The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in the capital city of Columbia near the corner of Gervais and Assembly Streets, the building also housed the Supreme Court until 1971.
Daniel Byron "Danny" Verdin III is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing District 9. In November 2008, he was chosen as majority whip.
Thomas C. Alexander is an American businessman and politician. Since 2021, he has been serving as the second President of the South Carolina Senate. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented South Carolina's 1st Senate District since 1994 and has represented parts of Oconee County, specifically the city of Walhalla, for over forty years.
John Willie Drummond was an American politician. He was a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, who represented the 10th District from 1966 through 2008. He was also a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1965 through 1966.
Vincent Austin Sheheen is an American attorney and politician. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 2004 to 2020, representing the 27th District, which comprises Chesterfield, Kershaw, and Lancaster counties. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2001 to 2004. He ran for Governor of South Carolina twice, in 2010 and 2014, losing both times to Nikki Haley. In 2020, Sheheen lost reelection to Republican Penry Gustafson.
C. Bradley Hutto is an American politician currently serving as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing Senate District 40 since 1996. He is the Democratic Minority Leader in the Senate, succeeding Nikki Setzler on November 17, 2020.
Glenn Fant McConnell is an American politician from South Carolina. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 41st District from 1981 to March 13, 2012. He ascended to the office of lieutenant governor on March 13, 2012 because he was the Senate President Pro Tempore. He served as the 89th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina until June 18, 2014. The office of lieutenant governor had become vacant because of the resignation of Ken Ard on March 9, 2012 due to his indictment by a state Grand Jury for ethics violations.
Ronnie W. Cromer is an American politician. He has represented South Carolina Senate District 18 since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Hugh Kenneth Leatherman Sr. was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate from 1981 until his death in 2021. The 31st District, which he represented, is anchored in Florence, South Carolina. From 2001 until his death, Leatherman effectively controlled South Carolina's budget as the Senate Finance Chairman and was considered one of the most powerful people in South Carolina politics. He negotiated the deal to bring Boeing to South Carolina in 2009 and secured funding for the deepening of the Charleston Harbor in 2011. At the time of his death, Leatherman served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. He served as President Pro Tempore of the South Carolina Senate for all but one day from June 18, 2014, to January 8, 2019. The position was abolished and replaced with the President of the Senate. Prior to this change, Leatherman was capable of being both President of the Senate and Senate Finance Chairman. He was also a member of the State Budget and Control Board until it was abolished in 2014.
Lee Bright is an American politician who served as the South Carolina State Senator from the 12th district from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, his district included Spartanburg County and Greenville County. Bright unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2014 and U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.
Michael Wayne Gambrell is an American politician and businessman. Since 2016, Gambrell has represented South Carolina's 4th Senate District. Formerly, he was a South Carolina House of Representatives from the 7th District, serving from 2007 until 2016. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Dwight A. Loftis is an American politician and insurance agent from South Carolina. A member of the South Carolina Senate since 2019, he previously represented district 19 in the South Carolina House of Representatives for 23 years from 1996 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican party.
Although the Confederate States of America dissolved at the end of the American Civil War (1861–1865), its battle flag continues to be displayed as a symbol. The modern display began during the 1948 United States presidential election when it was used by the Dixiecrats, southern Democrats that opposed civil rights for African Americans. Further display of the flag was a response to the civil rights movement and the passage of federal civil rights laws in the 1950s and 1960s.
Margie Bright Matthews is a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District since 2015, when she won a special election to succeed Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in the Charleston church shooting in 2015. She is an attorney who founded a law firm.
The 2016 South Carolina Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state senators in all 46 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the South Carolina Senate, with all the up for election each cycle.
Rex Fontaine Rice is an American politician and businessman. He has represented South Carolina's 2nd Senate District since 2016. Previously, Rice represented House District 26 in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1994 to 2010. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Wes Climer is an American politician. Since 2016, Climer has represented the 15th District (York) in the South Carolina Senate. He is a member of the Republican party.
The 2020 South Carolina State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 2020 United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state senators in all 46 senate districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the South Carolina Senate, with all of the seats up for election each cycle. The primary elections on June 9, 2020, determined which candidates appeared on the November 3, 2020, general election ballot.
The South Carolina Heritage Act is a South Carolina statute that forbids the removal or alteration of historic monuments located on public property in South Carolina as well as the rededication of any public areas or structures named after a historic person or event. The historic monuments protected include war monuments as well as monuments representing Native American and African American history.
The president of the South Carolina Senate is the presiding officer of the body. The role of the president is to ensure that general order is maintained in the senate by recognizing members to speak, ensuring members are following established rules, and to call for votes. Additionally, the president is second in the line of succession should the governor and lieutenant governor be unable to serve as governor. The current president of the senate is Thomas C. Alexander, a Republican, who has held the position since December 6, 2021.
