South Carolina's 7th Congressional District election, 2018

	2020 → ← 2016
South Carolina's 7th Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 30, 2018
	Primary: June 12, 2018; Primary runoff: June 26, 2018 (if needed); General: November 6, 2018; Pre-election incumbent:; Tom Rice (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in South Carolina
Race ratings
	Cook Partisan Voter Index (2018): R+9; Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
	South Carolina's 7th Congressional District; 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th; South Carolina elections, 2018; U.S. Congress elections, 2018; U.S. Senate elections, 2018; U.S. House elections, 2018; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tom Rice (R)	59.6	142,681
	Robert Williams (D)	40.3	96,564
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	309

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 239,554
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Dick Withington (L)

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 7th Congressional District of South Carolina, held elections in 2018.

Heading into the election the incumbent was Tom Rice (R), who was first elected in 2012.

As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, South Carolina's 7th Congressional District was located in the eastern portion of the state. It was made up of the counties of Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, and Marlboro, as well as a section of Florence County. ^[1]

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Incumbent Tom Rice defeated Robert Williams in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 7 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tom Rice (R)	59.6	142,681
	Robert Williams (D)	40.3	96,564
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	309

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 239,554
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Dick Withington (L)

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Robert Williams defeated Mal Hyman in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House South Carolina District 7 on June 26, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Robert Williams	51.4	7,729
	Mal Hyman	48.6	7,309

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 15,038
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Robert Williams and Mal Hyman advanced to a runoff. They defeated Bill Hopkins and Bruce Fischer in the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 7 on June 12, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Robert Williams	41.3	14,222
✔	Mal Hyman	29.7	10,225
	Bill Hopkins	17.8	6,122
	Bruce Fischer	11.2	3,863

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 34,432
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Incumbent Tom Rice defeated Larry Guy Hammond in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 7 on June 12, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tom Rice	83.6	38,346
	Larry Guy Hammond	16.4	7,532

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 45,878
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Jon James (R)
Johnny Ray (R)

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+9, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 9 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made South Carolina's 7th Congressional District the 150th most Republican nationally.^[2]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.92. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.92 points toward that party.^[3]

Campaign contributions

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name

Party

Receipts*

Disbursements**

Cash on hand

Date

Tom Rice

Republican Party

$1,566,965

$1,134,451

$957,824

As of December 31, 2018

Robert Williams

Democratic Party

$26,214

$26,667

$1,116

As of December 31, 2018

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

District history

2016

See also: South Carolina's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Tom Rice (R) defeated Mal Hyman (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced a primary opponent.^[4]

**U.S. House, South Carolina District 7 General Election, 2016**
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Rice Incumbent	61%	176,468
	Democratic	Mal Hyman	38.9%	112,744
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	251
Total Votes				289,463
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

2014

See also: South Carolina's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

Incumbent Tom Rice won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. He defeated Democratic challenger Gloria Bromell Tinubu in the general election.

**U.S. House, South Carolina District 7 General Election, 2014**
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Rice Incumbent	60%	102,833
	Democratic	Gloria Bromell Tinubu	40%	68,576
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	115
Total Votes				171,524
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 46 South Carolina counties—10.9 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Barnwell County, South Carolina	5.16%	5.33%	1.65%
Calhoun County, South Carolina	2.83%	4.31%	3.55%
Chester County, South Carolina	4.83%	10.58%	8.30%
Colleton County, South Carolina	8.49%	0.19%	0.53%
McCormick County, South Carolina	3.32%	3.60%	6.08%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won South Carolina with 54.9 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 40.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, South Carolina cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 53.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, South Carolina supported Democratic candidates for president more often than Republican candidates, 53.3 to 43.3 percent. South Carolina favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in South Carolina. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns show the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns show the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.^[5]^[6]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 39 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 32.8 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 38 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 28.3 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 85 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 28.7 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 86 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 30.1 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin	Party Control
1	23.28%	75.15%	R+51.9	18.61%	77.65%	R+59	R
2	31.79%	66.50%	R+34.7	28.17%	66.98%	R+38.8	R
3	35.60%	61.95%	R+26.4	33.39%	58.53%	R+25.1	R
4	17.87%	80.08%	R+62.2	12.86%	83.53%	R+70.7	R
5	23.85%	74.46%	R+50.6	20.85%	74.77%	R+53.9	R
6	30.99%	67.41%	R+36.4	27.78%	67.13%	R+39.3	R
7	32.32%	66.10%	R+33.8	23.98%	73.09%	R+49.1	R
8	33.75%	64.76%	R+31	28.69%	68.03%	R+39.3	R
9	35.55%	63.02%	R+27.5	32.29%	63.27%	R+31	R
10	22.06%	76.34%	R+54.3	20.11%	75.76%	R+55.6	R
11	41.13%	57.49%	R+16.4	32.52%	65.04%	R+32.5	R
12	59.39%	39.69%	D+19.7	53.79%	43.46%	D+10.3	D
13	32.85%	65.84%	R+33	30.28%	65.63%	R+35.3	R
14	36.82%	61.80%	R+25	29.74%	67.30%	R+37.6	R
15	48.83%	49.47%	R+0.6	45.11%	49.55%	R+4.4	R
16	41.69%	56.82%	R+15.1	36.19%	59.30%	R+23.1	R
17	21.18%	76.65%	R+55.5	18.81%	75.94%	R+57.1	R
18	25.25%	72.79%	R+47.5	23.48%	71.10%	R+47.6	R
19	35.02%	62.85%	R+27.8	34.74%	59.59%	R+24.9	R
20	27.09%	70.82%	R+43.7	28.31%	64.69%	R+36.4	R
21	25.57%	72.91%	R+47.3	29.67%	64.13%	R+34.5	R
22	32.91%	65.01%	R+32.1	35.65%	56.13%	R+20.5	R
23	64.77%	33.12%	D+31.6	60.89%	32.19%	D+28.7	D
24	35.96%	62.42%	R+26.5	39.48%	53.84%	R+14.4	R
25	71.10%	27.86%	D+43.2	65.40%	31.14%	D+34.3	D
26	35.32%	62.83%	R+27.5	36.60%	57.21%	R+20.6	R
27	36.38%	62.10%	R+25.7	35.80%	58.61%	R+22.8	R
28	34.06%	64.37%	R+30.3	32.48%	62.53%	R+30.1	R
29	33.75%	64.90%	R+31.2	26.63%	70.63%	R+44	R
30	34.61%	64.30%	R+29.7	27.30%	70.23%	R+42.9	R
31	79.20%	19.94%	D+59.3	72.36%	24.44%	D+47.9	D
32	35.50%	63.00%	R+27.5	32.93%	62.60%	R+29.7	R
33	30.03%	68.55%	R+38.5	25.34%	71.30%	R+46	R
34	42.65%	56.21%	R+13.6	41.00%	54.57%	R+13.6	R
35	27.40%	71.15%	R+43.8	27.02%	67.92%	R+40.9	R
36	38.11%	60.33%	R+22.2	31.58%	64.35%	R+32.8	R
37	33.05%	65.49%	R+32.4	29.64%	65.82%	R+36.2	R
38	23.88%	74.78%	R+50.9	18.90%	77.70%	R+58.8	R
39	32.81%	65.88%	R+33.1	27.32%	69.52%	R+42.2	R
40	42.28%	56.63%	R+14.4	36.99%	59.60%	R+22.6	R
41	63.72%	35.30%	D+28.4	61.23%	35.98%	D+25.3	D
42	44.12%	54.53%	R+10.4	37.44%	59.80%	R+22.4	D
43	44.83%	53.97%	R+9.1	35.08%	61.58%	R+26.5	R
44	46.57%	52.34%	R+5.8	38.98%	58.42%	R+19.4	D
45	35.40%	63.31%	R+27.9	34.76%	60.44%	R+25.7	R
46	41.87%	56.57%	R+14.7	40.05%	53.52%	R+13.5	R
47	31.57%	67.02%	R+35.4	26.48%	68.76%	R+42.3	R
48	35.74%	62.60%	R+26.9	35.12%	59.40%	R+24.3	R
49	66.67%	32.40%	D+34.3	61.82%	34.84%	D+27	D
50	63.30%	35.70%	D+27.6	58.24%	39.47%	D+18.8	D
51	73.57%	25.50%	D+48.1	71.54%	26.14%	D+45.4	D
52	41.47%	57.24%	R+15.8	37.04%	59.07%	R+22	D
53	47.26%	51.83%	R+4.6	39.48%	58.10%	R+18.6	R
54	58.26%	40.99%	D+17.3	53.53%	44.66%	D+8.9	D
55	56.03%	43.25%	D+12.8	48.68%	49.42%	R+0.7	D
56	41.06%	57.56%	R+16.5	32.30%	64.06%	R+31.8	R
57	62.48%	36.64%	D+25.8	57.73%	40.44%	D+17.3	D
58	33.03%	66.09%	R+33.1	28.08%	69.29%	R+41.2	R
59	70.58%	28.54%	D+42	67.55%	30.01%	D+37.5	D
60	38.35%	60.80%	R+22.5	34.96%	62.74%	R+27.8	R
61	51.91%	47.23%	D+4.7	45.72%	52.23%	R+6.5	D
62	65.60%	33.61%	D+32	61.45%	36.39%	D+25.1	D
63	34.43%	64.43%	R+30	35.35%	60.23%	R+24.9	R
64	58.22%	40.98%	D+17.2	53.18%	45.00%	D+8.2	D
65	31.75%	67.08%	R+35.3	27.25%	69.53%	R+42.3	R
66	72.57%	26.70%	D+45.9	68.93%	29.57%	D+39.4	D
67	37.94%	61.07%	R+23.1	35.62%	60.53%	R+24.9	R
68	33.20%	65.40%	R+32.2	28.04%	68.23%	R+40.2	R
69	31.53%	66.96%	R+35.4	30.88%	62.14%	R+31.3	R
70	73.89%	25.16%	D+48.7	70.02%	27.11%	D+42.9	D
71	34.78%	63.68%	R+28.9	34.96%	58.73%	R+23.8	R
72	68.08%	29.85%	D+38.2	69.16%	24.22%	D+44.9	D
73	80.11%	18.83%	D+61.3	77.42%	18.47%	D+58.9	D
74	81.27%	17.11%	D+64.2	78.82%	16.24%	D+62.6	D
75	42.45%	55.85%	R+13.4	47.88%	45.26%	D+2.6	R
76	77.22%	21.70%	D+55.5	76.59%	19.75%	D+56.8	D
77	69.65%	29.43%	D+40.2	67.21%	29.11%	D+38.1	D
78	49.92%	48.75%	D+1.2	52.86%	41.64%	D+11.2	D
79	72.59%	26.57%	D+46	70.85%	24.80%	D+46.1	D
80	59.84%	38.87%	D+21	55.10%	40.89%	D+14.2	D
81	29.68%	68.58%	R+38.9	29.88%	64.05%	R+34.2	R
82	59.20%	39.93%	D+19.3	54.84%	42.65%	D+12.2	D
83	28.62%	69.81%	R+41.2	29.03%	66.20%	R+37.2	R
84	34.77%	64.20%	R+29.4	31.33%	65.32%	R+34	R
85	30.93%	67.51%	R+36.6	31.43%	62.49%	R+31.1	R
86	38.58%	60.04%	R+21.5	34.38%	61.86%	R+27.5	R
87	20.64%	78.04%	R+57.4	20.68%	73.42%	R+52.7	R
88	27.08%	71.09%	R+44	25.84%	68.79%	R+42.9	R
89	38.55%	59.55%	R+21	38.45%	55.10%	R+16.6	R
90	52.50%	46.54%	D+6	46.55%	51.10%	R+4.5	D
91	63.50%	35.77%	D+27.7	58.70%	39.27%	D+19.4	D
92	36.52%	61.43%	R+24.9	34.38%	59.77%	R+25.4	R
93	59.26%	39.77%	D+19.5	53.51%	44.10%	D+9.4	D
94	36.52%	61.86%	R+25.3	34.95%	58.59%	R+23.6	R
95	71.56%	27.77%	D+43.8	68.97%	29.07%	D+39.9	D
96	29.83%	68.33%	R+38.5	24.42%	71.46%	R+47	R
97	42.47%	56.02%	R+13.5	37.05%	58.73%	R+21.7	D
98	40.02%	58.27%	R+18.3	38.80%	54.78%	R+16	R
99	32.05%	66.30%	R+34.3	35.35%	58.14%	R+22.8	R
100	33.71%	64.76%	R+31	30.44%	64.82%	R+34.4	R
101	66.78%	32.31%	D+34.5	62.75%	35.67%	D+27.1	D
102	60.06%	38.77%	D+21.3	54.07%	43.50%	D+10.6	D
103	62.63%	36.59%	D+26	58.02%	39.82%	D+18.2	D
104	33.50%	65.34%	R+31.8	28.73%	68.55%	R+39.8	R
105	32.43%	66.37%	R+33.9	27.34%	69.47%	R+42.1	R
106	31.29%	67.43%	R+36.1	26.95%	69.91%	R+43	R
107	37.67%	60.99%	R+23.3	35.21%	61.33%	R+26.1	R
108	35.01%	63.87%	R+28.9	33.02%	62.98%	R+30	R
109	71.24%	27.67%	D+43.6	68.57%	27.36%	D+41.2	D
110	37.37%	60.72%	R+23.3	43.15%	48.70%	R+5.5	R
111	78.60%	19.54%	D+59.1	75.33%	18.53%	D+56.8	D
112	35.27%	63.41%	R+28.1	38.92%	54.10%	R+15.2	R
113	73.23%	25.55%	D+47.7	67.01%	27.72%	D+39.3	D
114	38.05%	60.14%	R+22.1	38.63%	53.60%	R+15	R
115	40.78%	57.26%	R+16.5	44.68%	47.55%	R+2.9	R
116	53.66%	45.16%	D+8.5	49.15%	46.69%	D+2.5	D
117	48.43%	49.82%	R+1.4	45.56%	47.89%	R+2.3	R
118	42.55%	56.44%	R+13.9	40.94%	54.97%	R+14	R
119	48.34%	49.63%	R+1.3	48.31%	43.53%	D+4.8	D
120	36.27%	62.73%	R+26.5	36.77%	59.01%	R+22.2	R
121	64.89%	34.33%	D+30.6	60.68%	36.22%	D+24.5	D
122	61.99%	37.22%	D+24.8	56.78%	41.26%	D+15.5	D
123	34.41%	64.63%	R+30.2	39.14%	56.59%	R+17.5	R
124	37.53%	61.16%	R+23.6	38.63%	56.17%	R+17.5	R
Total	44.09%	54.56%	R+10.5	40.67%	54.94%	R+14.3	-
Source: Daily Kos

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in South Carolina heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

Following the 2016 elections, Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in South Carolina.
Republicans held six of seven U.S. House seats in South Carolina.

State executives

As of September 2018, Republicans held eight of 16 state executive positions and the remaining eight positions were officially nonpartisan.
The governor of South Carolina was Republican Henry McMaster. The state held an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.

State legislature

Republicans controlled both chambers of the South Carolina State Legislature. They had a 80-44 majority in the state House and a 27-19 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

South Carolina was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controlled the state government. Henry McMaster (R) served as governor, while Republicans controlled the state legislature.

2018 elections

See also: South Carolina elections, 2018

South Carolina held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for South Carolina
	South Carolina	U.S.
Total population:	4,894,834	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	30,061	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	67.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	27.5%	12.6%
Asian:	1.4%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	5.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	85.6%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	25.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$45,483	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	22%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Carolina. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, South Carolina's three largest cities were Charleston (pop. est. 135,000), Columbia (pop. est. 133,000), and North Charleston (pop. est. 111,000).^[7]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in South Carolina from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the South Carolina Election Commission.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in South Carolina every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), South Carolina 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	54.9%	Hillary Clinton	40.7%	14.2%
2012	Mitt Romney	54.6%	Barack Obama	44.1%	10.5%
2008	John McCain	53.9%	Barack Obama	44.9%	9.0%
2004	George W. Bush	58.0%	John Kerry	40.9%	17.1%
2000	George W. Bush	56.8%	Al Gore	40.9%	15.9%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in South Carolina from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), South Carolina 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Tim Scott	60.6%	Thomas Dixon	36.9%	23.7%
2014^[8]	Tim Scott	61.1%	Joyce Dickerson	37.1%	24.0%
2014	Lindsey Graham	54.3%	Brad Hutto	38.8%	15.5%
2010	Jim DeMint	61.5%	Alvin Greene	27.7%	33.8%
2008	Lindsey Graham	57.5%	Bob Conley	42.3%	15.2%
2004	Jim DeMint	53.7%	Inez Tenenbaum	44.1%	9.6%
2002	Lindsey Graham	54.4%	Alex Sanders	44.2%	10.2%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in South Carolina.

Election results (Governor), South Carolina 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Nikki Haley	55.9%	Vincent Sheheen	41.4%	14.5%
2010	Nikki Haley	51.4%	Vincent Sheheen	46.9%	4.5%
2006	Mark Sanford	55.1%	Kerry Healey	44.8%	10.3%
2002	Mark Sanford	52.8%	Jim Hodges	47.0%	5.8%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, South Carolina 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	6	85.7%	1	14.3%	R+5
2014	6	85.7%	1	14.3%	R+5
2012	6	85.7%	1	14.3%	R+5
2010	5	83.3%	1	16.7%	R+4
2008	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2006	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2004	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2002	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2000	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

South Carolina Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Footnotes

[show]

South Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Lindsey Graham (R)

Tim Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nancy Mace (R)

District 2

Joe Wilson (R)

District 3

Sheri Biggs (R)

District 4

William Timmons (R)

District 5

Ralph Norman (R)

District 6

James Clyburn (D)

District 7

Russell Fry (R)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (1)

[1] South Carolina Redistricting Map "Map" accessed July 30, 2012

[2] Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017

[3] FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018

[list-4] South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 11/8/2016 Statewide General Election," accessed March 31, 2016

[5] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013

[6] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017

[7] South Carolina Demographics, "South Carolina Cities by Population," accessed September 5, 2018

[special-8] Special election

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

South Carolina's 7th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 7

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

District analysis

Campaign contributions

District history

2016

2014

Pivot Counties

Presidential results by legislative district

State overview

Partisan control

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

Trifecta status

2018 elections

Demographics

State election history

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

Trifectas, 1992-2017

See also

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

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