Tuesday is primary day. Here's what's at stake for Republicans and Democrats (2024)

It's a potpourri of primary races June 11 for Republicans and Democrats, where voters will winnow their choices for November.

All of the state's seven members of Congress (but not the U.S. Senate) are up this year and so are all 170 members of the Statehouse, as are a slate of local county offices and sheriffs.

How Republican voters respond could again test the power of former President Donald Trump in the Palmetto State.

How Democrats respond could likewise gauge support for President Joe Biden.

The GOP primary is often the decisive contest in deep-red South Carolina, and this year several incumbent U.S. House members are seeking to ward off primary challengers.

But Democrats have races to watch, too.

A high-profile state Senate duelis brewing in the Columbia area between a prominent state House member and former state Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian, who may be best known for being one of the attorneys for convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh.

Meanwhile, the state's most high-profile Democrat, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn,faces no Democratic opposition as he seeks a 17th term. Buttwo Republicans are battling it out for the chance to try and unseat Biden's closest ally in the Palmetto State come November. The 6th District stretches from Columbia to include the downtown Charleston peninsula and parts of West Ashley.

The only open U.S. House seat is in the solidly Republican 3rd Congressional District, where the race is on to determine who will succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan in the northwest part of the state.

While the governor's office and the state's constitutional officers are not up this year, more than 30 state House of Representative contests will play out like a ballot box battle royale between the House Republican Caucus and conservative hardliners in the House Freedom Caucus.

Here's a look at what to expect June 11:

Congress

1st District: Nancy Mace challenged; who will Democrats pick?

The most competitive Republican contest is unfolding in the coastal 1st District where voters from Charleston to Hilton Head Island will decide the political fate of U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace.

Mace is seeking a third term. In 2023, she shocked many when she became one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.

Mace is facing a pair of Republican challengers: two-time former state agency head Catherine Templeton of Mount Pleasant, and Bill Young of James Island, a political newcomer who is highlighting his background as a Marine veteran.

Templeton is viewed as the incumbent's closest rival. She launched her bid by accusing Mace of "flip-flopping for fame."

Mace has cast Templeton as a McCarthy "puppet." Mace is also reminding voters she is the candidate with Trump's endorsem*nt. It is unclear how much that will help or hurt Mace, as the 1st District is the only one that voted for former Gov. Nikki Haley over Trump in February's GOP presidential primary.

Competing for the Democratic nomination are attorney Mac Deford and businessman Michael B. Moore. Both of the first-time candidates have sought to put abortion rights at the center of their campaign platforms, but it is unclear who has the edge in the matchup.

3rd District: Who is headed to a runoff?

Republican voters will have their work cut out for them in the state's 3rd Congressional District, where seven GOP candidates are on the ballot, and just one of the contenders has held elected office before.

So why the high interest?

Duncan's retirement announcement created a rare opportunity for ambitious Republicans.

The district, which spans 10 counties and some 5,600 miles in the northwest corner of the state, is considered the most Republican seat in South Carolina.

The best-known candidates are state Rep. Stewart Jones, R-Laurens, and Mark Burns, the Trump-endorsed pastor who almost won the 2018 congressional race in this area before an election fraud scandal brought down his candidacy.

Voters will need to whittle down the seven-candidate field. If nobody breaks the 50 percent threshold, the top two vote-getters will face each other in a June 25 runoff.

Whoever wins the GOP primary will likely go to Congress.

Duncan did not face a serious challenger during his tenure in Congress. He was first elected in 2010.

4th District: Timmons vs. Morgan

Will Republican primary voters forgive U.S. Rep. William Timmons, or will they instead try to forget him?

The three-term incumbent is locked in a head-to-head GOP primary battle with headline-making challenger state Rep. Adam Morgan, R-Greenville.

Since 2019, Timmons has represented the socially conservative 4th District in the Upstate. But in a region where more than 60 percent of residents are sitting in church on Sundays, will voters look past theaccusations of his infidelity?

In 2022, Timmons was accused of having an affair with a Greenville socialite, which Timmons denied at the time. Later that year, his wife filed for separation, saying in a public statement that they were divorcing with "love and mutual respect."

Voters will also have to decide if they can trust Morgan, who last month made an issue ofquestioningwhetherthe state's Medicaid agency had committed voter fraud by encouraging refugees to vote. A state investigation found the allegation had no merit.

Timmons has Trump's support in the contest, as well as Gov. Henry McMaster's endorsem*nt.

A slew of conservative voices are also going to bat for Timmons in a new radio ad, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and Trump.

Meanwhile, Morgan has become a viral star in far-right circles, with his newfound internet stardom leading to an appearance on Steve Bannon's podcast and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz campaigning on Morgan's behalf.

Whoever wins the GOP primary will take on Kathryn Harvey, the Spartanburg County Democratic Party chair.

State Legislature:GOP civil war

In about three dozen S.C. House districts it's anall-out intraparty warwith establishment Republicans on one side and the renegade Freedom Caucus on the other.

The outcome of the contests has the power to shape the direction of the state.

Candidates aligned or sympathetic to the Freedom Caucus are attempting to topple majority caucus members in about 17 of the House’s 124 districts, while the same hardline-vs-mainline dynamic is playing out in eight open seats.

The contests have also attracted attention from the likes of McMaster, who for the first time as governor has sought to influence the GOP primary outcomes.

He's siding with those who are looking to topple current Freedom Caucus members.

3 GOP 'Sister Senators' face primaries over abortion vote

Ott vs. Harpootlian

The state's most closely watched Democratic duel is smack dab in the center of the state.

Incumbent state Sen. Dick Harpootlian of Columbia is facing a challenge from state Rep. Russell Ott, a prominent Democrat from St. Matthews for newly drawn Senate District 26.

Ott hasn’t shied from striking at that which has made Harpootlian famous around the state: his brash, unfiltered style and his time defending Murdaugh.

Harpootlian has hammered Ott for past votes in favor of abortion restrictions and permissive gun laws.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary could still face a fight in November. The seat has been redrawn and includes deep-blue downtown Columbia, purple suburbs across the Congaree and red rural areas, making it of the state’s most competitive Senate districts.

Charleston tri-county races

Down the ballot, voters will get to weigh in on various county-level elections around the state, including county council races and courthouse offices like sheriff, solicitor, clerk of court, probate judge and coroner.

In Charleston County, the sheriff’s race is sure to attract a lot of attention.

Sheriff Kristin Graziano no longer faces a Democratic primary challenger after a judge upheld the party's decision to block a would-be challenger from the ballot. But four Republicans are battling for the GOP nomination: law enforcement veterans Rocky Burke, Rick Keys, Greg Kitchens and Carl Ritchie.

Dorchester County also has a closely watched sheriff’s race. Two Republicans and two Democrats are running to be the county’s top lawman.

The two Democrats in the race are Charles Frederick and Trumaine Moorer.

The Republican candidates are Sam Richardson and Mike Turner, who unsuccessfully challenged current Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight in 2012 and 2020.

If elected, Richardson, who has the support of Attorney General Alan Wilson, would be the only Black Republican sheriff in South Carolina.

The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.