This was the first time that the Democrats picked up a seat in South Carolina since 1986. The state congressional delegation changed from 6–1 for Republicans to 5–2 for Republicans. This is the only time since 2008 that Democrats won more than one U.S. House seat in South Carolina.
Sanford defeated State Representative Jenny Horne in the 2016 primary by only a 56-44 percent margin.[2] The closer than expected result led to speculation that Sanford could be vulnerable to another primary challenge in 2018.[3] Former director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental ControlCatherine Templeton was reportedly being recruited to challenge Sanford, but decided instead to run for governor.[4][5]
The 2nd district is located in central South Carolina and spans from Columbia to the South Carolina side of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. The incumbent was Republican Joe Wilson, who had represented the district since 2001. Wilson was re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2016 and ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
The 3rd district is located in northwestern South Carolina. The incumbent was Republican Jeff Duncan, who had represented the district since 2011. Duncan was re-elected with 73% of the vote in 2016.
The 4th district is located in Upstate South Carolina. The incumbent was Republican Trey Gowdy, who had represented the district since 2011. Gowdy was re-elected with 67% of the vote in 2016.
Gowdy announced in January 2018 that he would not run for re-election in 2018.[19]
The 5th district is located in northern South Carolina. The incumbent was Republican Ralph Norman, who had represented the district since 2017. Norman was elected with 51% of the vote in a 2017 special election to replace Mick Mulvaney. Norman's challenger in the special election, Archie Parnell, announced on the 9th of October that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the 2018 election for District 5. The primaries were held on June 12, 2018. Incumbent Ralph Norman was unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Democratic primaryedit
Special election candidate and former Goldman Sachs employee Parnell had the most fundraising of the four Democratic candidates as of June 9.[20] He was opposed by former York County Councilwoman Sidney Moore,[21] professional clown Steven Lough,[22] and Mark Ali, a former undocumented immigrant.[23] Parnell's campaign was overshadowed by the resignation of many of his campaign staff after the discovery of allegations of domestic violence committed by him in 1973.[24] However, he refused to drop out of the race, and won the primary with 60% of the vote.
The 6th district is located in central and southern South Carolina. The incumbent was Democrat Jim Clyburn, who had represented the district since 1993. Clyburn was re-elected with 70% of the vote in 2016.
The 7th district is located in northeastern South Carolina. The incumbent was Republican Tom Rice, who had represented the district since 2013. Rice was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2016.
^Johnson, Cheryl L. (February 28, 2019). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
^Dumain, Emma (June 14, 2016). "Sanford beats Horne in tight primary race". The Post and Courier. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
^Singer, Jeff (June 15, 2016). "Noted hiker Mark Sanford wins a surprisingly tough GOP congressional primary in South Carolina". Daily Kos Elections. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
^"Mark Sanford Is More Vulnerable Than Ever". FITS News. June 15, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
^Dumain, Emma; Kropf, Schuyler (November 19, 2016). "Catherine Templeton running for governor". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
^Donald Trump. "Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina. I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love. She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie!". Twitter.
^Kropf, Schuyler (February 28, 2018). "North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey endorses Katie Arrington for Congress over Mark Sanford". The Post and Courier.
^Justin Amash. ".@MarkSanford's job is to support and defend the Constitution. He's one of the most principled, consistent, and conservative members of Congress I've ever known. And unlike you, Mark has shown humility in his role and a desire to be a better man than he was the day before". Twitter.
^Joe Walsh. "What a shitty thing for Trump to do. He goes after one of our top Conservatives, @MarkSanford, and takes a shot at Sanford's personal life. This coming from a President you'd never let your daughter near. Disgusting. Let's hope Sanford wins big time today". Twitter.
^"Citizens Fund Endorses Mark Sanford in SC-01". TPPCF. May 30, 2018.
^"Small Business Endorses Sanford for Re-election". NFIB. May 24, 2018.
^"FreedomWorks for America Endorses Rep. Mark Sanford in South Carolina's First Congressional District". FreedomWorks. May 29, 2018.
^Silver, Nate (August 16, 2018). "2018 House Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
^"Daily Kos Elections 2018 race ratings". Daily Kos. Retrieved November 5, 2018.[permanent dead link]
^"Battle for the House 2018". RCP. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
^Greenvilleonline.com. (2018). Sidney Moore, Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate. [online] Available at: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/30/sidney-moore/9782759/ [Accessed 9 Jun. 2018].
^Stracqualursi, Veronica (March 27, 2018). "A clown is running for Congress in South Carolina | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
^Andrews, B. (2018). This South Carolina primary will test whether Democrats are willing to overlook domestic violence. [online] Mother Jones. Available at: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/06/south-carolina-archie-parnell-domestic-violence/ [Accessed 9 Jun. 2018].
^Lovegrove, Jamie. "Top South Carolina candidate refuses to quit congressional race after abuse discovery". Post and Courier. Retrieved June 9, 2018.