South Carolina's 1st congressional district | ||
---|---|---|
Current Representative | Tim Scott (R–Charleston) | |
Population (2000) | 668,668 | |
Median income | $40,713 | |
Ethnicity | 74.8% White, 21.1% Black, 1.3% Asian, 2.5% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% other | |
Cook PVI | R+10 |
The 1st Congressional District of South Carolina is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina. It stretches from Seabrook Island in the south to the North Carolina border and includes parts of Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley and Georgetown counties and all of Horry County. The district has historically been based in Charleston, and it currently also includes the major tourist destination of Myrtle Beach.
The district was a Democratic stronghold after the Reconstruction era due to the disfranchisement of African-American citizens in 1896 under the new state constitution, as was the state until party realignments in the late 20th century. Since the buildup of the military, especially the Navy in the region, the area's white voters have supported conservative candidates.
After the end of Reconstruction and the Democrats' disfranchisement of African-American citizens in 1896, the Republican Party was no longer competitive in the state. Black citizens had no political voice until after gaining federal support and legislation for enforcement of their constitutional rights through the Civil Rights Movement.
A Republican was not elected to a full term in this district until 1980, when Tommy Hartnett was swept in by Reagan's coattails. His election represented a major realignment of white conservative voters with the Republican, rather than the Democratic Party. Starting with national candidates in the late 1960s and 1970s, white voters in South Carolina began to shift to the Republican Party. In 2008, with the appeal of the Barack Obama presidential campaign, Democrat Linda Ketner came within two points of winning the 1st district congressional seat. Just two years later, Republican Tim Scott won the seat with 65 percent of the vote.
Following redistricting after 1990, most of Charleston's African-American majority areas were shifted in 1992 to South Carolina's 6th Congressional District. Since President Lyndon B. Johnson gained passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s enforcing constitutional rights of African Americans, the majority have voted for Democratic candidates, but in the South, a few have shifted to the Republican Party.
Tim Scott, a Republican from North Charleston, is the 1st district's current representative. He is one of two African-American Republicans (the other being Allen West of Florida) to be elected from the reconstructed southern states since Reconstruction. The character of the Republican and Democratic parties have changed since the 19th century.
List of representatives
Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party | District Residence | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
William L. Smith | March 4, 1789 | March 4, 1795 | Pro-Administration | Appointed US Minister to Portugal | |
March 4, 1795 | July 10, 1797 | Federalist | |||
Vacant | July 10, 1797 | November 23, 1797 | |||
Thomas Pinckney | November 23, 1797 | March 4, 1801 | Federalist | ||
Thomas Lowndes | March 4, 1801 | March 4, 1805 | Federalist | Charleston | |
Robert Marion | March 4, 1805 | December 4, 1810 | Democratic-Republican | Charleston | Resigned |
Vacant | December 4, 1810 | December 31, 1810 | |||
Langdon Cheves | December 31, 1810 | March 4, 1815 | Democratic-Republican | Charleston | Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1814-1815 |
Henry Middleton | March 4, 1815 | March 4, 1819 | Democratic-Republican | Charleston | |
Charles Pinckney | March 4, 1819 | March 4, 1821 | Democratic-Republican | Charleston | |
Joel R. Poinsett | March 4, 1821 | March 4, 1823 | Democratic-Republican | Charleston | |
March 4, 1823 | March 4, 1825 | Jacksonian D-R | |||
March 4, 1825 | March 7, 1825 | Jacksonian | Resigned after being appointed Minister to Mexico | ||
Vacant | March 7, 1825 | May 17, 1825 | |||
William Drayton | May 17, 1825 | March 4, 1833 | Jacksonian | Charleston | |
Henry L. Pinckney | March 4, 1833 | March 4, 1837 | Nullifier | Charleston | |
Hugh S. Legaré | March 4, 1837 | March 4, 1839 | Democratic | ||
Isaac E. Holmes | March 4, 1839 | March 4, 1843 | Democratic | Redistricted to the 6th district | |
James A. Black | March 4, 1843 | April 3, 1848 | Democratic | Died | |
Vacant | April 3, 1848 | June 12, 1848 | |||
Daniel Wallace | June 12, 1848 | March 4, 1853 | Democratic | Union | |
John McQueen | March 4, 1853 | December 21, 1860 | Democratic | Society Hill | Redistricted from the 4th district Retired |
Civil War and Reconstruction | |||||
Benjamin F. Whittemore | July 18, 1868 | February 24, 1870 | Republican | Darlington | Resigned |
Vacant | February 24, 1870 | December 12, 1870 | |||
Joseph H. Rainey | December 12, 1870 | March 4, 1879 | Republican | Georgetown | |
John S. Richardson | March 4, 1879 | March 4, 1883 | Democratic | Charleston | |
Samuel Dibble | March 4, 1883 | March 4, 1891 | Democratic | Charleston | |
William H. Brawley | March 4, 1891 | February 12, 1894 | Democratic | Charleston | Resigned to become judge for the United States District Court |
Vacant | February 12, 1894 | April 12, 1894 | |||
James F. Izlar | April 12, 1894 | March 4, 1895 | Democratic | Orangeburg | |
William Elliott | March 4, 1895 | June 4, 1896 | Democratic | Beaufort | Lost contested election |
George W. Murray | June 4, 1896 | March 4, 1897 | Republican | Charleston | Won contested election |
William Elliott | March 4, 1897 | March 4, 1903 | Democratic | Beaufort | |
George S. Legaré | March 4, 1903 | January 31, 1913 | Democratic | Charleston | Died |
Vacant | January 31, 1913 | April 29, 1913 | |||
Richard S. Whaley | April 29, 1913 | March 4, 1921 | Democratic | Charleston | |
W. Turner Logan | March 4, 1921 | March 4, 1925 | Democratic | Charleston | |
Thomas S. McMillan | March 4, 1925 | September 29, 1939 | Democratic | Charleston | Died |
Vacant | September 29, 1939 | November 7, 1939 | |||
Clara Gooding McMillan | November 7, 1939 | January 3, 1941 | Democratic | Charleston | |
L. Mendel Rivers | January 3, 1941 | December 28, 1970 | Democratic | Charleston | Died |
Vacant | December 28, 1970 | April 27, 1971 | |||
Mendel Jackson Davis | April 27, 1971 | January 3, 1981 | Democratic | North Charleston | |
Thomas Hartnett | January 3, 1981 | January 3, 1987 | Republican | Mount Pleasant | |
Arthur Ravenel, Jr. | January 3, 1987 | January 3, 1995 | Republican | Mount Pleasant | |
Mark Sanford | January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2001 | Republican | Sullivan's Island | |
Henry Brown | January 3, 2001 | January 3, 2011 | Republican | Hanahan | Retired |
Tim Scott | January 3, 2011 | Present | Republican | Charleston | Incumbent |
References
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
|