Three state House districts bordering North Charleston flipped from Republican to Democratic control on Nov. 3, part of a statewide wave that broke the GOP's supermajority in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Democrats picked up 10 House seats across the state, three more than the seven they needed to end the supermajority, reported by the Post and Courier. Republicans still hold a 79-45 majority in the chamber.

The Lowcountry flips landed in districts that overlap with communities North Charleston residents share schools, roads and services with.

District 92, Goose Creek: Byron Walters, a military veteran who worked in the hospitality industry, won 52 percent of the vote to unseat Republican Rep. Brandon Cox, who was first elected in 2022, the Post and Courier reported. A Democrat had not appeared on the ballot in that district since at least 2008.

District 98, Summerville: Sonja Ogletree Satani, an Air Force veteran and business consultant, beat Republican Rep. Greg Ford 55 percent to 45 percent, according to the Post and Courier. Ford first won the seat in a special election earlier in 2026, edging Ogletree Satani by just 21 votes. That contest followed the resignation of the late Rep. Chris Murphy.

District 102, upper Berkeley and Dorchester counties: Montez Aiken defeated first-term Republican Rep. Harriet Holman 57 percent to 43 percent, according to the Charleston City Paper. Holman had narrowly flipped the seat in 2024. Aiken, a former police officer, won despite allegations that he sent inappropriate text messages to former students while he was a school resource officer, the Post and Courier reported. Summerville police referred the matter to the State Law Enforcement Division. Nothing in the original text messages reviewed by the Post and Courier suggested anything illegal took place, the newspaper reported.

What the supermajority loss means

The shift carries real consequences for how the legislature operates. A two-thirds supermajority is required to suspend rules, override vetoes, set special session agendas and place constitutional amendments on the ballot, the Charleston City Paper reported in an Oct. 23 analysis. Without it, Republicans will need Democratic votes for each of those actions.

Retiring state Rep. Spencer Wetmore of James Island told the City Paper before the election that the differences between a simple majority and a supermajority were "almost all procedural maneuvers, but sometimes they really matter."

Jay Parmley, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, told reporters Nov. 4 that the results were "just really through the roof for us," according to the Post and Courier.

House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, said in a statement that the caucus's "focus remains on the issues that matter most to South Carolina families, especially making life affordable, strengthening our communities and growing our economy."

The party fielded candidates in all 124 House districts for the first time in decades. During early voting alone, Democrats made nearly 800,000 phone calls and door knocks, ABC News 4 reported.

Statewide, the biggest Republican casualty was House Majority Leader Micah Caskey of Lexington County, who lost to Democratic challenger Joe Madge by just over 100 votes, according to the Charleston City Paper. That margin triggers an automatic recount. Caskey said on social media Nov. 5 that he did not expect the result to change, the City Paper reported.