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1978 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

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The 1978 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 7, 1978, 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 13. All five incumbents who ran were re-elected, but the open seat in the 4th congressional district was taken by the Republicans from the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the elections was four Democrats and two Republicans.

1st congressional district

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Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mendel Jackson Davis of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Benjamin Frasier in the Democratic primary and Republican C.C. Wannamaker in the general election.

Democratic primary

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Democratic primary
Candidate Votes %
Mendel Jackson Davis 48,541 86.4
Benjamin Frasier 7,631 13.6

General election results

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South Carolina's 1st congressional district election results, 1978
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mendel J. Davis (incumbent) 65,835 60.6 −8.3
Republican C.C. Wannamaker 42,811 39.4 +8.3
Majority 23,024 21.2 −16.6
Turnout 108,646
Democratic hold

2nd congressional district

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

Democratic primary

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Democratic primary
Candidate Votes %
Jack Bass 34,630 57.6
B.E. Hadley 25,520 42.4

General election results

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South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election results, 1978
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Floyd Spence (incumbent) 71,208 57.3 −0.2
Democratic Jack Bass 53,021 42.7 +0.9
No party Write-Ins 4 0.0 0.0
Majority 18,187 14.6 −1.1
Turnout 124,233
Republican hold

3rd congressional district

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

General election results

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South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election results, 1978
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Butler Derrick (incumbent) 81,638 81.9 −18.1
Republican Anthony J. Panuccio 17,973 18.1 +18.1
No party Write-Ins 24 0.0 0.0
Majority 63,665 63.8 −36.2
Turnout 99,635
Democratic hold

4th congressional district

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Incumbent Democratic Congressman James R. Mann of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1969, opted to retire. Carroll A. Campbell Jr., a Republican state senator from Greenville, defeated Robert Watkins in the Republican primary and Democrat Max M. Heller in the general election.

Democratic primary

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Democratic primary
Candidate Votes %
Max M. Heller 25,295 53.1
Nick Theodore 22,319 46.9

Republican primary

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Republican primary
Candidate Votes %
Carroll A. Campbell Jr. 6,808 88.3
Robert Watkins 899 11.7

General election results

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South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1978
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Carroll A. Campbell Jr. 51,377 52.1 +25.6
Democratic Max M. Heller 45,484 46.2 −27.3
Independent Don W. Sprouse 1,693 1.7 +1.7
No party Write-Ins 34 0.0 0.0
Majority 5,893 5.9 −41.1
Turnout 98,588
Republican gain from Democratic

5th congressional district

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Incumbent Democratic Congressman Kenneth Lamar Holland of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Colleen H. Yates in the Democratic primary and Independent Harold Hough in the general election.

Democratic primary

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Democratic primary
Candidate Votes %
Ken Holland 46,247 65.0
Colleen H. Yates 24,853 35.0

General election results

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South Carolina's 5th congressional district election results, 1978
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ken Holland (incumbent) 63,538 82.6 +31.1
Independent Harold Hough 13,251 17.2 +17.0
No party Write-Ins 175 0.2 +0.2
Majority 50,287 65.4 +62.2
Turnout 76,964
Democratic hold

6th congressional district

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Incumbent Democratic Congressman John Jenrette of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Jeryl Best in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.

Democratic primary

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Democratic primary
Candidate Votes %
John Jenrette 58,320 76.9
Jeryl Best 17,541 23.1

General election results

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South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1978
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John Jenrette (incumbent) 69,372 99.7 +44.2
No party Write-Ins 222 0.3 +0.3
Majority 69,150 99.4 +87.9
Turnout 69,594
Democratic hold

See also

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References

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  • State Election Commission (1979). Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission. Columbia, SC: State Election Commission. pp. 55–57.