1968 United States Senate election in South Carolina

1968 United States Senate election in South Carolina
	County results; Hollings: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; Ernest Hollings; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Ernest Hollings; Democratic

The 1968 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 5, 1968, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican state senator Marshall Parker in a rematch of the election two years earlier to win his second, (his first full), term.

Democratic primary

Fritz Hollings, the incumbent Senator, easily defeated his primary opponent, John Bolt Culberson.^[1]

1968 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in South Carolina
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings (incumbent)	308,016	78.3
	Democratic	John Bolt Culberson	84,913	21.7
Majority			223,103	56.6
Total votes			392,929	100.0

Republican primary

Marshall Parker, the state senator from Oconee County in the Upstate, was persuaded by South Carolina Republicans to enter the race and he did not face a primary challenge.

General election campaign

After a close election loss to Fritz Hollings in 1966, the Republicans felt that Parker might have a chance at defeating Hollings by riding Nixon's coattails in the general election. However, the Republicans did not provide Parker with the financial resources to compete and he subsequently lost by a bigger margin to Hollings than two years prior.

Election results

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1968
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings (incumbent)	404,060	61.89%	−10.54%
	Republican	Marshall Parker	248,780	38.11%	−10.54%
	No party	Write-Ins	15	0.00%	N/A
Majority			155,280	23.78%	+21.08%
Turnout			652,855	76.5%	+27.4%
	Democratic hold

References

^ Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State, O. Frank Thornton to the General Assembly of South Carolina - Election November 5, 1968 and Primary of June 11, 1968 (PDF). Columbia: State Budget and Control Board. 1968. p. 63.

"Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume II. Columbia, SC: 1969, p. 19.
Kalk, Bruce H. (2001). The Origins of the Southern Strategy: Two-Party Competition in South. Lexington Books. p. 86.

[1] Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State, O. Frank Thornton to the General Assembly of South Carolina - Election November 5, 1968 and Primary of June 11, 1968 (PDF). Columbia: State Budget and Control Board. 1968. p. 63.

[1]