1992 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

The 1992 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 6, 1992, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of South Carolina, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 1992 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

1992 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

November 6, 1992 (1992-11-06)

All 6 South Carolina seats to the United States House of Representatives
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Last election 2 4
Seats won 3 3
Seat change Increase1 Decrease1
Popular vote 581,159 505,887
Percentage 52.10% 45.35%

Primary elections were held on June 9. In the general election, four incumbents were re-elected; however, incumbent Democrat Liz J. Patterson of the 4th district was defeated in her bid for a fourth term by Republican challenger Bob Inglis. Additionally, control of the open 6th district seat was retained by Democratic newcomer Jim Clyburn following the retirement of five-term incumbent Robin Tallon after the district's racial composition was significantly altered in redistricting. As of 2023, this is the last time South Carolina's congressional delegation comprised an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, and the last time Democrats would receive over 40% of the vote in U.S. House elections in the state until 2006.

Redistricting

Following the 1990 United States census and subsequent redistricting cycle, South Carolina's congressional districts were redrawn by a federal court after the state legislature failed to produce their own map.[1] The court's plan, which was issued on May 1, 1992,[2] shifted the boundaries of each of the state's six congressional districts substantially; in the 1980s, South Carolina's districts were largely made up of whole counties, with only one (Berkeley County) being split between two districts. In contrast, the court-drawn lines split a total of 13 counties, 11 of which were divided and dispersed to create the new 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th districts. This splitting of counties was done largely to shift the 6th district, then-consisting of a predominantly white electorate, into a majority-minority seat that would allow the state's large black population to elect an African-American to Congress.[1]

Overview

District Republican Democratic Others Total Result[3]
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
District 1121,93866.07%59,90832.46%2,7031.46%184,549100.0%Republican Hold
District 2148,66787.62%00.00%21,00312.38%169,670100.0%Republican Hold
District 375,66038.83%119,11961.13%850.04%194,864100.0%Democratic Hold
District 499,87950.34%94,18247.47%4,3492.19%198,410100.0%Republican Gain
District 570,86638.71%112,03161.19%1890.10%183,086100.0%Democratic Hold
District 664,14934.70%120,64765.26%750.04%184,871100.0%Democratic Hold
Total581,15952.10%505,88745.35%28,4042.55%1,115,450100.0%
Popular vote
Republican
52.10%
Democratic
45.35%
Other
2.55%
House seats
Republican
50.00%
Democratic
50.00%

District 1

1992 South Carolina's 1st congressional district election

 
Nominee Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bill Oberst Jr.
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 121,938 59,908
Percentage 66.1% 32.5%

U.S. Representative before election

Arthur Ravenel Jr.
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Arthur Ravenel Jr.
Republican

The 1st district stretches from the coastal regions of the Pee Dee into the upper parts of the Lowcountry, including all of Georgetown and Horry counties, and taking in a sizable portion of Berkeley County; due to redistricting, the 1st lost a significant amount of its share of Charleston and Dorchester counties, in addition to all of Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties.[1] The incumbent was Republican Arthur Ravenel Jr., who was re-elected with 65.5% of the vote in 1990.

Nominee
Nominee

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 1992
Candidate (party) Total receipts Total disbursements Cash on hand
Arthur Ravenel Jr. (R) $282,816 $561,793 $0
Bill Oberst Jr. (D) $56,972 $56,902 $69
Source: Federal Election Commission[4]

Results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district, 1992[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Arthur Ravenel Jr. (incumbent) 121,938 66.07
Democratic Bill Oberst Jr. 59,908 32.46
American John R. Peeples 2,608 1.41
Write-in 95 0.05
Total votes 184,549 100.0
Republican hold

District 2

1992 South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election

 
Nominee Floyd Spence Geb Sommer
Party Republican Libertarian
Popular vote 148,667 20,816
Percentage 87.6% 12.3%

U.S. Representative before election

Floyd Spence
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Floyd Spence
Republican

The 2nd district extends from the Midlands down to the Lowcountry, taking in all of Allendale, Barnwell, Hampton, Jasper, and Lexington counties, as well as parts of Aiken, Beaufort, Calhoun, Colleton, Orangeburg, and Richland counties; redistricting shifted the 2nd from a Midlands-centric seat into one which stretches along South Carolina's border with Georgia and includes a relatively large portion of the state's coastline.[1] The incumbent was Republican Floyd Spence, who was re-elected with 88.9% of the vote in 1990.

Nominee

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 1992
Candidate (party) Total receipts Total disbursements Cash on hand
Floyd Spence (R) $169,036 $179,539 $51,688
Geb Sommer (L) $0 $0 $0
Source: Federal Election Commission[5]

Results

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district, 1992[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Floyd Spence (incumbent) 148,667 87.62
Libertarian Geb Sommer 20,816 12.27
Write-in 187 0.11
Total votes 169,670 100.0
Republican hold

District 3

1992 South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election

 
Nominee Butler Derrick Jim Bland
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 119,119 75,660
Percentage 61.1% 38.8%

U.S. Representative before election

Butler Derrick
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Butler Derrick
Democratic

The 3rd district is based in both the Upstate and the Midlands, encompassing all of Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, McCormick, Oconee, Pickens, and Saluda counties, and parts of Aiken and Laurens counties; following redistricting, the 3rd became much more Upstate-oriented as it lost Allendale and Barnwell counties, as well as some of Aiken county, while gaining most of Laurens county.[1] The incumbent was Democrat Butler Derrick, who was re-elected with 62.1% of the vote of in 1990.

Nominee
Nominee

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 1992
Candidate (party) Total receipts Total disbursements Cash on hand
Butler Derrick (D) $681,632 $673,677 $114,145
Jim Bland (R) $17,536 $17,339 $194
Source: Federal Election Commission[7]

Results

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district, 1992[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Butler Derrick (incumbent) 119,119 61.13
Republican Jim Bland 75,660 38.83
Write-in 85 0.04
Total votes 194,864 100.0
Democratic hold

District 4

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Liz J. Patterson of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1987, was defeated for re-election by Republican challenger Bob Inglis.

Republican primary

Republican primary
Candidate Votes %
Bob Inglis 21,301 70.8
Bill McCuen 4,760 15.8
Jerry L. Fowler 4,029 13.4

General election results

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1992
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bob Inglis 99,879 50.3 +11.9
Democratic Liz J. Patterson (incumbent) 94,182 47.5 -13.9
Libertarian Jo Jorgensen 4,286 2.2 +2.2
No party Write-Ins 63 0.0 -0.2
Majority 5,697 2.8 -20.2
Turnout 198,410
Republican gain from Democratic

District 5

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John M. Spratt, Jr. of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1983, defeated Republican challenger Bill Horne.

Republican primary

Republican primary
Candidate Votes %
Bill Horne 7,258 55.4
Earnest R. Archer 5,833 44.6

General election results

South Carolina's 5th congressional district election results, 1992
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John M. Spratt, Jr. (incumbent) 112,031 61.2 -38.6
Republican Bill Horne 70,866 38.7 +38.7
No party Write-Ins 189 0.1 -0.1
Majority 41,165 22.5 -77.1
Turnout 183,086
Democratic hold

District 6

South Carolina's congressional districts were redrawn following the 1990 census. The Republicans joined forces with the black Democrats in the state legislature to form a black-majority district; this gave the substantial minority the chance to elect candidates they favored. It also made the other districts predominantly majority white by a greater margin, and these conservative voters had been favoring Republicans for some time.

The boundaries of the 6th congressional district were shifted from its previous northeast position in the state to the central part of the state and defined to include many black majority counties, as well as black precincts of Charleston and Columbia. Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robin Tallon opted to retire rather than run in a district that he considered unfavorable to a white candidate. Jim Clyburn won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican John Chase in the general election to succeed Tallon in office.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate Votes %
Jim Clyburn 41,415 56.1
Frank Gilbert 11,089 15.0
Ken Mosely 9,494 12.9
Herbert U. Fielding 9,130 12.4
John Roy Harper II 2,680 3.6

Republican primary

Republican primary
Candidate Votes %
John Chase 5,507 57.1
Delores DaCosta 2,452 25.5
Toney Graham, Jr. 1,678 17.4

General election results

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1992
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Clyburn 120,647 65.3 -34.3
Republican John Chase 64,149 34.7 +34.7
No party Write-Ins 75 0.0 -0.4
Majority 56,498 30.6 -68.6
Turnout 184,871
Democratic hold

See also

References

  1. Cirincion, Carmen (February 2000). "Assessing South Carolina's 1990s congressional districting". Political Geography. 19 (2): 189–211. doi:10.1016/S0962-6298(99)00047-5. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  2. Webster, Gerald R. (May 1995). "Congressional Redistricting in the Southeastern U.S. in the 1990s". Southeastern Geographer. 35 (1): 1–21. doi:10.1353/sgo.1995.0006. JSTOR 44370946. S2CID 129913516. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  3. South Carolina Election Commission Annual Report (PDF) (20 ed.). Columbia, South Carolina: South Carolina Election Commission. June 30, 1993. pp. 51–52, 65–66, 81–83. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  4. "1992 Election United States House - South Carolina - District 01". Federal Election Commission. December 31, 1992. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  5. "1992 Election United States House - South Carolina - District 02". Federal Election Commission. December 31, 1992. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  6. Booth, William; Phillips, Don; Sawyer, Kathy (November 5, 1992). "The 1992 Elections: State by State: The South". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  7. "1992 Election United States House - South Carolina - District 03". Federal Election Commission. December 31, 1992. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
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