South Carolina's 6th Congressional District

South Carolina's 6th Congressional District

Incumbent

James Clyburn

Assumed office: January 3, 1993

South Carolina's 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by James Clyburn (D).

As of the 2020 Census, South Carolina representatives represented an average of 732,102 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 663,711 residents.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2030

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2028

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn (D) is running in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		James Clyburn (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated Duke Buckner (R), Michael Simpson (L), Gregg Marcel Dixon (United Citizens Party), and Joseph Oddo (Alliance Party) in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Clyburn (D)	59.5	182,056
		Duke Buckner (R)	36.7	112,360
		Michael Simpson (L)	1.7	5,279
		Gregg Marcel Dixon (United Citizens Party)	1.6	4,927
		Joseph Oddo (Alliance Party)	0.3	1,056
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	299

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 305,977
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Justin Ginn (Independent)

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for June 11, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent James Clyburn (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Duke Buckner (R) defeated Justin Scott (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on June 11, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Duke Buckner	55.8	10,145
		Justin Scott	44.2	8,050

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,195
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dennis Whiteley (R)

Alliance Party convention

Alliance convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Joseph Oddo (Alliance Party) advanced from the Alliance Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on April 20, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Joseph Oddo

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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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Libertarian Party convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Michael Simpson (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on May 4, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Michael Simpson

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.

United Citizens Party convention

United Citizens convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Gregg Marcel Dixon (United Citizens Party) advanced from the United Citizens Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on March 9, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Gregg Marcel Dixon

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated Duke Buckner (R) in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Clyburn (D)	62.0	130,923
		Duke Buckner (R)	37.9	79,879
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	226

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 211,028
= 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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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated Michael Addison (D) and Gregg Marcel Dixon (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Clyburn	87.9	48,729
		Michael Addison	7.6	4,203
		Gregg Marcel Dixon	4.5	2,503

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 55,435
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Duke Buckner (R) defeated A. Sonia Morris (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Duke Buckner	74.4	15,638
		A. Sonia Morris	25.6	5,374

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,012
= 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

• John Chapman (R)

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated John McCollum (R) and Mark Hackett (Constitution Party) in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Clyburn (D)	68.2	197,477
		John McCollum (R)	30.8	89,258
		Mark Hackett (Constitution Party)	0.9	2,646
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	272

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 289,653
= 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

• Harrison Shuler (Independent)

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for June 9, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent James Clyburn (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for June 9, 2020, was canceled. John McCollum (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 without appearing on the ballot.

Constitution Party convention

Constitution convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Mark Hackett (Constitution Party) advanced from the Constitution Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on January 11, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Mark Hackett

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated Gerhard Gressmann (R) and Bryan Pugh (G) in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Clyburn (D)	70.1	144,765
		Gerhard Gressmann (R)	28.2	58,282
		Bryan Pugh (G)	1.6	3,214
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	172

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 206,4330
= 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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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		James Clyburn

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= 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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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Gerhard Gressmann (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Gerhard Gressmann

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.

Previous election results

2016

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated Laura Sterling (R), Rick Piotrowski (Libertarian), and Prince Charles Mallory (Green) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James Clyburn Incumbent	70.1%	177,947
	Republican	Laura Sterling	27.6%	70,099
	Libertarian	Rick Piotrowski	1.2%	3,131
	Green	Prince Charles Mallory	1%	2,499
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	225
Total Votes				253,901
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

2014

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 6th Congressional District of South Carolina held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated Anthony Culler (R) and Kevin Umbaugh (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James Clyburn Incumbent	72.5%	125,747
	Republican	Anthony Culler	25.5%	44,311
	Libertarian	Kevin Umbaugh	1.8%	3,176
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	198
Total Votes				173,432
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission

2012

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 6th Congressional District of South Carolina held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent James Clyburn won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James Clyburn Incumbent	93.6%	218,717
	Green	Nammu Y Muhammad	5.5%	12,920
	N/A	Write-In	0.8%	1,978
Total Votes				233,615
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, James E. Clyburn won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Pratt (R) and Nammu Y. Muhammad (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James E. Clyburn incumbent	62.9%	125,459
	Republican	Jim Pratt	36.4%	72,661
	Green	Nammu Y. Muhammad	0.7%	1,389
Total Votes				199,509

2008
On November 4, 2008, James E. Clyburn won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Nancy Harrelson (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James E. Clyburn incumbent	67.5%	193,378
	Republican	Nancy Harrelson	32.5%	93,059
	N/A	Write-in	0%	134
Total Votes				286,571

2006
On November 7, 2006, James E. Clyburn won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gary McLeod (R) and Antonio Williams (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James E. Clyburn incumbent	64.4%	100,213
	Republican	Gary McLeod	34.2%	53,181
	Green	Antonio Williams	1.4%	2,224
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	88
Total Votes				155,706

2004
On November 2, 2004, James E. Clyburn won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gary McLeod (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James E. Clyburn incumbent	68.2%	161,987
	Republican	Gary McLeod	31.7%	75,443
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	242
Total Votes				237,672

2002
On November 5, 2002, James E. Clyburn won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gary McLeod (R) and R. Craig Augenstein (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James E. Clyburn incumbent	67%	115,855
	Republican	Gary McLeod	32.1%	55,490
	Libertarian	Craig Augenstein	1%	1,662
	N/A	Write-in	0%	40
Total Votes				173,047

2000
On November 7, 2000, James E. Clyburn won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Vince Ellison (R), Lynwood Earl Hines (L) and Dianne L. Nevins (Natural Law) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James E. Clyburn incumbent	71.8%	138,053
	Republican	Vince Ellison	26%	50,005
	Libertarian	Lynwood Earl Hines	1%	1,934
	Natural Law	Dianne L. Nevins	1.2%	2,339
	N/A	Write-in	0%	49
Total Votes				192,380

District map

Redistricting

2020-2024

See also: Redistricting in South Carolina after the 2020 census

On May 23, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court's Jan. 6, 2023, decision striking down South Carolina's congressional map as unconstitutional. As a result, this map was used for South Carolina's 2024 congressional elections. According to the U.S. Supreme Court's majority opinion:

“

A plaintiff pressing a vote-dilution claim cannot prevail simply by showing that race played a predominant role in the districting process. Rather, such a plaintiff must show that the State 'enacted a particular voting scheme as a purposeful device to minimize or cancel out the voting potential of racial or ethnic minorities.' ... In other words, the plaintiff must show that the State’s districting plan 'has the purpose and effect' of diluting the minority vote.

”

On May 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the South Carolina legislature's appeal of a federal three-judge panel's ruling that the state's 1st Congressional District was unconstitutional. That three-judge panel ruled on January 6, 2023, that the state's 1st Congressional District violated the Voting Rights Act and enjoined the state from conducting future elections using it. The ruling ordered the General Assembly to submit a remedial map for its review by March 31, 2023. South Carolina enacted new congressional district maps on January 26, 2022, when Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed a proposal approved by the South Carolina House and Senate into law.

On January 19, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 14-8 in favor of the "Amendment 1" proposal. On January 20, the South Carolina Senate approved the congressional district proposal in a 26-15 vote along party lines, with Republicans supporting the proposal and Democrats opposing it. The South Carolina House approved the amended proposal on January 26 in a 72-33 vote along party lines, with Republicans voting for the proposal and Democrats voting against it. This map took effect for South Carolina's 2022 congressional elections. Click here for more information.


How does redistricting in South Carolina work? In South Carolina, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.

South Carolina's legislative redistricting committees adopted redistricting guidelines in 2011. These guidelines recommend that all congressional and state legislative districts be contiguous and "attempt to preserve communities of interest and cores of incumbents' existing districts." Further, the guidelines suggest that districts should "adhere to county, municipal, and voting precinct boundary lines." These guidelines may modified by the legislature at its discretion.

2020

2024

2010-2011

This is the 6th Congressional District prior to the 2010 redistricting.

See also: Redistricting in South Carolina after the 2010 census

In 2011, the South Carolina State Legislature adopted a new redistricting map. The Department of Justice approved it in October 2010. As a result, South Carolina gained the 7th Congressional District.

District analysis

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

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+13. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made South Carolina's 6th the 101st most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made South Carolina's 6th the 99th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 65.3%-33.2%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made South Carolina's 6th the 97th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 65.3% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 33.2%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+19. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made South Carolina's 6th Congressional District the 67th most Democratic nationally.

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 0.94. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.94 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in South Carolina
• South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2024
• South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
• South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
• South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 6

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)