1998 United States Senate election in South Carolina

1998 United States Senate election in South Carolina

November 3, 1998

Nominee Ernest Hollings Bob Inglis Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 562,791 488,132 Percentage 52.7% 45.7%

County results Hollings:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Inglis:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

U.S. senator before election Ernest Hollings Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ernest Hollings Democratic

The 1998 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings won reelection to his seventh (his sixth full) term. As of 2022, this is the last time that a Democrat has won a U.S. Senate election in South Carolina. This is also the last time the Democratic nominee for this Senate seat was a white man, as in future elections the Democrats would either nominate a woman, a person of color, or both.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Stephen Brown, Greenville County Republican Party Chairman
• Bob Inglis, U.S. Representative
• Elton Legrand

Results

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election Primary, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Inglis	115,029	74.6%
	Republican	Stephen Brown	33,530	21.7%
	Republican	Elton Legrand	5,634	3.7%

General election

Candidates

• Ernest Hollings (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Bob Inglis (R), U.S. Representative
• Richard T. Quillian (L)

Campaign

The race between Hollings and Inglis gave the voters a choice of two very different visions of and for South Carolina. Hollings was from the Lowcountry, a face of the Old New South, and secured a large amount of federal funds for the state. On the other hand, Inglis came from the Upstate, was a face of the New New South, and opposed to pork barrel spending. Hollings viciously attacked Inglis on the campaign trail as a "goddamn skunk" and when Inglis requested that Hollings sign a pledge for campaign courtesy, Hollings replied that Inglis could "kiss his fanny." Inglis tried to tie Hollings to President Clinton, who had been tainted by the Lewinsky scandal.

Ultimately, Hollings won the race for four crucial reasons. First, Inglis refused to accept PAC donations which allowed Hollings to enjoy a huge financial advantage and blanket the state with his television advertisements. Secondly, Inglis came from the Upstate which already provided GOP majorities whereas Hollings came from the Lowcountry which was a key tossup region in the state. Thirdly, the voters two years prior in the 1996 Senate election had rewarded Strom Thurmond for his long service to the state and it was unlikely that they would then deny re-election to Hollings. Finally, the 1998 South Carolina GOP ticket was dragged down with unpopular Governor David Beasley at the top of the ticket who would go on to lose his re-election campaign to Jim Hodges.

Polling

Source	Date	Hollings (D)	Inglis (R)
Whit Ayres	April 1998 [1]	42%	42%
Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research	June 1998 [2]	47%	42%
Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research	August 1998 [3]	48%	40%
Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research	September 1998 [4]	49%	42%

Results

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings (Incumbent)	563,377	52.70%	+2.6%
	Republican	Bob Inglis	488,238	45.67%	−1.2%
	Libertarian	Richard T. Quillian	16,991	1.59%	−0.3%
	No party	Write-Ins	457	0.04%	−0.1%
Majority			75,139	7.03%	+3.8%
Turnout			1,069,063	52.8%
	Democratic hold

See also

• List of United States senators from South Carolina
• 1998 United States Senate elections
• 1998 South Carolina gubernatorial election

References

• Crowley, Candy (October 27, 1998). "S.C. Senate race pits old South against new". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
• Crowley, Candy; Stuart Rothenberg (November 3, 1998). "Incumbent Hollings wins close race in South Carolina". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
• Plotz, David (October 22, 1998). "Foghorn Leghorn Meets an Owl". Slate. Retrieved January 30, 2008.