2026 forecast · South Carolina 5th

Wes Climer is all but certain to win South Carolina's 5th District.

Mallory Dittmer vs Wes Climer, an open seat. The model has Climer ahead by 17.2 points, winning 99 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe RModel R +17.2Updated October 22, 2026
Mallory Dittmer
Democrat
40.8%
118,299 projected votes
Wes Climer
Republican
58.0%
168,229 projected votes
99%Climer
1%Dittmer
Climer all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, Climer wins about 99 of 100
RatingSafe R99% chance for Climer
Model marginR +17.2No polls in the race
80 percent rangeR +8.8 to R +25.82,000 simulations
Projected votes290,056Climer 58.0%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

South Carolina districts

7 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Mallory DittmerDemocrat · 1% to win
40.8%
Wes ClimerRepublican · 99% to win
58.0%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

290,056 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Wes Climer R168,22958.0%
Mallory Dittmer D118,29940.8%
Andy Kaplan FWD3,5281.2%
Total290,056100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%1% Dittmer99% Climer14 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The South Carolina governor polling average
30%35%40%45%50%55%AugSepOct38.9Johnson49.2Wilson
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHollow dot: a lean firm's poll as published; the filled dot is where the average counts it, after its measured lean is taken offHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Trafalgar Group (R)Oct 18 · 1,095 LV · A- · R lean, counted Wilson +12.2 in the average18%Wilson +16.0
Hart Research (D)Aug 15 · 600 RV · C+18%Wilson +8.0
National Public AffairsOct 16 · 604 LV · NR18%Wilson +10.0
On Point PollingOct 19 · 294 LV · Gold17%Wilson +8.6
FITSNews/Rick QuinnOct 3 · 638 RV · NR15%Wilson +10.1
Resonance MediaOct 3 · 638 RV · NR15%Wilson +10.0

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Climer +17.2
Chance of winning
Mallory Dittmer1%
Wes Climer99%
Simulated vote
Mallory Dittmer40.8%
Wes Climer58.0%
Andy Kaplan1.2%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +23.0
FundamentalsR +17.3
With pollsR +17.3
Early vote turnoutD +0.1
With early voteR +17.2

South Carolina has no early vote reported yet, so its turnout correction comes from similar states that do and from its primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +28R +28Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +23.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +17.3With pollsno pollsR +17.3With early voteturnout so farR +17.2
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.