The Winner
If you live in South Carolina's 2nd U.S. House District, you will continue to be represented in Congress by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who has been declared the winner of the 2026 congressional race, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the race on Nov. 11, and Wilson took about 49.8% of the vote to about 48.8% for Democrat Zyon Khalifa, a margin of about 1 point or about 2,926 votes, according to official results from the South Carolina Election Commission as of Nov. 12. The result rests on the AP call and the vote figures are preliminary, so totals may change until the state certifies them.
The Race
Khalifa reached the general election ballot by winning the June 9 Democratic primary, where he received about 19,992 votes. Dayna Alane Smith also ran and took about 1.2% of the general election vote. Cook Political Report rated the seat Solid Republican heading into Election Day.
The district has about 749,300 residents, according to Geographies data for the district. About 61.5% of residents are white, about 26.2% Black, about 7.3% Hispanic and about 2.3% Asian. The median household income is about $74,600, the median age is about 39.6, about 36.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is about 5.4% and about 12.2% of residents live below the poverty line.
The district covers parts or all of Aiken, Barnwell, Lexington, Orangeburg and Richland counties, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
What's Next
Wilson is set to take office on Jan. 3, 2027, under the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. His publicly stated priorities include national security and supporting U.S. troops with the equipment and funding he says they need, according to the national security section of Representative Joe Wilson's official House website, which was accessed Nov. 12.
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