Who's In the Race

Three candidates advanced out of the June 9 primaries for South Carolina's 5th U.S. House District, an open seat set for a general election on Nov. 3. The seat is open because the previous holder, Republican Ralph W. Norman Jr., is not running.

The Republican nominee is Wes Climer, a state senator from York County who ran unopposed in his primary, taking 100 percent of the vote. The Democratic nominee is Mallory Dittmer, a Fort Mill-based former business executive who won a three-way Democratic primary with 55.8 percent of the vote, or 25,428 ballots. The third nominee is Andy Kaplan, who advanced from the Forward Party primary unopposed.

What They Stand For

Wes Climer built his campaign around a nine-pillar conservative platform. His campaign website describes him as a fighter for the "America First agenda," pledging to "vote to slash spending, block tax hikes, and restore federalism by returning power to states and citizens." Climer points to his record in the South Carolina Senate, where he says he helped deliver $2 billion in state tax cuts, as evidence of his fiscal approach. His platform also emphasizes government accountability and judicial reform, according to his campaign website.

Mallory Dittmer centers her campaign on kitchen-table economic issues. Her priorities page calls for lowering insurance premiums, prescription drug costs, and out-of-pocket medical expenses, and for protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act while reversing cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

On the economy, her campaign announcement described a commitment to ensuring "everyone has the chance to live affordably, plan for the future, and reach for their version of the American Dream," with specific planks on lowering utility, housing, and childcare costs. Dittmer's platform also calls for protecting public school funding, keeping taxpayer money within the public school system, and expanding pre-K access to reduce achievement gaps.

On immigration, her campaign website calls for strengthening border security "with a focus on system sustainability, lawful accountability, and human compassion." Her political reform planks include term limits, ending partisan gerrymandering, and limiting billionaire influence in politics, under a "People-Over-Party" campaign theme.

Andy Kaplan frames his candidacy as a break from both major parties. His campaign website organizes his platform around three pillars: clean up government, make Congress work again, and deliver real results for working families. Kaplan, a healthcare administrator with more than 30 years of industry experience, argues that "money has too much influence, and the two-party system keeps us divided," and pledges to change "the rules in Washington that let special interests control the system."

The Forward Party, which endorsed Kaplan, describes him as running to "expand access to affordable healthcare." His campaign explicitly rejects PAC and corporate money, stating "No PACs, no corporate money, just people powering change."

The Money Behind the Race

All recorded outside spending in this race ($1,181 across 11 transactions) supports candidates rather than opposing them.

Outside spending targeting the Democratic candidate totals $920, while spending targeting the Republican candidate totals $261.

The two committees driving that spending are Ohio Erie PAC and Freedom Caucus Fund. Ohio Erie PAC accounts for $920 across two transactions. Freedom Caucus Fund accounts for $261 across nine transactions. The committee-level data does not specify each committee's support or opposition direction on individual candidates.

These figures reflect expenditures reported in periodic filings through Sept. 21; additional 24/48-hour notices may have been filed since then.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets

Every major race-rating service calls this contest a lock for Republicans. The Cook Political Report rates the race Solid Republican as of Sept. 25. Sabato's Crystal Ball rates it Solid Republican as of Sept. 22, and Inside Elections rates it Solid Republican as of Sept. 17.

On the prediction market Kalshi, as of Sept. 28, the Republican candidate holds a 90.55 percent implied probability of winning, while the Democratic candidate sits at 9.45 percent, based on $14,333 in trading volume.

The district's history supports that picture. In the two most recent cycles, the Republican candidate carried South Carolina's 5th U.S. House District with about 63.5 percent of the vote in 2024 and about 64 percent in 2022.

Across all of South Carolina's federal congressional races in 2022 and 2024, Republicans won six of seven House seats in each cycle and also claimed the state's Senate seat in 2022, with Democrats holding only the 6th District. At the presidential level, Donald Trump carried South Carolina with 58.2 percent of the vote in 2024.

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