1996Final results
1996 election for South Carolina Senate District 12
South Carolina State Senate · South Carolina
John Russell (R) won with 72.4% of the vote, defeating Leonardo Ortiz (D) by 44.9 points.
John RussellRepublican · winner · incumbent
72.4%17,194
Leonardo OrtizDemocrat
27.6%6,542
23,736 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1996
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET