Republican runoff set in South Carolina’s open 1st District race

Republican voters in South Carolina’s open 1st Congressional District have set up an early test of what kind of candidate can still hold one of the state’s safest GOP seats. Jenny Honeycutt and Mark Smith advanced from the June 9 primary to a June 23 runoff, with the winner headed toward the November 3 general election in a district stretching from greater Charleston to Hilton Head Island.

The race is open because Nancy Mace filed to run for governor on March 23, leaving behind a seat she first won in 2020 and then defended in 2024 with 58.22% of the vote to Democrat Michael B. Moore’s 41.60%. The district remains Republican-leaning by the numbers, with the Cook Political Report’s 2025 PVI rating it R+6, but it is also one of South Carolina’s more competitive GOP-held House districts, which has made Mace’s departure especially consequential.

That makes the runoff more than a routine intraparty contest. It is a measure of whether coastal South Carolina Republicans want a candidate in Mace’s mold, willing to lean into the cultural and ideological fights that dominate state GOP politics, or a more conventional conservative who can hold together a broad suburban and coastal coalition. In a district that has voted overwhelmingly Republican in recent elections, the real question is not partisan control but which version of the party is best positioned to keep control.

The open-primary system adds another layer to the contest. Voters in South Carolina can choose either party’s ballot, which can blur the line between a base election and a broader test of local sentiment. The runoff will sharpen that test, forcing Republican voters to choose between Honeycutt and Smith after a crowded field was narrowed to two.

The broader 2026 map also underscores the significance of the South Carolina race. The 1st District is one of 58 open U.S. House contests nationwide because the incumbent is not seeking reelection, but few combine the same mix of Republican strength, coastal suburban volatility and ideological stakes. Republicans statewide have continued to emphasize their ties to Donald Trump, and that influence is still a defining force in South Carolina politics. In that context, the June 23 runoff will show whether the party’s voters in the Lowcountry prefer a standard-bearer for the culture wars or a steadier hand for a seat Republicans intend to keep.