The 1974 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 5, 1974, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

s were held on July 16 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on July 30. Three incumbents were re-elected,

Democrat 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

John Jenrette John Wilson Jenrette Jr. (May 19, 1936 – March 17, 2023) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from South Carolina, best known for being willing to take a bribe and being caught by Abscam and for being the husband of actress and m ...

defeated incumbent Republican

Edward Lunn Young Edward Lunn Young (September 7, 1920 – May 9, 2017) was an American politician. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives representing Florence County, South Carolina, Florence County from 1958 to 1960 as a member of the Democrati ...

in the 6th district and the two open seats in the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

and

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

districts were retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the elections was five Democrats and one Republican.

1st congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman

Mendel Jackson Davis Mendel Jackson Davis (October 23, 1942 – May 13, 2007) was an attorney and a United States Representative from South Carolina. Early life and career Mendel Jackson Davis was born in North Charleston to Felix Charles Davis and Elizabeth Ja ...

of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Republican challenger George B. Rast.

General election results

, - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman

Floyd Spence Floyd Davidson Spence (April 9, 1928 – August 16, 2001) was an American attorney and a politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. Elected for three terms to the South Carolina House of Representatives from Lexington County as a Democra ...

of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Democratic challenger Matthew J. Perry.

Democratic primary

General election results

, - , , colspan=5 , Republican hold , -

3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman

William Jennings Bryan Dorn William Jennings Bryan Dorn (April 14, 1916 – August 13, 2005) was a United States politician from South Carolina who represented the western part of the state in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949 and from 1951 to 197 ...

of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1951, chose to not seek re-election and instead made an unsuccessful run for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. Butler Derrick won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican

Marshall Parker Marshall Joyner Parker (April 25, 1922 – November 15, 2008) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. Background Parker was born in Seaboard in Northampton County in northeastern North Carolina, to Carl Putnam Par ...

in the general election.

Democratic primary

General election results

, - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

4th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman James R. Mann of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1969, defeated Republican challenger Robert L. Watkins.

General election results

, - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

5th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman

Thomas S. Gettys Thomas Smithwick Gettys (June 19, 1912 – June 8, 2003) was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina. Born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Gettys was educated in the Rock Hill public schools. He attended Clemson College. Erskine College, A.B., ...

of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1964, opted to retire.

Kenneth Lamar Holland Kenneth Lamar Holland (November 24, 1934 – February 27, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who as the Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina between 1975 until 1983. Early life Hollan ...

won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican B. Len Phillips in the general election.

Democratic primary

General election results

, - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

6th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman

of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1973, was defeated in his bid for re-election by Democrat

General election results

, - , , colspan=5 , Democratic gain from Republican , -

References

* {{United States House elections in South Carolina

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1974 South Carolina elections

1st congressional district

General election results

2nd congressional district

Democratic primary

General election results

3rd congressional district

Democratic primary

General election results

4th congressional district

General election results

5th congressional district

Democratic primary

General election results

6th congressional district

General election results

See also

References