South Carolina's 1st congressional district

The 1st congressional district of South Carolina is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina, represented by Democrat Joe Cunningham since January 3, 2019. He succeeded Republican Mark Sanford, who was defeated by Katie Arrington in the Republican primary. Cunningham is the first Democrat to represent the district since the 1980s.

South Carolina's 1st congressional district
South Carolina's 1st congressional district since January 3, 2019
Representative	Joe Cunningham D–Charleston
Population (2000)	668,668
Median income	$66,337[1]
Ethnicity	74.8% white 21.1% black 2.5% Hispanic 1.3% Asian 0.4% Native American 0.2% other
Cook PVI	R+10

The district has historically been based in Charleston. It has included Myrtle Beach, which became a major tourist destination in the late 20th century, as well as other coastal areas that have attracted retirees and seasonal visitors. From 1993 to 2013, the district boundaries extended from Seabrook Island in the south to the North Carolina border and included parts of Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley and Georgetown counties and all of Horry County to the North Carolina line.

In 2010, the state received another seat in Congressional apportionment due to an increase in population. The state's districts had to be redrawn, which was completed in 2013. In the final plan, the 1st congressional district was redrawn to reach from Hilton Head to mid-coast South Carolina, ending at the Santee River and comprising parts of Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester and Beaufort counties. This configuration is similar to the one it had for most of the 20th century. Horry County was included in the new 7th congressional district.

Election results from presidential races

Year	Office	Result
2000	President	Bush 59 - 38%
2004	President	Bush 61 - 39%
2008	President	McCain 56.1 - 42.7%
2012	President	Romney 58.3 - 40.2%
2016	President	Trump 53.5 - 40.4%

History

Following the Civil War and granting of citizenship to former slaves, in 1870, Charleston's population was 53 percent black; and Charleston County had a 73 percent black majority.[2] The city's large population of free people of color had developed many leaders who advanced in the changing society. These population majorities protected freedmen against some of the election-related violence that occurred in other parts of the state in the 1870s as white Democrats worked to suppress black voting and regain political control of the state.[2] During Reconstruction, the mostly black Republicans from this district supported Republican candidates, including four terms for Joseph H. Rainey as US Representative to Congress, a record by an African-American legislator not surpassed until the 1950s.

After the Democrats regained control of the state in 1876, during an election season marked by violence and fraud, and Reconstruction ended in 1877, they passed laws establishing racial segregation and making voter registration and voting more difficult, such as the "eight-box law." African-American George W. Murray finally won in the disputed 1894 congressional election from this district; he challenged the Republican candidate's victory because of election fraud and was upheld by the House Committee on Elections. But passage of a new state constitution by Democrats in 1895 effectively disfranchised most African-American citizens in 1896. Their participation in the political system was ended for seven decades. The white Democrats established a one-party state and used various devices to maintain the exclusion of blacks until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.

Party realignments in the late 20th century resulted in many new black voters supporting the national Democratic Party. White conservatives in the South shifted and joined the Republican Party, in 1980 electing the first Republican congressman from the state to be elected in the 20th century. Since the buildup of the military in this region, especially the Navy, the area's white voters have supported conservative candidates.

Given the crippling of the Republican Party by the disfranchisement of blacks, a Republican was not elected to a full term in this district in the 20th century until 1980, when Tommy Hartnett was swept in by Reagan's coattails. But, his election represented a different party and was the result of a major realignment of white conservative voters in the late 20th century to the Republican, rather than the Democratic Party. Starting with national candidates in the late 1960s and 1970s, white voters in South Carolina began to shift to the Republican Party.

As after every decennial census, the state legislature conducted redistricting after the 1990 census. The white Republican-controlled legislature shifted most of Charleston's African-American majority areas into South Carolina's 6th congressional district, creating a majority-minority district. To make up for the loss of population, the 1st was extended all the way up the Atlantic coast to Myrtle Beach. The 2010 redistricting cut the district back to the southeastern corner of the state.

Since that time, the 1st congressional district has had a majority-white population. But, in 2008, with the appeal of the Barack Obama presidential campaign, Democrat Linda Ketner came within two points of winning the 1st district congressional seat. In the following off-year election of 2010, Republican Tim Scott, a conservative African American, won the seat with 65 percent of the vote.

During the 2018 South Carolina primaries on June 12, 2018, Mark Sanford lost re-nomination to the seat. The Republicans would go on to lose the seat to the Democrats after the district swung heavily to the Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections.

2013 special election

Tim Scott, a Republican from North Charleston, was elected as the 1st district's representative in 2010. He resigned after he was appointed by Governor Nikki Haley to the United States Senate when Jim DeMint resigned on January 1, 2013.

The district boundaries had been redrawn in 2011. A special election was held on May 7, 2013 to fill the vacancy created by Scott's resignation. In a Primary Election held on March 19, 2013, Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, won the Democratic nomination. Former Governor Mark Sanford, who represented the district from 1995 to 2001, and former Charleston County Councilman Curtis Eilliott Bostic faced each other in a runoff Primary for the Republican nomination on April 2, 2013. Sanford won the nomination, and defeated challengers Colbert-Busch and South Carolina Green Party candidate Eugene Platt in the special election on May 7.

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	Location
William L. Smith	Pro-Administration	March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1795	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th	Elected in 1788. Re-elected in 1790. Re-elected in 1793. Re-elected in 1794. Re-elected in 1796. Resigned to become U.S. Minister to Portugal.	1789–1793 "Charleston Division" South Carolina congressional districts, 1789–1793   1st district, Charleston   2nd district, Beaufort-Orangeburg   3rd district, Georgetown-Cheraw   4th district, Camden   5th district, Ninety-Six
					1793–1833 "Charleston District"
	Federalist	March 4, 1795 – July 10, 1797
Vacant		July 10, 1797 – November 23, 1797
Thomas Pinckney	Federalist	November 23, 1797 – March 3, 1801	5th 6th	Elected to finish Smith's term. Re-elected in 1798. Retired.
Thomas Lowndes	Federalist	March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1805	7th 8th	Elected in 1800. Re-elected in 1803. Retired.
Robert Marion	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1805 – December 4, 1810	9th 10th 11th	Elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Retired and then resigned.
Vacant		December 4, 1810 – December 31, 1810
Langdon Cheves	Democratic-Republican	December 31, 1810 – March 3, 1815	11th 12th 13th	Elected in 1810. Later elected to finish Marion's term and seated January 24, 1811. Re-elected in 1812. Retired.
Henry Middleton	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1819	14th 15th	Elected in 1814. Re-elected in 1816. Retired.
Charles Pinckney	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1821	16th	Elected in 1818. Retired.
Joel R. Poinsett	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823	17th 18th 19th	Re-elected in 1820. Re-elected in 1823. Re-elected in 1824. Resigned to become U.S. Minister to Mexico.
	Jackson Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825
	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 7, 1825
Vacant		March 7, 1825 – May 17, 1825	19th
William Drayton	Jacksonian	May 17, 1825 – March 3, 1833	19th 20th 21st 22nd	Elected May 16, 1825 to finish Poinsett's term and seated December 5, 1825. Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1828. [data unknown/missing]
Henry L. Pinckney	Nullifier	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	23rd 24th	[data unknown/missing]	1833–1843 [data unknown/missing]
Hugh S. Legaré	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	25th	[data unknown/missing]
Isaac E. Holmes	Democratic	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843	26th 27th	[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 6th district.
James A. Black	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – April 3, 1848	28th 29th 30th	[data unknown/missing] Died.	1843–1853 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		April 3, 1848 – June 12, 1848	30th
Daniel Wallace	Democratic	June 12, 1848 – March 3, 1853	30th 31st 32nd	Elected to finish Black's term. [data unknown/missing]
John McQueen	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – December 21, 1860	33rd 34th 35th 36th	Redistricted from the 4th district. Retired.	1853–1863: [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		December 21, 1860 – July 18, 1868	36th 37th 38th 39th 40th	Civil War and Reconstruction
					1863–1873: [data unknown/missing]
Benjamin F. Whittemore	Republican	July 18, 1868 – February 24, 1870	40th 41st	Elected to finish the short term. Also elected to the next term. Resigned.
Vacant		February 24, 1870 – December 12, 1870	41st
Joseph H. Rainey	Republican	December 12, 1870 – March 3, 1879	41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th	Elected to finish Wittemore's term. Lost re-election.
					1873–1883: [data unknown/missing]
John S. Richardson	Democratic	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883	46th 47th	[data unknown/missing]
Samuel Dibble	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1891	48th 49th 50th 51st	[data unknown/missing]	1883–1893 [data unknown/missing]
William H. Brawley	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – February 12, 1894	52nd 53rd	[data unknown/missing] Resigned to become U.S. District Judge.
					1893–1903 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		February 12, 1894 – April 12, 1894	53rd
James F. Izlar	Democratic	April 12, 1894 – March 3, 1895		Elected to finish Brawley's term. [data unknown/missing]
William Elliott	Democratic	March 4, 1895 – June 4, 1896	54th	[data unknown/missing] Lost election contest.
George W. Murray	Republican	June 4, 1896 – March 3, 1897		Won election contest. [data unknown/missing]
William Elliott	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903	55th 56th 57th	[data unknown/missing]
George S. Legaré	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – January 31, 1913	58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd	[data unknown/missing] Died.	1903–1913 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		January 31, 1913 – April 29, 1913	62nd 63rd
					1913–1933 Berkeley, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, and Dorchester Counties[3]
Richard S. Whaley	Democratic	April 29, 1913 – March 3, 1921	63rd 64th 65th 66th	Elected to finish Legaré's term. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. [data unknown/missing]
W. Turner Logan	Democratic	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1925	67th 68th	Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. [data unknown/missing]
Thomas S. McMillan	Democratic	March 4, 1925 – September 29, 1939	69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th	Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Died.
					1933–1943 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		September 29, 1939 – November 7, 1939	76th
Clara Gooding McMillan	Democratic	November 7, 1939 – January 3, 1941		Elected to finish her husband's term. [data unknown/missing]
L. Mendel Rivers	Democratic	January 3, 1941 – December 28, 1970	77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st	Elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Died.
					1943–1953 [data unknown/missing]
					1953–1963 [data unknown/missing]
					1963–1973 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		December 28, 1970 – April 27, 1971
Mendel Jackson Davis	Democratic	April 27, 1971 – January 3, 1981	92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th	Elected to finish Rivers's term. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Retired for health reasons.
					1973–1983 [data unknown/missing]
Thomas Hartnett	Republican	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987	97th 98th 99th	Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired to run for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina.
					1983–1993 [data unknown/missing]
Arthur Ravenel Jr.	Republican	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995	100th 101st 102nd 103rd	Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired to run for Governor of South Carolina.
					1993–1995 [data unknown/missing]
Mark Sanford	Republican	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001	104th 105th 106th	Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Retired to run for Governor of South Carolina.	1995–2003 [data unknown/missing]
Henry Brown	Republican	January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2011	107th 108th 109th 110th 111th	Elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Retired.
					2003–2013
Tim Scott	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 2, 2013	112th	Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012, but resigned when appointed U.S. Senator.
Vacant		January 2, 2013 – May 7, 2013	112th 113th
					2013–present
Mark Sanford	Republican	May 7, 2013 – January 3, 2019	113th 114th 115th	Elected to finish Scott's term. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Lost renomination.
Joe Cunningham	Democratic	January 3, 2019 – present	116th	Elected in 2018.

See also

• South Carolina's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

1. https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=45&cd=01
2. Melinda Meeks Hennessy, “Racial Violence During Reconstruction: The 1876 Riots in Charleston and Cainhoy”, South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 86, No. 2, (April 1985), 104-106 (subscription required)
3. "South Carolina". Official congressional directory. p. 103.

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present