either the Democratic or the Republican primary. You're going to want to look up both of those sample ballots so you can decide where to cast your vote.
Another good reminder day is Memorial Day. We have early voting that opens two weeks before the election, so right after Memorial Day, you can go and vote early if you like to instead of on June 9th.
The last day that you have to put on your calendar is June 23rd, which is when primary runoffs will take place. We've done an episode just on this, which we'll post in the show notes. It is the overtime of this whole thing. For you to not vote in the runoff is like you getting in your car and driving home right when your favorite football team goes to overtime. Makes no sense. Mark that on your calendar, too.
If only two candidates have filed for any given seat, there will not mathematically be a runoff. But when we get to three and certainly four, it's highly, highly likely that a runoff will happen.
Looking already at our gubernatorial race or our U.S. Senate race, depending on which party you vote in, you'll very likely have the reason and chance to go back. Those are some specific dates you can pay attention to, things you can mark on your calendar if you don't want to think about this every day. Know that you can not pay attention until those dates come around.
But if you're interested, there is a lot of conversation happening right now, especially in the gubernatorial race and especially in that U.S. Senate race. They are defining the political narrative for our state and drawing a lot of attention already. Those candidates' platforms on issues like taxes, infrastructure, and education will directly affect your experience as a resident of Greenville County.
Find out which congressional and state house district you live in and keep an eye on who's announcing their intention to run. Reach out to them because you are or will be their constituent and they should want to hear from you about what you care about.
Nathaniel DeSantis: That's all been great advice, Katy. Thank you for walking us through a preview of what we can expect in 2026 on the ballot. It is a lot to take in, but I'm glad you're all listening because it's really critical to be informed.
As we say with anything election-related, share this with a friend, a neighbor, or a family member, and check the show notes for a lot of links. You'll find links to the South Carolina Election Commission and the Greenville County Voter Registration Office in the show notes, but you'll also find links for other resources we mentioned: the behind-the-scenes, if you're interested in running for office, what goes into a campaign, things like that. Check those out if you're interested.
Please remember your vote is your voice and being informed is that first step. Thank you for being here. Katy, thank you for doing this with us today.
Katy Smith: Always my pleasure. As we always say, we do not care who you vote for. We just want you to vote.
Credits
Simple Civics: Greenville County is Produced by Podcast Studio X.
A Greater Good Greenville project.
