Paradise Wins South Carolina District 86 House Seat

Republican Tommy Paradise defeated Democrat Malcolm Green in the race to replace retiring Rep. Bill Taylor.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a neoclassical state capitol dome silhouette above a horizon, in navy and cream with an oxblood accent, evoking a South Carolina legislative seat. — Republican Tommy Paradise won South Carolina's District 86 House seat over Democrat Malcolm Green, taking nearly 60% of the vote in Aiken and Lexington counties to succeed retiring Rep. Bill Taylor. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Republican Tommy Paradise won the District 86 seat in the South Carolina House over Democrat Malcolm Green, receiving nearly 60% of the vote in Aiken and Lexington Counties. Paradise succeeds Rep. Bill Taylor, who announced in March he would not seek reelection.

Why it matters

The result keeps the District 86 seat in Republican hands while opening it to a new representative after more than a decade under Taylor, who held it since 2010. Taylor had endorsed Paradise.

Preliminary unofficial returns show Paradise with 9,052 votes to Green's 6,503 in District 86. The counts are unofficial, and certified totals had not been released.

The players

Tommy Paradise

Tommy Paradise is the Republican who won the District 86 seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Malcolm Green

Malcolm Green is the Democrat who lost the District 86 race to Paradise.

Bill Taylor

Bill Taylor is the Republican state representative who held the District 86 seat since 2010 and did not seek reelection.

Charlie Hartz

Charlie Hartz is the incumbent Republican state representative who won reelection in District 81.

The details

Voters elected Paradise on Nov. 3 to replace Taylor in District 86. Incumbents from Aiken County's legislative delegation also held their seats in the other four contested House races, with Hartz, Clyburn, Hixon and Oremus each winning reelection.

March 2026: Taylor announced he would not seek reelection.
November 3, 2026: Voters elected Paradise to the District 86 seat.

Legislative Context

The result fits a pattern in which Aiken County's House incumbents were returned in four of five contested races, with the District 86 open seat as the lone change. Paradise's win keeps the seat with the Republican caucus that has held it since Taylor's 2010 election.

Because District 86 changed hands from a long-serving incumbent to a new representative, residents there will have a different lawmaker voting on state House business starting with the next session. The other four incumbents returned, so their districts will see no change in representation.

The takeaway

Open House seats can shift local representation even when the party holding them stays the same. Voters watching a district should track both the winner and the outgoing incumbent's endorsement.