The 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina 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. This was the last time that Democrats won more than one congressional district from South Carolina until 2018.

Overview

District 1

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.

District 2

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 )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

was surprising, though ultimately was not strong enough to unseat Wilson in his bid for a fifth term.

District 3

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 Ballard Dyer, a pilot, in this staunchly conservative district based in western

District 4

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 The Upstate is the region in the westernmost part of South Carolina, United States, also known as the Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerc ...

District 5

Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman

John Spratt John McKee Spratt Jr. (born November 1, 1942) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1983 to 2011. The 5th Congressional District covers all or part of 14 counties in north-central South Carolina. The largest cities ...

has been able to maintain popularity in this conservative district based in northern

, 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.

District 6

Incumbent Democratic Congressman

Jim Clyburn James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician and retired educator serving as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He has served as House Majority Whip since 2019. He is a two-time m ...

, the

House Majority Whip Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

, 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.

References

External links

South Carolina State Election Commission

U.S. Congress candidates for South Carolina
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

Campaign contributions for South Carolina congressional races
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

South Carolina U.S. House of Representatives race
from ''2008 Race Tracker'' {{2008 United States elections

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...