| State: | South Carolina |
| District Number: | 1 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Nancy Mace |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Charleston |
| Population: | 762,713 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $85,282[1] |
| Percent White: | 68.2 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 8.1 |
| Percent Black: | 16.9 |
| Percent Asian: | 1.8 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 4.1 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.9 |
| Cpvi: | R+7[2] |
South Carolina's 1st congressional district is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina, represented by Republican Nancy Mace since January 3, 2021. She succeeded Democrat Joe Cunningham, having defeated him in the 2020 election. Cunningham was the first Democrat to represent the district since the 1980s.
The district has historically been based in Charleston. It has included Myrtle Beach, which became a major tourist destination in the late 20th century, as well as other coastal areas that have attracted retirees and seasonal visitors. From 1993 to 2013, the district boundaries extended from Seabrook Island in the south to the North Carolina border and included parts of Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley and Georgetown counties and all of Horry County to the North Carolina line.
In 2010, the state received another seat in Congressional apportionment due to an increase in population. The state's districts had to be redrawn, which was completed in 2013. In the final plan, the 1st congressional district was redrawn to reach from Hilton Head Island to mid-coast South Carolina, ending at the Santee River and comprising parts of Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester and Beaufort counties. This configuration is similar to the one it had for most of the 20th century. Horry County was included in the new 7th congressional district.
On January 6, 2023, the district was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on account of racial gerrymandering and would have to be redrawn April of that year.[3] The Supreme Court justices added Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP to their merits calendar for the 2023–24 term. At least fifteen amicus briefs were filed by various organizations and individuals with standing before the court.[4] The case was argued on October 11, 2023,[5] [6] with a decision pending in 2024.[7] On March 28, 2024, the same district court that ruled the congressional district was 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 district to be in violation of the 14th amendment, and future litigation is possible after the 2024 elections.[8] [9]
Following the Civil War and granting of citizenship to former slaves, in 1870, Charleston's population was 53 percent black; and Charleston County had a 73 percent black majority. The city's large population of free people of color had developed many leaders who advanced in the changing society. These population majorities protected freedmen against some of the election-related violence that occurred in other parts of the state in the 1870s as white Democrats worked to suppress black voting and regain political control of the state.[10] During Reconstruction, the mostly black Republicans from this district supported Republican candidates, including four terms for Joseph H. Rainey as US Representative to Congress, a record by an African-American legislator not surpassed until the 1950s.
After the Democrats regained control of the state in 1876, during an election season marked by violence and fraud, and Reconstruction ended in 1877, they passed laws establishing racial segregation and making voter registration and voting more difficult, such as the "eight-box law". African-American George W. Murray finally won in the disputed 1894 congressional election from this district; he challenged the Republican candidate's victory because of election fraud and was upheld by the House Committee on Elections. But passage of a new state constitution by Democrats in 1895 effectively disfranchised most African-American citizens in 1896. Their participation in the political system was ended for seven decades. The white Democrats established a one-party state and used various devices to maintain the exclusion of blacks until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.
Party realignments in the late 20th century resulted in many new black voters supporting the national Democratic Party. White conservatives in the South shifted and joined the Republican Party, in 1980 electing the first Republican congressman from the state to be elected in the 20th century. Since the buildup of the military in this region, especially the Navy, the area's white voters have supported conservative candidates.
Given the crippling of the Republican Party by the disfranchisement of blacks, a Republican was not elected to a full term in this district in the 20th century until 1980, when Tommy Hartnett was swept in by Reagan's coattails. But, his election represented a different party and was the result of a major realignment of white conservative voters in the late 20th century to the Republican, rather than the Democratic Party. Starting with national candidates in the late 1960s and 1970s, white voters in South Carolina began to shift to the Republican Party.
As after every decennial census, the state legislature conducted redistricting after the 1990 census. The white Republican-controlled legislature shifted most of Charleston's African-American majority areas into South Carolina's 6th congressional district, creating a majority-minority district. To make up for the loss of population, the 1st was extended all the way up the Atlantic coast to Myrtle Beach. The 2010 redistricting cut the district back to the southeastern corner of the state.
Since that time, the 1st congressional district has had a majority-white population. But, in 2008, with the appeal of the Barack Obama presidential campaign, Democrat Linda Ketner came within two points of winning the 1st district congressional seat. In the following off-year election of 2010, Republican Tim Scott won the seat with 65 percent of the vote.
During the 2018 South Carolina primaries on June 12, 2018, Mark Sanford lost re-nomination to the seat. The Republicans would go on to lose the seat to the Democrats after the district swung heavily to the Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections.
See main article: 2013 South Carolina's 1st congressional district special election. Tim Scott, a Republican from North Charleston, was elected as the 1st district's representative in 2010. He resigned after he was appointed by Governor Nikki Haley to the United States Senate when Jim DeMint resigned on January 1, 2013.
The district boundaries had been redrawn in 2011. A special election was held on May 7, 2013 to fill the vacancy created by Scott's resignation. In a Primary Election held on March 19, 2013, Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, won the Democratic nomination. Former Governor Mark Sanford, who represented the district from 1995 to 2001, and former Charleston County Councilman Curtis Eilliott Bostic faced each other in a runoff Primary for the Republican nomination on April 2, 2013. Sanford won the nomination, and defeated challengers Colbert-Busch and South Carolina Green Party candidate Eugene Platt in the special election on May 7.
Counties in the 2023–2033 district map:
| Year | Office | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Bush 59–38% | |
| 2004 | President | Bush 61–39% | |
| 2008 | President | McCain 56–43% | |
| 2012 | President | Romney 58–40% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 54–40% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 52–46% |
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | District location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established March 4, 1789 | ||||||||
William L. Smith | Pro-Administration | March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1795 | Elected in 1788. Re-elected in 1790. Re-elected in 1793. Re-elected in 1794. Re-elected in 1796. Resigned to become U.S. Minister to Portugal. | 1789–1793 "Charleston Division" | ||||
| 1793–1833 "Charleston district" | ||||||||
| Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1795 – July 10, 1797 | ||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | July 10, 1797 – November 23, 1797 | ||||||
| align=left | Thomas Pinckney | Federalist | nowrap | November 23, 1797 – March 3, 1801 | Elected to finish Smith's term. Re-elected in 1798. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Thomas Lowndes | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1805 | Elected in 1800. Re-elected in 1803. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Robert Marion | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1805 – December 4, 1810 | Elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Retired and then resigned. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | December 4, 1810 – December 31, 1810 | ||||||
| align=left | Langdon Cheves | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | December 31, 1810 – March 3, 1815 | Elected in 1810. Later elected to finish Marion's term and seated January 24, 1811. Re-elected in 1812. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Henry Middleton | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1819 | Elected in 1814. Re-elected in 1816. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Charles Pinckney | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1821 | Elected in 1818. Retired. | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Joel R. Poinsett | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1825 | Re-elected in 1820. Re-elected in 1823. Re-elected in 1824. Resigned to become U.S. Minister to Mexico. | |||
| Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1825 – March 7, 1825 | ||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 7, 1825 – May 17, 1825 | ||||||
| align=left | William Drayton | Jacksonian | nowrap | May 17, 1825 – March 3, 1833 | Elected May 16, 1825 to finish Poinsett's term and seated December 5, 1825. Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1828. Re-elected in 1830. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Henry L. Pinckney | Nullifier | nowrap | March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837 | Elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1834. Lost renomination and lost re-election as a Unionist. | 1833–1843 | ||
| align=left | Hugh S. Legaré | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839 | Elected in 1836. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Isaac E. Holmes | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 | Elected in 1838. Re-elected in 1840. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | James A. Black | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – April 3, 1848 | Elected in 1843. Re-elected in 1844. Re-elected in 1846. Died. | 1843–1853 | ||
| Vacant | nowrap | April 3, 1848 – June 12, 1848 | ||||||
| align=left | Daniel Wallace | Democratic | nowrap | June 12, 1848 – March 3, 1853 | Elected to finish Black's term. Re-elected in 1848. Re-elected in 1850. Retired. | |||
| align=left | John McQueen | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – December 21, 1860 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1853. Re-elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Re-elected in 1858. Re-elected in 1860 but retired due to Civil War. | 1853–1860 | ||
| District inactive | nowrap | December 21, 1860 – July 18, 1868 | Civil War and Reconstruction | |||||
| align=left | Benjamin F. Whittemore | Republican | nowrap | July 18, 1868 – February 24, 1870 | Elected to finish the short term. Also elected to the next term. Resigned. | 1868–1873 | ||
| Vacant | nowrap | February 24, 1870 – December 12, 1870 | ||||||
Joseph H. Rainey | Republican | December 12, 1870 – March 3, 1879 | Elected to finish Wittemore's term. Also elected to the next full term. Re-elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Lost re-election. | |||||
| 1873–1883 | ||||||||
| align=left | John S. Richardson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883 | Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Samuel Dibble | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1891 | Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Retired. | 1883–1893 | ||
William H. Brawley | Democratic | March 4, 1891 – February 12, 1894 | Elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Resigned to become U.S. District Judge. | |||||
| 1893–1903 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | February 12, 1894 – April 12, 1894 | ||||||
| align=left | James F. Izlar | Democratic | nowrap | April 12, 1894 – March 3, 1895 | Elected to finish Brawley's term. Retired. | |||
| align=left | William Elliott | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1895 – June 4, 1896 | Elected in 1894. Lost election contest. | |||
| align=left | George W. Murray | Republican | nowrap | June 4, 1896 – March 3, 1897 | Won election contest. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | William Elliott | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903 | Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||
| align=left | George S. Legaré | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1903 – January 31, 1913 | Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912 but died before next term began. | 1903–1913 | ||
| Vacant | January 31, 1913 – April 29, 1913 | |||||||
| 1913–1933 Berkeley, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, and Dorchester counties[11] | ||||||||
| align=left | Richard S. Whaley | Democratic | nowrap | April 29, 1913 – March 3, 1921 | Elected to finish Legaré's term. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Retired. | |||
| align=left | W. Turner Logan | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1925 | Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Lost renomination. | |||
Thomas S. McMillan | Democratic | March 4, 1925 – September 29, 1939 | Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Died. | |||||
| 1933–1943 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 29, 1939 – November 7, 1939 | ||||||
| align=left | Clara Gooding McMillan | Democratic | nowrap | November 7, 1939 – January 3, 1941 | Elected to finish her husband's term. Retired. | |||
L. Mendel Rivers | Democratic | January 3, 1941 – December 28, 1970 | Elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Died. | |||||
| 1943–1953 | ||||||||
| 1953–1963 | ||||||||
| 1963–1973 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | December 28, 1970 – April 27, 1971 | ||||||
Mendel Jackson Davis | Democratic | April 27, 1971 – January 3, 1981 | Elected to finish Rivers's term. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Retired for health reasons. | |||||
| 1973–1983 | ||||||||
Thomas Hartnett | Republican | January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987 | Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired to run for lieutenant governor of South Carolina. | |||||
| 1983–1993 | ||||||||
Arthur Ravenel Jr. | Republican | January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 | Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired to run for governor of South Carolina. | |||||
| 1993–1995 | ||||||||
| align=left | Mark Sanford | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 | Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Retired to run for governor of South Carolina. | 1995–2003 | ||
Henry Brown | Republican | January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2011 | Elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Retired. | |||||
| 2003–2013 Horry; parts of Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, and Georgetown. | ||||||||
| align=left | Tim Scott | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2011 – January 2, 2013 | Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012, but resigned when appointed U.S. senator. | |||
| Vacant | January 2, 2013 – May 7, 2013 | |||||||
| 2013–2023 Parts of Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, and Dorchester. | ||||||||
| align=left | Mark Sanford | Republican | nowrap | May 7, 2013 – January 3, 2019 | Elected to finish Scott's term. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Joe Cunningham | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021 | Elected in 2018. Lost re-election. | |||
Nancy Mace | Republican | January 3, 2021 – present | Elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2023–2033 Beaufort and Berkeley; Parts of Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, and Jasper. | ||||||||