North America·United States
Election Day: South Carolina House Majority Leader Micah Caskey trails Democrat Joe Madge by 101 votes in unofficial results, within the state's automatic-recount margin
LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. —
| Score | Meaning | Major U.S. outlets that covered it |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Fully overlooked ← this story | 0 of 13 outlets |
| 8 | Barely covered | 1 outlet |
| 6, 5 | Lightly covered | 2 outlets (6) · 3 outlets (5) |
| 4, 3 | Covered | 4 outlets (4) · 5 outlets (3) |
| 2, 1, 0 | Widely covered | 6–7 outlets (2) · 8–10 outlets (1) · 11–13 outlets (0) |
Provisional: Headline search only (Google News and Bing News, 4 query variants per outlet, all 13 outlets searched, none unchecked). All 60 candidates were unrelated (other stories, section and results pages); a headline search can miss articles, so this may change on recheck.
Depth
Dig five layers into this story — from what happened to the full picture.
L1What happened
What happened: All results are unofficial. The vote totals are from WLTX alone; we could not cross-check them against the State Election Commission's site, which did not respond to our checks. WLTX: "Madge received 7,248 votes (50.3%) to Caskey's 7,147 (49.6%)." The Post and Courier, giving percentages to two decimals: "Micah Caskey (Republican) - 49.61 percent", "Joe Madge (Democrat) - 50.31 percent", and "Preliminary results have him losing the contest with Democrat Joe Madge by 101 votes, but the margin falls within the mark for a state-required recount."
L2Who’s affected
Who is affected: District 89 voters and the House Republican Caucus, whose members "unanimously selected Rep. Micah Caskey to serve as new Majority Leader" (WACH); The Post and Courier says he "was chosen as the new house majority leader in September." The State: "Caskey, 45, is an attorney. Madge, 59, is an engineer."
L3Why it’s quiet
Why it is quiet: Our headline check of 13 major U.S. outlets found none covering it (O-Score 10, provisional); see the O-Score proof page.
L4Deeper impact
Deeper impact: WLTX: "South Carolina requires a recount when the margin is 1% or less of the total votes cast, according to the State Election Commission. In District 89, that's about 144 votes. County election boards certify results by the Friday after the election" (Friday, Nov. 6). Analysis: if the result holds, House Republicans would need a new majority leader.
L5Full context
Full context: "Caskey has represented House District 89, which includes parts of Lexington County, since 2017." (WACH) The State said he "is running for a sixth term". Lexington County "Turnout was 59.93%, with 116,392 ballots cast among 194,215 registered voters." On the same ballot, in a School Trustee District 2 race, "Kevin Key leads Tommy King for the third seat by 138 votes, 6,307 to 6,169, which is also within the recount margin." (WLTX) Sources: WLTX, The Post and Courier, WACH and The State.
You’ve reached the bottom. Read the original reporting below.
Original reporting
- WLTX News19Democrat leads Rep. Micah Caskey by 101 votes; Lexington County House race could head to recountNov 4, 2026 ↗
- The Post and CourierMidlands elections results: Congress and SC Statehouse seatsNov 4, 2026 ↗
- WACH Fox 57Connect to the Capitol Extra: New SC House Majority Leader talks State House prioritiesSep 20, 2026 ↗
- The StateHere's who running for the Lexington County-based state House District 89 seatOct 17, 2026 ↗
Status history (2 events, ET)
- O-Score check: 10 (Fully overlooked) · 0 of 13 outlets counted
- Published
Story timeline
Drag to see how this story moved: when we published, when big outlets had it, and each O-Score check. From our stored check log; times ET.
PublishedUpdates 0Outlets by our date 0Later pickups 0Checks 1
No later pickups logged so far.
All 2 events as a list
- 10:13 AM ET, Nov 4, 2026 · O-Score check: 0 of 13 outlets had it (score 10)
- 10:20 AM ET, Nov 4, 2026 · OVERLOOKED published this story
Election Day 2026RecountsState legislaturesUnited States
This is an OVERLOOKED summary of the reporting above. Facts and figures come from the linked sources. Everything here is a fact unless it is labelled otherwise. Support this work.
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