Two Runoffs Share Tuesday as the House Still Carries Four Vacancies

One Monday, two Tuesday instruments

Monday, August 24, 2026, sits one day before two ballots that measure different jobs. South Carolina Republicans choose a Senate nominee between Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman. Georgia's 13th District chooses who finishes the House term of the late Rep. David Scott between Democrats Marcye Scott and Everton Blair Jr. (Associated Press Decision Notes, August 24, 2026; Ballotpedia, Georgia's 13th Congressional District special election, 2026; Charleston City Paper, August 14, 2026).

Those are not the same instrument. A nomination runoff fills a party line for November. A House special runoff fills an empty chair for the rest of this Congress. Both print names on the same calendar date. Keep the ledgers separate.

What each first round already counted

South Carolina already voted once. On August 11, Graham took 32.7 percent. Norman took 24.6 percent. Rep. Russell Fry took about 19.7 percent. Nobody cleared a majority, so state law printed a second round (Charleston City Paper, August 14, 2026; South Carolina Daily Gazette coverage of the August 11 special primary). Graham enters Tuesday with a first place receipt and with a Friday night Myrtle Beach Convention Center rally where President Trump asked voters to treat a ballot for Graham like a ballot for him (Myrtle Beach Sun News, August 21, 2026; SC Daily Gazette, August 21, 2026; POLITICO, August 21, 2026).

Statewide turnout in that August 11 special primary was about 334,880 to 335,017 ballots in published unofficial tallies, with Graham near 109,654 votes and Norman near 82,551 in one local count of the Election Commission table (Charleston City Paper, August 14, 2026; The People Sentinel, August 21, 2026). First place is a fact. A majority is a different fact. The runoff exists because South Carolina requires the second fact.

Georgia already voted once too. On July 28, Marcye Scott took about 46 percent. Blair took about 37 to 38 percent in published tallies. Republican Caesar Gonzales took about 8.7 percent and did not advance (Wikipedia, 2026 Georgia's 13th congressional district special election; Associated Press Decision Notes, August 24, 2026; Atlanta Journal Constitution, July 29, 2026). First round turnout sat near 3.9 percent with roughly 21,000 ballots in local reporting (Capitol Beat, July 29, 2026). Low turnout still produces a binding majority when the second round finishes.

The House math beside the ballot

Published August snapshots of the 119th House still show Republicans at 218, Democrats at 212, one Independent, and four vacancies (Congress Countdown composition as of August 24, 2026; Ballotpedia U.S. House partisan breakdown). A simple majority of 435 seats is 218. Filling Georgia 13 with either Democrat on the runoff ballot reduces the vacancy count once the winner is seated. It does not, by itself, rewrite the November map for the 120th Congress.

California's 14th District already finished its special on August 18. Aisha Wahab defeated Melissa Hernandez 53.1 percent to 46.9 percent (Ballotpedia, California's 14th Congressional District special election, 2026; prior US Political Rank coverage). Seating lag can leave a winner elected and a vacancy still listed until the oath. That is why readers should treat vacancy tables and election night calls as related but not identical receipts.

Cook's House open seat tracker still listed Georgia 13 among active vacancies after David Scott's April 22 death, with Texas 23 and Florida 20 also open after resignations and special dates still pending in published August notes (Cook Political Report House Open Seat Tracker, August 19, 2026). The ranking of the most competitive House districts of 2026 watches November flip risk. Tuesday's Georgia ballot watches a remainder refill. Both matter. They are not the same ruler.

The Senate board that Tuesday does not rewrite alone

Cook Political Report's Senate ratings as of August 20 still show six Toss Ups: Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas. Lean Republican sits at zero after Iowa and Texas moved into Toss Up that day. Republicans hold the Senate 53 to 47. Democrats need a net gain of four seats for a majority in 2027 (Cook Political Report Senate ratings, August 20, 2026; 270toWin Cook Senate page, August 20, 2026; Forbes, August 22, 2026).

South Carolina's nomination fight sits inside a Solid Republican general election rating on that same board. The winner faces Democrat Annie Andrews on November 3. Annie Andrews won the Democratic nomination with 61.5 percent over Brandon Brown in the earlier Democratic primary (Wikipedia, 2026 United States Senate election in South Carolina). US Political Rank converts the published rating desks into one flip likelihood ruler on its ranking of the 2026 Senate races, with the rater and the date named on every move. Tuesday settles a nominee in a Solid Republican seat. It does not settle the six Toss Ups by itself.

Monday settles a clear public fact: America can hold a compressed Senate nomination fight after a senator's death, refill a House seat after a member's death, and still march toward a November midterm on the same national calendar. One day left. Two ballots. Seventy one days after Monday comes November 3. Read each result for what it measures.