Joe Wilson Leads Zyon Khalifa by one point in SC-02 race

The congressional contest in South Carolina’s 2nd District remains unresolved, with Republican incumbent Joe Wilson holding a slim advantage over Democratic newcomer Zyon Khalifa as of Wednesday morning, WACH reported.

At 10:22 a.m. Wednesday, Wilson stood at 49.84% of the vote compared to Khalifa’s 48.81%, a margin that leaves the race just outside the state’s automatic recount threshold under unofficial returns. Khalifa’s team told WACH FOX that the candidate has not conceded.

The narrow gap has thrown the outcome into question and set the stage for a certification process that will determine whether a recount becomes necessary.

FULL DEBATE: Rep. Joe Wilson vs. Zyon Khalifa | SC 2nd Congressional District Race

The Threshold That Triggers a Mandatory Recount

South Carolina election law draws a bright line at the one-percent mark. According to the South Carolina Election Commission, a recount is mandatory when the difference between the winning candidate and any other non-winning candidate is 1% or less of the total votes cast for that office.

With Wilson’s current lead hovering just above that line at roughly 1.03 percentage points, the race technically avoids an automatic recount based on the unofficial tallies. State election officials confirmed that the margins in both SC-01 and SC-02 currently sit just outside the mandatory recount threshold, though these numbers remain unofficial until the canvassing process concludes.

Counties Finalize Local Tallies Friday

The timeline to a final result stretches through next week. County boards of voter registration and elections will certify their results on Friday, November 11th, completing the local canvassing process that state officials say is still ongoing.

The State Election Commission plans to certify state-level results, including those for U.S. House districts, on Tuesday of the following week. Any necessary recounts will be ordered at that point, based on the certified, official results rather than the preliminary figures currently available.

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What Remains Undecided

Until the state-level certification is complete, the 2nd District race remains officially uncalled. The close margin in the neighboring 1st District adds to the uncertainty across South Carolina’s congressional map, with both contests sitting near the recount line as officials work through remaining ballots.

The final determination on whether SC-02 will face a recount will come only after the State Election Commission completes its review next Tuesday, leaving voters and both campaigns waiting for official confirmation of the outcome.

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