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US Midterms 2026
11NOV

SC recounts Joe Wilson's 2nd District

2 min read
18:10UTC

Representative Joe Wilson leads Democrat Zyon Khalifa by 2,926 votes, a margin of 0.986% that puts his seat just inside South Carolina's automatic recount line.

← Back to Late ballots flip North Carolina's 3rdJump to analysis ↓
PoliticsAssessed
Key takeaway

Joe Wilson's 0.986% lead triggered South Carolina's automatic recount, while Nancy Lacore cleared the line narrowly.

The South Carolina State Election Commission has opened an automatic recount in the 2nd District, where Representative Joe Wilson leads Zyon Khalifa, the Democrat, by 2,926 votes of 296,664. At 0.986%, that sits just under the state's 1% line⁠1. Unlike North Carolina, where the trailing candidate must ask, South Carolina recounts any race inside 1% automatically. None of the district's five counties had been recounted when Lowdown read the commission's recount feed⁠2.

The same recount takes in two seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives: District 27, where the Republican leads by 32 votes (9,143 to 9,111), and District 89, where the Democrat leads by 106. At 32 votes, a single precinct's tally sheet can decide District 27.

In the 1st District, Nancy Lacore finished 3,352 votes ahead of Jenny Costa Honeycutt, a margin of 1.027%, after the Associated Press projected her the winner on Saturday 7 November⁠3. That leaves her only 0.027 points clear of the recount line. Her lead was 2,356 on polling night, so a Democratic gain in a long-safe Republican seat is spared a second count.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

South Carolina automatically recounts any race decided by a very small margin, without anyone having to ask. Three races qualify this year. The largest is the 2nd District, a seat in Congress around Columbia, where the Republican incumbent, Joe Wilson, is narrowly ahead of the Democrat, Zyon Khalifa. Recounts rarely change results unless the gap is a few hundred votes or less. That makes two state legislature seats, separated by 32 and 106 votes, the ones to watch.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

South Carolina law orders a recount without any request once the margin falls to 1% of the votes cast. The trigger is a fixed share, so in a congressional district of nearly 300,000 voters it catches margins approaching 3,000 votes.

State House districts are small, so a 32-vote gap in District 27 is a far larger share of the electorate than Wilson's lead, and a few rejected or misread ballots could decide it.

What could happen next?
  • Consequence

    The 2nd District recount is very likely to confirm Joe Wilson's win.

  • Risk

    House District 27, at 32 votes, could change hands on the recount, which would shift a seat in the South Carolina House.

Sources:South Carolina State Election Commission·South Carolina State Election Commission·Yahoo News
Mentions:South Carolina State Election Commission →South Carolina's 2nd congressional district →South Carolina House of Representatives →Nancy Lacore →Jenny Costa Honeycutt →South Carolina's 1st congressional district →Associated Press →South Carolina →Washington →FairVote →North Carolina →Joe Wilson →Zyon Khalifa →Rob Richie →
First Reported In

Update #24 · Late ballots flip North Carolina's 3rd

South Carolina State Election Commission· 11 Nov 2026
Read original →
Causes and effects
Caused by
Andrews ousts Graham Nordone by 86,285
Lacore's polling-night lead of 2,356 grew to 3,352, leaving SC-1 just outside the recount line.
Occurred 3 Nov 2026
Read story →
This Event
SC recounts Joe Wilson's 2nd District
A sitting Republican congressman now faces a recount, while a state House race decided by 32 votes rests on the same process.
Different Perspectives
University of Florida Election Lab
University of Florida Election Lab
The lab, run by Michael McDonald, estimates about 124.3 million ballots, a raw midterm record, and turnout of about 49.4% of eligible voters, second to 2018's 50.05%. The raw record reflects population growth more than a record rate, so the late count is working through a near-2018 electorate.
Thune's critics on the right, including Senator Ron Johnson
Thune's critics on the right, including Senator Ron Johnson
Ron Johnson backed the failed 31-15 motion to delay Thune's re-election, after activists such as Mike Cernovich blamed the leader for the defeat. Their complaint is that Republicans could have passed the SAVE Act; in January it meets a Democratic Senate instead.
Senator John Thune
Senator John Thune
Thune was re-elected Senate Republican leader by acclamation on 10 November after a motion to delay failed 31-15. He kept the filibuster that stopped the SAVE Act, the choice his critics on the right blame for the defeat.
House Republicans under Jim Jordan
House Republicans under Jim Jordan
House Republicans elected Jordan minority leader by 106 votes to 73 over Steve Scalise on 10 November, after Speaker Mike Johnson declined to run. They replaced the leadership that lost the majority, while Senate Republicans kept theirs.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Trump asked on Truth Social on 9 November whether anybody believed the election "was honest" and blamed the machines, having told The New York Times on polling night he would accept the results. No Republican campaign had sued over a 2026 result by 10 November, so the claim has no case behind it.
Judge David O. Carter
Judge David O. Carter
Carter closed the Justice Department's suit over about 20,000 California mail ballots on 10 November after the department withdrew it, writing that the suit "attempted to disrupt an ongoing election". The closure leaves the department with no court order touching a 2026 California ballot.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.