List of United States senators from South Carolina

South Carolina ratified the United States Constitution on May 23, 1788. Its Senate seats were declared vacant in July 1861 owing to its secession from the Union. They were again filled from July 1868. The state's current U.S. senators are Republicans Lindsey Graham, serving since 2003, and Tim Scott, serving since 2013. Strom Thurmond was the state's longest-serving senator (1954–1956, 1956–2003).

Current delegation

Lindsey Graham (R)

Tim Scott (R)

List of senators

Class 2 Class 2 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. The next election will be in 2026.						C	Class 3 Class 3 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 2010, 2014 (special election), 2016, and 2022. The next election will be in 2028.
#	Senator	Party	Dates in office	Electoral history	T		T	Electoral history	Dates in office	Party	Senator	#
1	Pierce Butler	Pro-Admin.	Mar 4, 1789 – Oct 25, 1796	Elected in 1789.	1	1st	1	Elected in 1789. Retired.	Mar 4, 1789 – Mar 3, 1795	Pro-Admin.	Ralph Izard	1
		Anti- Admin.				2nd
				Re-elected in 1793. Resigned.	2	3rd
		Democratic- Republican				4th	2	Elected in 1794 or 1795. Lost re-election.	Mar 4, 1795 – Mar 3, 1801	Federalist	Jacob Read	2
Vacant			Oct 25, 1796 – Dec 8, 1796
2	John Hunter	Democratic- Republican	Dec 8, 1796 – Nov 26, 1798	Elected to finish Butler's term. Resigned.
						5th
3	Charles Pinckney	Democratic- Republican	Dec 6, 1798 – Jun 6, 1801	Elected to finish Butler's term.
				Re-elected in 1799. Resigned to become U.S. Minister to Spain.	3	6th
						7th	3	Elected in 1800. Died.	Mar 4, 1801 – Oct 26, 1802	Democratic- Republican	John E. Colhoun	3
Vacant			Jun 6, 1801 – Dec 15, 1801
4	Thomas Sumter	Democratic- Republican	Dec 15, 1801 – Dec 16, 1810	Elected in 1801 to finish Pinckney's term.
									Oct 26, 1802 – Nov 4, 1802	Vacant
								Elected to finish Colhoun's term. Resigned.	Nov 4, 1802 – Nov 21, 1804	Democratic- Republican	Pierce Butler	4
						8th
									Nov 21, 1804 – Dec 6, 1804	Vacant
								Elected to finish Colhoun's term.	Dec 6, 1804 – Feb 26, 1826	Democratic- Republican	John Gaillard	5
				Re-elected in 1804. Resigned.	4	9th
						10th	4	Re-elected in 1806.
						11th
Vacant			Dec 16, 1810 – Dec 31, 1810
5	John Taylor	Democratic- Republican	Dec 31, 1810 – Nov 1816	Elected to finish Sumter's term.
				Re-elected in 1810. Resigned.	5	12th
						13th	5	Re-elected in 1812.
						14th
Vacant			Nov 1816 – Dec 4, 1816
6	William Smith	Democratic- Republican	Dec 4, 1816 – Mar 3, 1823	Elected to finish Taylor's term.
				Re-elected in 1816. Lost re-election.	6	15th
						16th	6	Re-elected in 1818.
						17th
7	Robert Y. Hayne	Democratic- Republican	Mar 4, 1823 – Dec 13, 1832	Elected in 1822.	7	18th
		Jacksonian				19th	7	Re-elected in 1824. Died.		Jacksonian
									Feb 26, 1826 – Mar 8, 1826	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Gaillard's term.	Mar 8, 1826 – Nov 29, 1826	Jacksonian	William Harper	6
								Elected to finish Gaillard's term. Lost re-election.	Nov 29, 1826 – Mar 3, 1831	Jacksonian	William Smith	7
						20th
				Re-elected in 1828. Resigned to become South Carolina Governor.	8	21st
		Nullifier				22nd	8	Elected in 1830. Resigned due to ill health.	Mar 4, 1831 – Mar 3, 1833	Nullifier	Stephen Decatur Miller	8
Vacant			Dec 13, 1832 – Dec 29, 1832
8	John C. Calhoun	Nullifier	Dec 29, 1832 – Mar 3, 1843	Elected to finish Hayne's term.
						23rd			Mar 3, 1833 – Nov 26, 1833	Vacant
								Elected to finish Miller's term.	Nov 26, 1833 – Nov 29, 1842	Nullifier	William C. Preston	9
				Re-elected in 1834.	9	24th
		Democratic				25th	9	Re-elected in 1837. Resigned.		Whig
						26th
				Re-elected in 1840. Resigned.	10	27th
									Nov 29, 1842 – Dec 23, 1842	Vacant
								Elected to finish Preston's term.	Dec 23, 1842 – Aug 17, 1846	Democratic	George McDuffie	10
9	Daniel Elliott Huger	Democratic	Mar 4, 1843 – Mar 3, 1845	Elected to finish Calhoun's term. Resigned.		28th	10	Re-elected in 1842 or 1843.
Vacant			Mar 3, 1845 – Nov 26, 1845			29th
10	John C. Calhoun	Democratic	Nov 26, 1845 – Mar 31, 1850	Re-elected to finish his own term.
									Aug 17, 1846 – Dec 4, 1846	Vacant
								Appointed to continue McDuffie's term. Elected to finish McDuffie's term.	Dec 4, 1846 – May 25, 1857	Democratic	Andrew Butler	11
				Re-elected in 1846. Died.	11	30th
						31st	11	Re-elected in 1848.
Vacant			Mar 31, 1850 – Apr 11, 1850
11	Franklin H. Elmore	Democratic	Apr 11, 1850 – May 29, 1850	Appointed to continue Calhoun's term. Died.
Vacant			May 29, 1850 – Jun 4, 1850
12	Robert W. Barnwell	Democratic	Jun 4, 1850 – Dec 8, 1850	Appointed to continue Calhoun's term. Retired when his successor was elected.
Vacant			Dec 8, 1850 – Dec 18, 1850
13	Robert Rhett	Democratic	Dec 18, 1850 – May 7, 1852	Elected to finish Calhoun's term. Resigned.
						32nd
Vacant			May 7, 1852 – May 10, 1852
14	William F. De Saussure	Democratic	May 10, 1852 – Mar 3, 1853	Appointed to continue Calhoun's term. Elected Nov 29, 1852 to finish Calhoun's term.[1]
15	Josiah Evans	Democratic	Mar 4, 1853 – May 6, 1858	Elected in 1852 or 1853. Died.	12	33rd
						34th	12	Re-elected in 1854. Died.
						35th
									May 25, 1857 – Dec 7, 1857	Vacant
								Elected to finish Butler's term. Withdrew.	Dec 7, 1857 – Nov 11, 1860	Democratic	James H. Hammond	12
Vacant			May 6, 1858 – May 11, 1858
16	Arthur P. Hayne	Democratic	May 11, 1858 – Dec 2, 1858	Appointed to continue Evans' term. Retired when his successor was elected.
17	James Chesnut Jr.	Democratic	Dec 3, 1858 – Nov 10, 1860	Elected to finish Evans' term.
				Re-elected in 1858. Withdrew and was later expelled for his support of the Confederacy.	13	36th
Vacant			Nov 10, 1860 – Jul 15, 1868	Civil War and Reconstruction.
								Civil War and Reconstruction.	Nov 11, 1860 – Jul 16, 1868	Vacant
						37th	13
						38th
					14	39th
						40th	14
18	Thomas J. Robertson	Republican	Jul 15, 1868 – Mar 3, 1877	Elected to finish the vacant term.
								Elected to finish the vacant term.	Jul 16, 1868 – Mar 3, 1873	Republican	Frederick A. Sawyer	13
						41st
				Re-elected in 1870. Retired.	15	42nd
						43rd	15	Elected in 1872 or 1873.	Mar 4, 1873 – Mar 3, 1879	Republican	John J. Patterson	14
						44th
19	Matthew Butler	Democratic	Mar 4, 1877 – Mar 3, 1895	Elected in 1876.	16	45th
						46th	16	Elected in 1878.	Mar 4, 1879 – Mar 3, 1891	Democratic	Wade Hampton III	15
						47th
				Re-elected in 1882.	17	48th
						49th	17	Re-elected in 1884. Lost re-election.
						50th
				Re-elected in 1888. Lost renomination.	18	51st
						52nd	18	Elected in 1890. Retired.	Mar 4, 1891 – Mar 3, 1897	Democratic	John L. M. Irby	16
						53rd
20	Benjamin Tillman	Democratic	Mar 4, 1895 – Jul 3, 1918	Elected in 1894.	19	54th
						55th	19	Elected in 1897. Died.	Mar 4, 1897 – May 20, 1897	Democratic	Joseph Earle	17
									May 20, 1897 – May 27, 1897	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Earle's term. Elected in 1898 to finish Earle's term.[2] Retired.	May 27, 1897 – Mar 3, 1903	Democratic	John McLaurin	18
						56th
				Re-elected in 1901.	20	57th
						58th	20	Elected in 1903.[3] Died.	Mar 4, 1903 – Feb 20, 1908	Democratic	Asbury Latimer	19
						59th
				Re-elected in 1907.[4]	21	60th
									Feb 20, 1908 – Mar 6, 1908	Vacant
								Elected in 1908 to finish Latimer's term. Retired.	Mar 6, 1908 – Mar 3, 1909	Democratic	Frank B. Gary	20
						61st	21	Elected in 1909.	Mar 4, 1909 – Nov 17, 1944	Democratic	Ellison D. Smith	21
						62nd
				Re-elected in 1913. Died.	22	63rd
						64th	22	Re-elected in 1914.
						65th
Vacant			Jul 3, 1918 – Jul 6, 1918
21	Christie Benet	Democratic	Jul 6, 1918 – Nov 5, 1918	Appointed to continue Tillman's term. Lost election to finish Tillman's term.
22	William P. Pollock	Democratic	Nov 6, 1918 – Mar 3, 1919	Elected to finish Tillman's term. Retired.
23	Nathaniel Dial	Democratic	Mar 4, 1919 – Mar 3, 1925	Elected in 1918. Lost renomination.	23	66th
						67th	23	Re-elected in 1920.
						68th
24	Cole L. Blease	Democratic	Mar 4, 1925 – Mar 3, 1931	Elected in 1924. Lost renomination.	24	69th
						70th	24	Re-elected in 1926.
						71st
25	James F. Byrnes	Democratic	Mar 4, 1931 – Jul 8, 1941	Elected in 1930.	25	72nd
						73rd	25	Re-elected in 1932.
						74th
				Re-elected in 1936. Resigned to become a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.	26	75th
						76th	26	Re-elected in 1938. Lost renomination before dying.
						77th
Vacant			Jul 8, 1941 – Jul 22, 1941
26	Alva Lumpkin	Democratic	Jul 22, 1941 – Aug 1, 1941	Appointed to continue Byrnes's term. Died.
27	Roger Peace	Democratic	Aug 5, 1941 – Nov 4, 1941	Appointed to continue Byrnes's term. Retired when successor elected.
28	Burnet R. Maybank	Democratic	Nov 5, 1941 – Sep 1, 1954	Elected to finish Byrnes's term.
				Re-elected in 1942.	27	78th
									Nov 17, 1944 – Nov 20, 1944	Vacant
								Appointed to finish Smith's term. Retired when successor was elected to the next full term.	Nov 20, 1944 – Jan 3, 1945	Democratic	Wilton E. Hall	22
						79th	27	Elected in 1944.	Jan 3, 1945 – Apr 18, 1965	Democratic	Olin D. Johnston	23
						80th
				Re-elected in 1948. Died.	28	81st
						82nd	28	Re-elected in 1950.
						83rd
Vacant			Sep 1, 1954 – Sep 6, 1954
29	Charles E. Daniel	Democratic	Sep 6, 1954 – Dec 23, 1954	Appointed to finish Maybank's term. Resigned early to give successor preferential seniority.
30	Strom Thurmond	Democratic	Dec 24, 1954 – Apr 4, 1956	Appointed to finish Maybank's term, having been elected to the next term.
				Elected in 1954.[5] Resigned.	29	84th
31	Thomas A. Wofford	Democratic	Apr 5, 1956 – Nov 6, 1956	Appointed to continue Thurmond's term. Retired.
32	Strom Thurmond	Democratic	Nov 7, 1956 – Jan 3, 2003	Elected in 1956 to finish his own term.
						85th	29	Re-elected in 1956.
						86th
				Re-elected in 1960. Changed party on Sep 16, 1964.	30	87th
						88th	30	Re-elected in 1962. Died.
		Republican
						89th
									Apr 18, 1965 – Apr 22, 1965	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Johnston's term. Lost nomination to finish Johnston's term.	Apr 22, 1965 – Nov 8, 1966	Democratic	Donald S. Russell	24
								Elected to finish Johnston's term.	Nov 9, 1966 – Jan 3, 2005	Democratic	Fritz Hollings	25
				Re-elected in 1966.	31	90th
						91st	31	Re-elected in 1968.
						92nd
				Re-elected in 1972.	32	93rd
						94th	32	Re-elected in 1974.
						95th
				Re-elected in 1978.	33	96th
						97th	33	Re-elected in 1980.
						98th
				Re-elected in 1984.	34	99th
						100th	34	Re-elected in 1986.
						101st
				Re-elected in 1990.	35	102nd
						103rd	35	Re-elected in 1992.
						104th
				Re-elected in 1996. Retired.	36	105th
						106th	36	Re-elected in 1998. Retired.
						107th
33	Lindsey Graham	Republican	Jan 3, 2003 – present	Elected in 2002.	37	108th
						109th	37	Elected in 2004.	Jan 3, 2005 – Jan 2, 2013	Republican	Jim DeMint	26
						110th
				Re-elected in 2008.	38	111th
						112th	38	Re-elected in 2010. Resigned.
								Appointed to continue DeMint's term. Elected in 2014 to finish DeMint's term.	Jan 2, 2013 – present	Republican	Tim Scott	27
						113th
				Re-elected in 2014.	39	114th
						115th	39	Re-elected in 2016.
						116th
				Re-elected in 2020.	40	117th
						118th	40	Re-elected in 2022. Retiring at the end of the term.[6]
						119th
To be determined in the 2026 election.					41	120th
						121st	41	To be determined in the 2028 election.
#	Senator	Party	Years in office	Electoral history	T	C	T	Electoral history	Years in office	Party	Senator	#
Class 2							Class 3

See also

• United States portal
• South Carolina portal
• Politics portal

• List of United States representatives from South Carolina
• United States congressional delegations from South Carolina
• Elections in South Carolina

Notes

1. Byrd, p. 164.
2. Byrd, p. 166.
3. "South Carolina's Choice". The New York Times. January 28, 1903. p. 8.
4. The Tribune Almanac and Political Register 1908. New York: The Tribune Association. 1908. p. 260.
5. "THURMOND, James Strom". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
6. "Tim Scott says 2022 Senate race will be his last".

References

• Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy (ed.). The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992. United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160632563.