2012Final results
2012 election for South Carolina Senate District 45
South Carolina State Senate · South Carolina
Clementa A. Pinckney (D) won with 66.1% of the vote, defeating Leilani Bessinger (R) by 32.5 points.
Clementa A. PinckneyDemocrat · winner · incumbent
66.1%26,825
Leilani BessingerRepublican
33.6%13,652
40,587 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 2012
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET