Who's In the Race

Three candidates advanced out of the June 9 primaries for South Carolina's 4th U.S. House District: Republican William Timmons, Democrat Courtney McClain, and Libertarian Jessica Ethridge.

Timmons, the incumbent, won a three-way primary with 65.84 percent of the vote, collecting 47,895 votes out of 72,746 cast. McClain advanced without a primary being held, while Ethridge was the sole candidate in her primary.

What They Stand For

William Timmons (Republican)

Timmons frames the national debt as "one of the greatest national security threats we currently face" and says he ran for Congress to "restore fiscal sanity in Washington and rein in unnecessary spending," according to his campaign website.

On immigration, Timmons calls the situation at the southern border "an undeniable crisis" and supports "comprehensive immigration reform to solve the root causes of this crisis and common-sense border security measures," citing personal visits to the border. He describes himself as "proudly pro-life" and supports "common-sense pro-life policies that defend the unborn and support mothers and families," per his issues page.

Timmons pledges he will "never defund the police" and says the rule of law is "under attack." On elections, he supports voter ID laws and says his goal is to "make it easier to vote and much harder to cheat." He also supports rebuilding the military and says Washington should be "accountable to the American people only, not special interests," per his campaign site.

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Courtney McClain (Democrat)

McClain's campaign centers on an "Upstate First Agenda" focused on lowering the cost of living, according to her official campaign website. Her platform explicitly includes "expanding access to quality healthcare, building affordable homes, managing our rapid growth, investing in small businesses, and stopping data centers from coming into our communities."

On healthcare, a Smarter.Vote candidate profile drawing from her campaign materials lists support for fully funding the Affordable Care Act, increasing subsidies, backing a Medicare for All single-payer system, expanding mobile health services for disabled, senior, veteran, and homeless populations, extending coverage to dental, vision, and reproductive care, increasing funding for rural hospitals, and capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs.

Opposing the siting of new AI and tech data centers in the district is a distinctive plank of her platform, framed as a quality-of-life issue, per her campaign website. She also calls for investing in small businesses and strengthening consumer protections and labor standards.

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Jessica Ethridge (Libertarian)

Ethridge is a Greenville-area native, paralegal, former South Carolina Libertarian Party vice chair, and the party's 2022 lieutenant governor nominee, according to her Libertarian Party national candidate profile.

That profile describes her as someone with "a heart for her community" who "hopes to be a voice for South Carolina's 4th Congressional District in Washington, DC," but states no specific policy positions.

The South Carolina Libertarian Party lists her as the District 4 nominee.

The Money Behind the Race

All recorded outside spending in this race ($488,416 across eight independent expenditures) has gone toward supporting Timmons, with no opposition spending on record. Of that total, $487,316 supports the Republican nominee.

Two committees account for all of the outside spending South Carolina's 4th District has drawn so far.

Defend American Jobs leads all spenders with $487,316 across six filings. The National Association of Realtors accounts for the remaining $1,100 across two filings.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets

Every major race-rating service calls this contest Solid Republican. The Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections have all issued that rating.

Prediction market Kalshi, as of Sept. 28, puts the Republican's probability of winning at about 93 percent, with the Democrat at roughly seven percent. Those odds are based on the market volume listed on the Kalshi market page.

Timmons won the same seat with about 91 percent of the vote in 2022 and nearly 60 percent in 2024. Across both the 2022 and 2024 federal congressional cycles, Republicans won the vast majority of South Carolina's U.S. House and Senate seats; the only Democratic winner in either cycle was James E. Clyburn in the state's 6th Congressional District. At the presidential level, Donald Trump carried South Carolina with 58.2 percent of the vote in 2024.

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