1988 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

The 1988 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 8, 1988 to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections for the Democrats and the Republicans were held on June 14. All six incumbents were re-elected and the composition of the state delegation remained four Democrats and two Republicans.

1988 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

← 1986 November 8, 1988 (1988-11-08) 1990 →
All 6 South Carolina seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 4 2 Seats won 4 2 Seat change Popular vote 549,652 439,476 Percentage 55.43% 44.32%
Winners Vote share Republican   50–60%   60–70% Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Winners   Democratic Hold   Republican Hold

1st congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Arthur Ravenel, Jr. of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1987, defeated Democratic challenger Wheeler Tillman.

General election results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district election results, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Arthur Ravenel, Jr. (incumbent)	101,572	63.8	+11.8
	Democratic	Wheeler Tillman	57,691	36.2	−11.8
	No party	Write-Ins	42	0.0	0.0
Majority			43,881	27.6	+23.6
Turnout			159,305
	Republican hold

2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Floyd Spence of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Democratic challenger Jim Leventis.

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election results, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Floyd Spence (incumbent)	94,960	52.8	−0.8
	Democratic	Jim Leventis	83,978	46.6	+0.2
	Libertarian	Geb Sommer	1,061	0.6	+0.6
	No party	Write-Ins	5	0.0	0.0
Majority			10,982	6.2	−1.0
Turnout			180,004
	Republican hold

3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Butler Derrick of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Republican challenger Henry Jordan.

General election results

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election results, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Butler Derrick (incumbent)	89,071	53.7	−14.7
	Republican	Henry Jordan	75,571	45.6	+14.1
	Libertarian	John B. Heaton	1,183	0.7	+0.7
	No party	Write-Ins	8	0.0	−0.1
Majority			13,500	8.1	−28.8
Turnout			165,833
	Democratic hold

4th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Liz J. Patterson of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1987, defeated Republican challenger Knox White.

Republican primary

Republican primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Knox White	15,096	56.9
Ted Adams	11,424	43.1

General election results

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Liz J. Patterson (incumbent)	90,234	52.1	+0.7
	Republican	Knox White	82,793	47.8	+0.5
	No party	Write-Ins	108	0.1	0.0
Majority			7,441	4.3	+0.2
Turnout			173,135
	Democratic hold

5th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John M. Spratt, Jr. of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1983, defeated Republican challenger Robert K. Carley.

General election results

South Carolina's 5th congressional district election results, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John M. Spratt, Jr. (incumbent)	107,959	69.8	−29.8
	Republican	Robert K. Carley	46,622	30.2	+30.2
	No party	Write-Ins	17	0.0	−0.4
Majority			61,337	39.6	−59.6
Turnout			154,598
	Democratic hold

6th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robin Tallon of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1983, defeated Republican challenger Bob Cunningham.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Robin Tallon	65,608	88.6
Luther Lighty, Jr.	8,448	11.4

Republican primary

Republican primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Bob Cunningham	2,283	50.7
Doug Cooke	2,218	49.3

General election results

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Robin Tallon (incumbent)	120,719	76.1	+0.6
	Republican	Bob Cunningham	37,958	23.9	−0.6
	No party	Write-Ins	52	0.0	0.0
Majority			82,761	52.2	−1.2
Turnout			158,729
	Democratic hold

Gallery

• 
  SC‑01 results by county
• 
  SC‑02 results by county
• 
  SC‑03 results by county
• 
  SC‑04 results by county
• 
  SC‑05 results by county
• 
  SC‑06 results by county

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 1988
• South Carolina's congressional districts

References

• State Election Commission (1989). Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission 1988-1989. Columbia, SC: The Commission. p. 86.