There are currently seven United States congressional districts in South Carolina. There have been as few as four and as many as nine congressional districts in South Carolina. The 9th district and the 8th district were lost after the 1840 census. The 5th district and the 6th district were also briefly lost after the Civil War, but both had been regained by the 1880 census. Because of the state population growth in the 2010 census, South Carolina regained its 7th district, which had remained unused since the Civil War.
On January 6, 2023, a three-judge panel from the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina ruled that the current 1st district lines were unconstitutional due to racial gerrymandering and would have to be redrawn April of that year.[1] The case, Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, was argued on October 11, 2023, in the Supreme Court.[2][3][4] On March 28, 2024, the same district court that ruled the current 1st district lines unconstitutional, allowed for its use in the 2024 elections. It concluded that it would be impractical to create a new district map at the current time, mainly due to the upcoming military and overseas ballot mailing deadline of April 27 and statewide primaries on June 11. However, it still found the 1st district to be in violation of the 14th amendment and believed future litigation is possible after the 2024 elections.[5][6]
On May 23, 2024, the Supreme Court—in a 6–3 decision—ruled the 1st district lines were constitutional, reversing the District of South Carolina's original ruling and officially allowing the current congressional map to be used for and past the 2024 elections.[7][8][9] It also remanded the case back to the district court to rehear other claims made by the defendants.[10]
Current districts and representatives
editList of members of the United States House delegation from South Carolina, their terms, their district boundaries, and the district political ratings according to the CPVI. The House delegation has 7 members, including 6 Republicans and 1 Democrat as of 2023.[11]
| Current U.S. representatives from South Carolina | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Member (Residence)[12] |
Party | Incumbent since | CPVI (2022)[13] |
District map |
| 1st | .jpg) Nancy Mace (Charleston) |
Republican | January 3, 2021 | R+7 | .svg)
|
| 2nd | .jpg) Joe Wilson (Springdale) |
Republican | December 18, 2001 | R+8 | .svg)
|
| 3rd | .jpg) Jeff Duncan (Laurens) |
Republican | January 3, 2011 | R+21 | .svg)
|
| 4th | .jpg) William Timmons (Greenville) |
Republican | January 3, 2019 | R+12 | .svg)
|
| 5th | .jpg) Ralph Norman (Rock Hill) |
Republican | June 20, 2017 | R+12 | .svg)
|
| 6th |  Jim Clyburn (Columbia) |
Democratic | January 3, 1993 | D+14 | .svg)
|
| 7th |  Russell Fry (Murrells Inlet) |
Republican | January 3, 2023 | R+11 | .svg)
|
Historical Results
edit-
1986 -
1988
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1990
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1992 -
1994 -
1996
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1998
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2000
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2002 -
2004
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2006
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2008
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2010 -
2012 -
2014
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2016
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2018 -
2020
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2022
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District cities and counties
edit
First congressional district
editCounties
edit- Beaufort County
- Berkeley County
- Charleston County (part)
- Colleton County (part)
- Dorchester County (part)
- Jasper County (part)
Second congressional district
editCounties
editThird congressional district
editCounties
edit- Abbeville County
- Anderson County
- Edgefield County
- Greenville County (part)
- Greenwood County
- Laurens County
- McCormick County
- Newberry County
- Oconee County
- Pickens County
- Saluda County
Fourth congressional district
editCounties
edit- Greenville County (part)
- Spartanburg County (part)
District contains the two major cities of Greenville and Spartanburg.
Fifth congressional district
editCounties
edit- Cherokee County
- Chester County
- Fairfield County
- Kershaw County
- Lancaster County
- Lee County
- Spartanburg County (part)
- Sumter County (part)
- Union County
- York County
Sixth congressional district
editCounties
edit- Allendale County
- Bamberg County
- Calhoun County
- Charleston County (part)
- Clarendon County
- Colleton County (part)
- Dorchester County (part)
- Florence County (part)
- Hampton County
- Jasper County (part)
- Orangeburg County (part)
- Richland County (part)
- Sumter County (part)
- Williamsburg County
Seventh congressional district
editCounties
editHistorical and present district boundaries
editTable of United States congressional district boundary maps in the State of South Carolina, presented chronologically.[14] All redistricting events that took place in South Carolina between 1973 and 2013 are shown.
| Year | Statewide map | Charleston highlight |
|---|---|---|
| 1973–1982 | 
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| 1983–1992 | 
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| 1993–2002 | 
|
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| 2003–2013 | 
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| Since 2013 | 
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Districts from 1793 to 1803
Obsolete districts
editEighth congressional district
editThe eighth congressional district seat was eliminated after the 1840 census.
Ninth congressional district
editThe ninth congressional district seat was eliminated after the 1840 census.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Byrd, Caitlin (January 6, 2023). "Federal judges strike down SC's 1st Congressional District as racial gerrymandering". The Post and Courier. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ "Talks on Alexander v SC State NAACP Amicus Briefs, case before US Supreme Court on October 11, now available online". League of Women Voters of South Carolina. October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ^ Montellaro, Zach (May 15, 2023). "Supreme Court to hear racial redistricting case from South Carolina". Politico. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ^ "Alexander v. South Carolina Conference of the NAACP Oral Argument". C-SPAN. October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ^ Quinn, Melissa (March 28, 2024). "Federal court reinstates lines for South Carolina congressional district despite racial gerrymander ruling". CBS News. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ Greenberg, Madeleine (March 28, 2024). "South Carolina Will Use Gerrymandered Congressional Map in 2024, District Court Rules". Democracy Docket. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ Herlihy, Brianna; Mears, Bill (May 23, 2024). "Supreme Court upholds GOP-drawn voting map in South Carolina gerrymandering case". Fox News. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Sherman, Mark (May 23, 2024). "Supreme Court finds no bias against Black voters in a South Carolina congressional district". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- ^ Totenberg, Nina (May 23, 2024). "The Supreme Court rules in favor of South Carolina Republicans in voting map case". NPR. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- ^ Liptak, Adam (May 23, 2024). "Supreme Court Sides With Republicans Over South Carolina Voting Map". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ "Representatives". house.gov. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
- ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". clerk.house.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". The Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
- ^ "Digital Boundary Definitions of United States Congressional Districts, 1789–2012". Retrieved October 18, 2014.