South Carolina has 4 million eligible voters. 3.4 million are registered to vote. Incumbents get re-elected by 3 to 5% of eligible voters. Seems wrong? It is. Can you change it? You can!
600,000 people do not register to vote. Most unregistered citizens in South Carolina are independent-minded or politically alienated. Many people strongly dislike partisan infighting and choose to completely disengage from party nomination processes. Midterm elections feature party people running against people in the same party, so it is not possible to just vote red or blue. People would rather not vote than figure out how to vote.
Incumbents or well-funded establishment candidates prefer a low-turnout primary because it makes the electorate highly predictable. They know exactly who will vote....older, wealthier, and deeply partisan people. A quiet campaign naturally suppresses interest among young voters.
In non-presidential election year SC primaries, between 370,000 and 500,000 historically vote. These voters are split among the parties. In the last SC midterm, there were 368K Republican votes and 181K Democrat votes. If an incumbent gets less than 50%, historic runoff votes sum around 225K. This means an incumbent needs to land in the top 2, then go to a runoff and get 3.3% of the registered voters to remain in office.
Given the number of candidates on the primary ballot, the likelihood of another 6 years of Lindsey Graham is high, and he will be put in office by something between 3.3% and 5.6% of eligible voters. This reflects one of two things. A lazy democracy or epidemic apathy. It is sad. And it is all caused by lack of voter motivation. Everyone can make a difference by voting in a way that reflects the supermajority belief that term limits matter.
What causes this lack of motivation? I believe it is the lack of something or someone to believe in. President Trump won twice because a large group of people believed in him. Not the party. The party lines do not align with me. The fringe elements on both sides seem to rule. The system is so obviously rigged by lifetime politicians, billionaires and corporations there is no need to take on Goliath when you can live in peace as David. It is a pain to wait in line and vote. It is a pain to request a mail-in ballot and vote. And it is hard to figure out who to vote for.
For all its risks, this is where AI can be helpful. You can quickly find out about a candidate and vote from the heart. You can pick someone who best aligns with you, and best represents you. Imagine if 5% of the registered voters decided enough is enough, and went out to make term limits matter and show the world that SC representation cannot be bought? It could happen. David killed Golaith.
We need 10,000 verified signatures, printed names and addresses to get on the November ballot. We need them by July 4. What better way to celebrate 250 years of democracy by voting for whoever you think is the best choice. DonForUSSenate.com is the place to consider a new choice that is not red or blue, but red, white and blue. And if you haven’t registered or voted ever, there is still time. Let’s stop the reelection of lifetime politicians.
By Don Louis · Published 2026-05-19