United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2008
Encyclopedia
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
s were held on June 10 and the runoff elections
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
were held two weeks later on June 24. The composition of the state delegation before the election was four Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and two Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
All seats were considered safe for their incumbent parties except for districts 1 and 2.
Overview
| United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Seats | +/– | |
| Republican | 939,703 | 50.15% | 4 | — | |
| Democratic | 919,529 | 49.07% | 2 | — | |
| Independents | 14,658 | 0.78% | 0 | — | |
| Totals | 1,873,890 | 100.00% | 6 | — | |
District 1
Incumbent Republican Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr.
Henry E. Brown, Jr.
Henry Edward Brown, Jr. is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2001 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party...
defeated Democratic candidate Linda Ketner
Linda Ketner
Linda G. Ketner is a business consultant, philanthropist, and community activist in Charleston, South Carolina. She is President and Co-founder of KSI Leadership & Management Development.-Background:...
by a surprisingly thin margin to win a fifth term in Congress. Ketner's performance was the strongest performance by a Democrat that Brown had seen in his career and was made all the more surprising by the fact that she was openly lesbian and the 1st district, stretching across the coast of South Carolina, was strongly conservative.
District 2
Incumbent Republican Congressman Joe Wilson
Joe Wilson (U.S. politician)
Addison Graves Wilson, Sr., most commonly known as Joe Wilson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party...
defeated Democrat and Iraq War Veteran Rob Miller
Rob Miller (South Carolina politician)
Robert Lauransom "Rob" Miller was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee in the 2010 election for the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district...
by the thinnest margin of his electoral career. Miller's performance in this conservative district rooted in eastern and southern South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
was surprising, though ultimately was not strong enough to unseat Wilson in his bid for a fifth term.
District 3
Though two of his fellow Republican Congressman faced tougher-than-expected bids for re-election, incumbent Republican Congressman J. Gresham Barrett
J. Gresham Barrett
James Gresham Barrett is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district runs along the Savannah River in the northwestern part of the state....
easily dispatched Democratic nominee Jane Dyer, a pilot, in this staunchly conservative district based in western South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
District 4
Incumbent Republican Congressman easily defeated Democratic candidate Paul Corden and Green Party candidate C. Faye Walters in this very conservative district rooted in Upstate South Carolina.
District 5
Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman John Spratt has been able to maintain popularity in this conservative district based in northern South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, enabling to repeatedly win re-election despite the national mood. This year proved no different, with Spratt easily winning a fourteenth term over Republican challenger Albert Spencer and Constitution Party candidate Frank Waggoner.
District 6
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn
Jim Clyburn
James Enos "Jim" Clyburn is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993, and the Assistant Democratic Leader since 2011. He was previously House Majority Whip, serving in that post from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, the House Majority Whip
Party whips of the United States House of Representatives
A whip in the United States House of Representatives manages his party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon....
, easily won a ninth term in this very liberal, African-American majority district in central South Carolina. Clyburn won re-election over Republican Nancy Harrelson by the largest margin out of anyone in the South Carolina congressional delegation.
See also
- United States House elections, 2008United States House elections, 2008Infobox Election| election_name = United States House of Representatives elections, 2008| country = United States| type = legislative| ongoing = no...
- United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2008United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2008The 2008 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham won re-election to a second term.-Campaign:...
External links
- U.S. Congress candidates for South Carolina at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Campaign contributions for South Carolina congressional races from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- South Carolina U.S. House of Representatives race from 2008 Race Tracker