The Full Record

U.S. House · South Carolina's 5th District

South Carolina's 5th Congressional District (north-central South Carolina, including Rock Hill and Sumter)

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 12 claims re-checked against their sources

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

  • Verified the open-seat narrative (Ralph Norman withdrew/did not appear on the June 9, 2026 Republican primary ballot, which was then canceled; Wes Climer advanced) against Ballotpedia's race page, which additionally shows Norman retired to run for governor and Andy Kaplan (Forward Party) withdrew before the general — consistent with the file and its researchNotes.
  • Verified the general-election slate (Climer R, Dittmer D only) and Dittmer's Democratic primary win (55.8% over Andrew Clough, June 9, 2026) against Ballotpedia's official results.
  • Verified Climer's state-senate record (District 15 since 2016; Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee chair; Family and Veterans' Services, Finance, Labor Commerce and Industry, and Transportation committee assignments, 2025-2026) verbatim against his Ballotpedia profile.
  • Verified Dittmer's background and all quoted priorities/positions (fashion-industry executive; cost-of-living priority; minimum wage, childcare, healthcare-cuts, and housing quotes) verbatim against her Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey response. No corrections needed.

On the ballot · 2 candidates

Wes ClimerRSouth Carolina State Senator, District 15 (since 2016)

Raised $884K · spent $285K · $600K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Mallory DittmerD

Raised $140K · spent $65K · $75K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Where they stand — side by side

Only positions documented in a cited source are shown. Where an officeholder’s recorded votes speak to an issue, the votes set the position (marked “votes”). A dash means we found no clear public position — not that the candidate has none.

ISSUEWes Climer
R
Mallory Dittmer
D
Expand public health coverage—Supports[3]
Raise the minimum wage—Supports[3]

The candidates, in full

Wes Climer

RSouth Carolina State Senator, District 15 (since 2016)

Advanced without a primary after the Republican primary was canceled

Wes Climer is a South Carolina state senator (District 15) running as the Republican nominee for South Carolina's 5th Congressional District.[2]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

On the record — official actions

  • actionChairs the South Carolina Senate's Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (2025-2026) and serves on the Family and Veterans' Services, Finance, Labor Commerce and Industry, and Transportation committees.[2]

Campaign money

Raised $884K · spent $285K · $600K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Mallory Dittmer

D

Won the Democratic primary (June 9, 2026) with 55.8% of the vote

Mallory Dittmer is a former fashion-industry executive running as the Democratic nominee for South Carolina's 5th Congressional District.[3]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsRaise the minimum wage

    Says she will support raising the minimum wage.[3]

    “I'll support raising the minimum wage, making childcare more affordable, reversing cuts to health care programs and lowering housing prices through government programs and tax incentives.”
  • SupportsExpand public health coverage

    Says she will work to reverse cuts to healthcare programs.[3]

    “reversing cuts to health care programs”

In their words — priorities

  • Says the top priority she has heard from voters is the cost of living — groceries, gas, healthcare, and housing — and that she will prioritize economic and trade policies to curb inflation and lower costs.[3]

Background

  • Worked as an executive in the fashion industry before running for Congress.[3]

Campaign money

Raised $140K · spent $65K · $75K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

Basic-tier research. This is an open seat (no sitting House incumbent), so Climer's record reflects his current state-senate role rather than federal service; a Forward Party candidate (Andy Kaplan) who won that party's convention withdrew before the general election per Ballotpedia and is not included.

Sources · 3

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.South Carolina's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 · Ballotpedia Reference
  2. 2.Wes Climer · Ballotpedia Reference
  3. 3.Mallory Dittmer · Ballotpedia (Candidate Connection survey) Candidate's own words