Following the death of Senator Edward Eli Saleeby, a special election was held to fill his seat. There were eight people in the initial candidate pool, including Saleeby's son, Edward Saleeby Jr.[3][4] Malloy would go on to win the seat.[5]
In 2020, Malloy faced Republican farmer JD Chaplin.[7] Malloy defeated Chaplin, receiving roughly 54% of the vote.[8][9] In November 2020, Malloy announced that he would run for Senate Minority Leader.[10] He lost to Brad Hutto.[11]
Malloy was among the state legislators appointed to serve on the Robert Smalls Monument Commission.[12]
In 2024, Malloy saw a repeat challenge from Chaplin.
Recount
On general election day, Chaplin held a lead of 287 votes, a less than 1% difference which drew an automatic recount by law.[13] With the recount completed, Malloy was defeated by Chaplin.[14][15][16][17]
Protest
On Tuesday, November 19, Malloy filed a protest with the South Carolina Election Commission regarding the recount of the Senate District 29 race. The focus was on irregularities in the Lee County results. Malloy's legal team includes the son of state senator Brad Hutto, former US Attorney Bill Nettles, and Malloy's son Donovan.[18]
Opponent JD Chaplin and South Carolina Republican Party chair Drew McKissick responded with statements calling Malloy an 'election denier'.[19][20][21]
Malloy asked for a new election if irregularities could not be remedied.[22] The protest hearing was scheduled for December 3, 2024. Any appeal of the decision would have to be heard by the South Carolina Senate for a final decision, according to South Carolina law.[23]
On Monday, December 2, the day before the scheduled hearing, Malloy conceded to Chaplin and withdrew his protest. Malloy stated in the withdrawal document that analysis was not possible because the state Election Commission would not make vote data available to his expert witness, Duncan Buell, a retired University of South Carolinacomputer science professor. [24][25][26]
