1890 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

The 1890 South Carolina United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 4, 1890 to select seven Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. Two Democratic incumbents were re-elected, one Republican incumbent was defeated, and the four open seats were retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the election was solely Democratic.

1st Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Samuel Dibble of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1883, declined to seek re-election. William H. Brawley was nominated by the Democrats and he defeated Republican challenger William D. Crum in the general election.

General election results

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South Carolina's 1st Congressional District Election Results, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William H. Brawley	7,249	84.2	−2.5
	Republican	William D. Crum	1,349	15.7	+2.6
	No party	Write-Ins	14	0.1	−0.1
Majority			5,900	68.5	−5.1
Turnout			8,612
Democratic hold

2nd Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman George D. Tillman of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1883, defeated Republican challenger Seymour E. Smith.

General election results

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South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District Election Results, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George D. Tillman (incumbent)	9,956	85.5	−1.3
	Republican	Seymour E. Smith	1,671	14.3	+2.9
	No party	Write-Ins	18	0.2	−1.6
Majority			8,285	71.2	−4.2
Turnout			11,645
Democratic hold

3rd Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman James S. Cothran of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1887, declined to seek re-election. George Johnstone won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican John R. Tolbert in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
D.K. Norris	4,794	48.9
George Johnstone	2,380	24.3
W.C. Benet	1,865	19.1
R.E. Bowen	550	5.6
Orville Calhoun	208	2.1

Democratic Primary Runoff
Candidate	Votes	%	±%
George Johnstone	5,553	50.1	+25.8
D.K. Norris	5,529	49.9	+1.0

General election results

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South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District Election Results, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George Johnstone	8,942	91.4	−8.4
	Republican	John R. Tolbert	803	8.2	+8.2
	No party	Write-Ins	34	0.4	+0.2
Majority			8,139	83.2	−16.4
Turnout			9,779
Democratic hold

4th Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman William H. Perry of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1885, declined to seek re-election. George W. Shell won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican J.F. Ensor in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
George W. Shell	5,140	41.9
David Duncan	4,927	40.2
Robert M. Smith	815	6.7
W.L. Mauldin	808	6.6
Isaac G. McKissick	569	4.6

General election results

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South Carolina's 4th Congressional District Election Results, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George W. Shell	10,372	81.9	−18.0
	Republican	J.F. Ensor	2,258	17.8	+17.8
	No party	Write-Ins	32	0.3	+0.2
Majority			8,114	64.1	−35.7
Turnout			12,662
Democratic hold

5th Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John J. Hemphill of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1883, defeated Republican challenger G.G. Alexander.

General election results

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South Carolina's 5th Congressional District Election Results, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John J. Hemphill (incumbent)	9,432	87.1	−12.6
	Republican	G.G. Alexander	1,321	12.2	+12.2
	No party	Write-Ins	75	0.7	+0.4
Majority			8,111	74.9	−24.5
Turnout			10,828
Democratic hold

6th Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman George W. Dargan of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1883, declined to seek re-election. Eli T. Stackhouse was nominated by the Democrats and defeated Republican challenger Edmund H. Deas.

General election results

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South Carolina's 6th Congressional District Election Results, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Eli T. Stackhouse	9,022	78.8	−16.9
	Republican	Edmund H. Deas	2,352	20.5	+20.5
	No party	Write-Ins	79	0.7	−3.6
Majority			6,670	58.3	−33.1
Turnout			11,453
Democratic hold

7th Congressional District

Incumbent Republican Congressman Thomas E. Miller of the 7th congressional district, in office since 1890, was defeated by Democratic challenger William Elliott.

General election results

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South Carolina's 7th Congressional District Election Results, 1890

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William Elliott	3,792	44.4	−9.7
	Republican	Thomas E. Miller (incumbent)	3,315	38.8	−6.6
	Independent Republican	E.M. Brayton	1,410	16.5	+16.5
	No party	Write-Ins	26	0.3	−0.2
Majority			477	5.6	−3.1
Turnout			8,543
Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 1890
• South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1890
• South Carolina's congressional districts

References

• Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962. pp. 103, 108–109.
• "Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina at the Regular Session Commencing November 25, 1890. Volume I. Columbia, SC: James H. Woodrow, 1891, pp. 609–612.