1996 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

1996 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

November 5, 1996 (1996-11-05)
All 6 South Carolina seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 4 2 Seats won 4 2 Seat change Popular vote 682,913 345,358 Percentage 64.54% 32.64% Swing 0.91% 3.44%
Republican   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   >90% Democratic   50–60%   60–70% Winners   Republican Hold   Democratic Hold

The 1996 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 5, 1996, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections for the Democrats and the Republicans were held on June 11. All six incumbents were re-elected and the composition of the state delegation remained four Republicans and two Democrats.

1st congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Sanford of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1995, defeated Natural Law candidate Joseph F. Innella.

General election results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district election results, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mark Sanford (incumbent)	138,467	96.4	+30.1
	Natural Law	Joseph F. Innella	5,105	3.5	+3.5
	No party	Write-Ins	121	0.1	+0.1
Majority			133,362	92.9	+59.0
Turnout			143,693
	Republican hold

2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Floyd Spence of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Natural Law candidate Maurice T. Raiford.

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election results, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Floyd Spence (incumbent)	158,229	89.8	−10.0
	Natural Law	Maurice T. Raiford	17,713	10.0	+10.0
	No party	Write-Ins	347	0.2	0.0
Majority			140,516	79.8	−19.8
Turnout			176,289
	Republican hold

3rd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Lindsey Graham of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1995, defeated Democratic challenger Debbie Dorn.

General election results

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election results, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lindsey Graham (incumbent)	114,273	60.3	+0.2
	Democratic	Debbie Dorn	73,417	38.7	−1.2
	Natural Law	Lindal Pennington	1,835	1.0	+1.0
	No party	Write-Ins	5	0.0	0.0
Majority			40,856	21.6	+1.4
Turnout			189,530
	Republican hold

4th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congresswoman Bob Inglis of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1993, defeated Democratic challenger Darrell E. Curry.

General election results

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Inglis (incumbent)	138,165	70.9	−2.6
	Democratic	Darrell E. Curry	54,126	27.8	+1.4
	Natural Law	C. Faye Walters	2,501	1.3	+1.3
	No party	Write-Ins	20	0.0	−0.1
Majority			84,039	43.1	−4.0
Turnout			194,812
	Republican hold

5th congressional district

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

General election results

South Carolina's 5th congressional district election results, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John M. Spratt, Jr. (incumbent)	97,335	54.1	+2.0
	Republican	Larry Bigham	81,455	45.3	−2.5
	Natural Law	P.G. Joshi	1,159	0.6	+0.6
	No party	Write-Ins	22	0.0	−0.1
Majority			15,880	8.8	+4.5
Turnout			179,971
	Democratic hold

6th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1993, defeated Republican challenger Gary McLeod.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Jim Clyburn	50,933	87.8
Ben Frasier	7,107	12.2

Republican primary

Republican primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Gary McLeod	12,382	77.8
Delores Porcher-DeCosta	3,530	22.2

General election results

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jim Clyburn (incumbent)	120,480	69.3	+5.5
	Republican	Gary McLeod	52,324	30.1	−6.1
	Natural Law	Savitap Joshi	948	0.6	+0.6
	No party	Write-Ins	26	0.0	0.0
Majority			68,156	39.2	+11.6
Turnout			173,778
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House elections, 1996
• United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1996
• South Carolina's congressional districts

External links

• South Carolina Election Returns