159 Democrats filed to be on the ballot in all 124 of the state’s House Seats to Republicans’ 139 candidates for 104 of the state’s House Seats
The Comeback SC, a grassroots, all volunteer effort comprised of Democratic electeds, campaign advisors, and party leaders focused on breaking the Republican supermajority in the South Carolina Statehouse by recruiting, educating, and supporting candidates released the following statement today:
“The South Carolina Democratic Party has succeeded in bringing in a groundswell of candidates and activists who represent a new day for our party and the beginning of a comeback. When we compete everywhere, all the time, we can accomplish great things for our State. Now we get to work breaking the Republican supermajority in November.”
SC House Democrats need six seats to break the supermajority in the South Carolina House of Representatives. The 2026 filing period is the best showing for Democrats in more than a generation with 159 candidates filing in all 124 districts to Republicans’ 139 candidates in 104 districts. The last time SC Democrats filed 100 candidates for SC House was 1990 when Democrats still held the majority.
In Summer 2025, The Comeback SC launched a statewide tour to reach Democrats in every region of the state with one mission: building an opposition party with robust competition capable of breaking the Republican supermajority. This meant engaging in honest conversation about the state of the party and the need to bring new candidates and a deeper bench with an emphasis on rebuilding at the state and local level.
Representatives of The Comeback SC spoke at over 25 Democratic groups across South Carolina. The group participated in dozens of Zoom meetings, podcasts, and media appearances. In January 2026, the group launched ComebackSC.com urging South Carolinians to run and offering a roadmap to regain relevance and start dismantling 30 years of gerrymandering designed to protect political elites from accountability. The Comeback also published a candidate toolkit to help first-time candidates launch their campaigns.
The effort to encourage people to file was complementary to the South Carolina Democratic
Party’s own robust recruiting efforts.
Set the clock – the comeback starts today.