By Seanna Adcox | Editor-in-chief
Seriously: Go vote! A runoff is expected. But don’t wait until then. Your vote will help decide who among the 10 advances.
Before you go, click here to make sure you know where to go — particularly if you normally vote in a school. Some polling locations have changed since the special election is happening when school’s in session in many districts across the state. (That includes my own polling place.)
Also today, the Legislature is back to debate (and potentially pass) a state budget compromise six weeks after the fiscal year started. Skylar is starting her day at the Statehouse.
“This is the new starting line, not the finish line.” - Superintendent Ellen Weaver announcing students’ scores on reading and math tests taken in the spring.
Polls in South Carolina's special GOP primary for the U.S. Senate are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (File photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
By Me
Voters will choose Tuesday between 10 U.S. Senate candidates competing in a special GOP primary to replace the late Lindsey Graham on the ballot in November. Officially, the crowded field is competing for the chance to win the next six-year term. But in South Carolina, voters have a history of re-electing their senators as long as they want to stay.
U.S. Sen. Darline Graham makes her case to voters at a Lizard’s Thicket in West Columbia, S.C., on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)
By Skylar Laird
As candidates sprint to make their pitches to voters ahead of the special Senate election Tuesday, questions over what qualifies as diversity, equity and inclusion have emerged as a central issue. The accusations sparked a GOP vs. GOP debate over what DEI actually means.
Second grade students work on math equations at Seven Oaks Global Magnet in Columbia, S.C., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)
By Skylar Laird
Elementary and middle school students posted their best scores yet on end-of-year standardized tests, though more than half still can’t calculate as expected for their age. The education department announced the results at Meeting Street Elementary at Burns in North Charleston, where students posted some of the biggest improvements. Nearly 65% of students there performed at grade level in both reading and math.
MORE FROM STATES NEWSROOM’S D.C. DESK…
Thanks for reading Gazette to Go. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.