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2026 midterms · Candidate

Republican · Candidate · U.S. House, South Carolina’s 5th District · Incumbent

Portrait of Ralph Norman Jr., rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
1.7%
of statements use bipartisan language

In the bottom tenth of Republican House incumbents (their average is 5.5%; Norman ranks 206th of 221, where 1st is the highest rate), from 7,850 statements.

An AI model reads everything Norman publishes in office (posts, press releases, newsletters, floor speeches) and marks whether each stresses working across party lines; the rate is the share marked.

What Norman says

1.7% of Norman’s statements use bipartisan language, in the bottom tenth of Republican House incumbents. Their average is 5.5%.

An AI model reads everything Norman publishes in office and marks five kinds of statement; the rate is the share of statements with each label. The thin grey bar is the average of the 221 Republican House incumbents with 50 or more statements, and the rank places Norman among them (1st is the highest rate). A rate describes what was said, not whether it was right.

How often does Norman make each kind of statement?

Share of statements: Norman (thick bar) against the Republican House incumbents average (thin grey bar)

0%70%
Norman
Average
Rank
Personal attacks
3.2%
2.4%
57th of 221
Policy criticism
24%
18%
40th of 221
Policy discussion
57%
61%
165th of 221
Bipartisanship
1.7%
5.5%
206th of 221
Credit claiming
12%
22%
199th of 221
Show the data
Norman’s share of statements of each kind, against the Republican House incumbents average: Personal attacks 3.2%, Policy criticism 24%, Policy discussion 57%, Bipartisanship 1.7%, Credit claiming 12%.
RowNormanAverage
Personal attacks3.2%2.4%
Policy criticism24%18%
Policy discussion57%61%
Bipartisanship1.7%5.5%
Credit claiming12%22%
7,850

statements classified

From everything they publish in office: posts, press releases, newsletters and floor speeches.

This compares Norman with other candidates. Norman’s official profile compares Norman with fellow office-holders and has every statement, vote and bill.

The five kinds of statement

Personal attacks. Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.

Policy criticism. Objects to a specific policy, law or court ruling with fact-based arguments, without personal attacks or emotional appeals.

Policy discussion. Discusses a specific public policy or policy area (health care, taxes, defense, …).

Bipartisanship. Emphasises working across the aisle, compromise or common ground between the parties.

Credit claiming. Claims credit for passing legislation, securing funding or grants, or other accomplishments in office.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Totals the campaign reports to the Federal Election Commission for the 2026 cycle, as filed.

No FEC figures are on file for this candidate.

Back to topNext: Online

Online

Engagement is what X reports for each collected post, averaged; it measures reach, not support.

No engagement figures are on file for this account.

Back to topNext: The race

The race

South Carolina 5th District: Norman is not among the candidates recorded as advancing from this primary. Primary Jun 9, 2026, runoff Jun 23, 2026. General election Nov 3, 2026.

This race is not among the races the lab lists as rated toss-up or leaning.

Who else is on the list?

Candidates recorded as advancing from the primary

The race page compares every candidate’s statements and money · every race in South Carolina

Back to topNext: Methods and sources

Methods and sources

The headline. Each candidate’s headline is chosen by one rule for everyone. The peer group is the ranked candidates (50 or more statements) of the same party, for the same office and measured on the same record, widened to both parties when it has fewer than 10. Each kind of statement is scored by how far the candidate sits from the middle of the group (|percentile − 0.5|, ties counting half); the farthest leads if it is outside the middle half (above 0.25), scores within 0.03 tie and fall to a fixed order, and a high rate backed by fewer than 10 labelled statements cannot lead. Otherwise the headline is a plain count.

The statements. As an incumbent member of Congress, this candidate is measured on everything the lab collects from them in office: posts on X, press releases, newsletters and floor speeches. An AI model marks each statement for five kinds of statement; rates are shown from 10 statements and ranked from 50.

The race. Candidates come from FEC filings (House and Senate), the lab’s list of sitting members of Congress, and the lab’s list of candidates for governor. The lab records each primary’s result once it is official. House districts follow FEC filings; a sitting member is placed in the race for the seat they hold now.

Identifiers. FEC candidate id H8SC05158 (FEC record). Bioguide id N000190. First FEC filing Feb 22, 2017.

Money and reach. Campaign money is as reported to the FEC. Followers, likes and views are what X reports for the posts the lab collected.

About the data →

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