Archie Parnell

In March 2017, Parnell announced his candidacy for the position formerly held by Representative Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, who resigned from his congressional seat to become budget director on Trump administration.[7] Parnell was new to politics but was the first Democrat to announce his candidacy for the 5th District seat.[7][17] By the time he entered the race, seven Republicans had also announced their candidacy for the district that is increasingly leaning towards the conservative party and a Republican was first elected in 2011 when a Democrat, John Spratt, who had held the seat for a long time lost to Mulvaney.[7]

Two other Democratic candidates also entered the race: Alexis Frank and Les Murphy.[18][19] Spratt endorsed Parnell in the Democratic primary held on May 2, 2017.[19] He also gained the endorsement of other Democrats in the state including Jim Hodges, formerly the Governor of South Carolina.[20] Parnell won the primary with 71.3% of the vote to become the democratic nominee.[21]

A number of television advertisements of Parnell's drew national media notice. In it, he imitated the fictional character Frank Underwood, who represents what appears to be the South Carolina 5th district in the television show House of Cards.[22][23] Although Parnell's own internal polls predicted that he was 10 percentage points behind his Republican opponent, Ralph Norman,[23] Parnell lost the June 20 election by a small margin, earning 47.9% percent of the votes to Norman's 51.1%.[2] Fewer than 3,000 votes separated the two candidates.[24] A Politico analysis attributed Parnell's relatively high vote percentage, given the district and the special election timing, to his humble, positive, and funny ad messages, and his avoidance of standard partisan conflicts and rhetoric. Parnell spent approximately $500,000 on his campaign through the end of May 2017. In addition to his unique advertising and campaign strategy, his close margin has been attributed, in part, to low Republican turnout.[14]

On October 9, 2017, Parnell announced that he would challenge Norman for a full term in the regular 2018 election.[25] He again released a humorous campaign ad that gained national attention. In the ad, he was depicted getting a tattoo, receiving a haircut at a local barbershop, and playing Go Fish with Congressman Jim Clyburn.[25][26][27] In January 2018, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the election in the 5th district to its "Majority Maker district" list which the political party was targeting with the hope of gaining towards a majority in the 116th United States Congress.[28]

On May 21, 2018, an article in Charleston's Post and Courier revealed the discovery of court documents from Parnell's previously undisclosed 1973 divorce.[29] Parnell's wife was granted a restraining order and a divorce "on the ground of physical cruelty." No charges were filed. Parnell did not challenge the statements at the time or after their 2018 discovery.[30] After the news story broke, some of Parnell's campaign staff quit,[31][32] and South Carolina Democratic Party officials called on Parnell to withdraw from the race.[30]

Parnell chose to remain in the race.[29] On June 12, 2018, he won a four-way Democratic primary with approximately 60% of the vote.[33] He lost to Norman in the general election, taking 41.5 percent of the votes to his opponent's 57.1 percent.[34]