The 1971 South Carolina 1st congressional district special election was held on April 27, 1971 to select a Representative for the 1st congressional district to serve out the remainder of the term for the 92nd Congress. The special election resulted from the death of longtime Representative

L. Mendel Rivers Lucius Mendel Rivers (September 28, 1905 – December 28, 1970) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from South Carolina, representing the Charleston-based 1st congressional district for nearly 30 years. He was chairman of the House Armed Se ...

on December 28, 1970. Mendel Jackson Davis, a former aide to Rivers and his godson, won a surprising victory in the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election against Republican challenger

James B. Edwards James Burrows Edwards (June 24, 1927 – December 26, 2014) was an American politician and administrator from South Carolina. He was the first Republican to be elected governor of South Carolina since the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era in the ...

Democratic primary

The South Carolina Democratic Party held their

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

on February 23, 1971. Charleston mayor

J. Palmer Gaillard, Jr. John Palmer Gaillard Jr. (April 4, 1920 – July 28, 2006) was an American politician who was mayor of Charleston, South Carolina from 1959 to 1975. The Gaillard Center is named after him. During his tenure, Gaillard significantly expanded the s ...

was the frontrunner to win the primary, but he faced stiff competition from

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Thomas F. Hartnett Thomas Forbes "Tommy" Hartnett (born August 7, 1941) is a former U.S. Representative from South Carolina. Life and career Hartnett was born in Charleston. He graduated from Bishop England High School in Charleston in 1960. He attended the Col ...

and from 28-year-old former congressional aide to Rivers, Mendel Jackson Davis. It was widely expected that a runoff would be required two weeks later, but Mendel Jackson Davis garnered over fifty percent and avoided a runoff election. Davis campaigned for the sympathy vote and claimed that he would have more influence in Washington since he had worked with the Democrats for the past ten years.

Republican primary

The Republicans viewed this open seat as an excellent opportunity to take it from the Democrats because the Lowcountry was a hotbed of conservatism. In fact, Mendel Rivers had stated to

Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Arthur Ravenel Jr. (March 29, 1927 – January 16, 2023) was an American businessman and a Republican politician from Charleston, South Carolina. From 1987 to 1995, he served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Early life Raven ...

that the congressman to follow him would be a Republican.Ravenel, p.121 The South Carolina Republican Party had never held a

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

for a congressional race, but was compelled by Ravenel to use the primary instead of a nominating convention. The primary date was set for February 20, a Saturday, and

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

dentist

defeated Ravenel. Edwards was the most conservative of the candidates and he received most of his vote from

Charleston County Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 408,235, making it the third most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counties). ...

whereas Ravenel dominated the rural counties, but was noted as a liberal who sought support from the black community.

General election campaign

The general election came down to whether Davis could win enough votes from those who still grieved at the loss of his mentor and namesake. While Edwards was a conservative and his positions more closely matched that of the voters than did Davis, he was a Republican in a district that had not had a Republican Representative since 1897. The district electorate was 35% black and Dorchester County black activist Victoria DeLee entered the race as a candidate for the

United Citizens Party The United Citizens Party (UCP) was first organized in 1969 in the U.S. state of South Carolina in response to the state Democratic Party's opposition to nominating black candidates. The party's objective was to elect blacks to the legislature a ...

. Davis tried to solidify his position in the black community by eschewing identity politics and instead proclaiming that he was a Democrat representing both blacks and whites. Although Davis won the election, he did so with less than fifty percent of the vote in large part because DeLee took almost ten percent of the vote.

Election results

, - , , colspan=5 ,

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

hold , -

Notes

References