United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2008

South Carolina's 6 congressional districts

The 2008 South Carolina House of Representatives elections were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held on June 10 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 24. The composition of the state delegation before the election was four Republicans and two Democrats.

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

See also: South Carolina's 1st congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr. defeated Democratic candidate Linda Ketner 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.

South Carolina's 1st congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Henry E. Brown, Jr. (inc.)	177,540	51.93%
	Democratic	Linda Ketner	163,724	47.89%
	Write-ins		615	0.18%
Totals			341,879	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 2

See also: South Carolina's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Joe Wilson defeated Democrat and Iraq War Veteran Rob Miller by the thinnest margin of his electoral career. Miller's performance in this conservative district rooted in eastern and southern South Carolina was surprising, though ultimately was not strong enough to unseat Wilson in his bid for a fifth term.

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Joe Wilson (inc.)	184,583	53.74%
	Democratic	Rob Miller	158,627	46.18%
	Write-ins		276	0.08%
Totals			343,486	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 3

See also: South Carolina's 3rd congressional district

Though two of his fellow Republican Congressman faced tougher-than-expected bids for re-election, incumbent Republican Congressman J. Gresham Barrett easily dispatched Democratic nominee Jane Dyer, a pilot, in this staunchly conservative district based in western South Carolina.

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	J. Gresham Barrett (inc.)	186,799	64.69%
	Democratic	Jane Dyer	101,724	35.23%
	Write-ins		218	0.08%
Totals			288,741	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 4

See also: South Carolina's 4th congressional district

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.

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Bob Inglis (inc.)	184,440	60.09%
	Democratic	Paul Corden	113,291	36.91%
	Green	C. Faye Walters	7,332	2.39%
	Write-ins		1,865	0.61%
Totals			306,928	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 5

See also: South Carolina's 5th congressional district

Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman John Spratt has been able to maintain popularity in this conservative district based in northern South Carolina, 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.

South Carolina's 5th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	John Spratt (inc.)	188,785	61.64%
	Republican	Albert Spencer	113,282	36.99%
	Constitution	Frank Waggoner	4,093	1.42%
	Write-ins		125	0.04%
Totals			306,285	100.00%
	Democratic hold

District 6

See also: South Carolina's 6th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, 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.

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Jim Clyburn (inc.)	193,378	67.48%
	Republican	Nancy Harrelson	93,059	32.47%
	Write-ins		134	0.05%
Totals			286,571	100.00%
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House elections, 2008
• United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2008

External links

• South Carolina State Election Commission
• U.S. Congress candidates for South Carolina at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions for South Carolina congressional races from OpenSecrets.org
• South Carolina U.S. House of Representatives race from 2008 Race Tracker

Preceded by 2006 elections

United States House elections in South Carolina 2008

Succeeded by 2010 elections