South Carolina's 6th congressional district

South Carolina's 6th congressional district
South Carolina's 6th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative Jim Clyburn (D–Columbia)
Population (2000) 668,670
Median income $28,967
Ethnicity 40.8% White, 57.0% Black, 0.5% Asian, 1.5% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% other
Cook PVI D+17

The 6th Congressional District of South Carolina is a congressional district in central and eastern South Carolina. It includes all of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Clarendon, Colleton, Hampton and Williamsburg counties and parts of Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Orangeburg and Richland counties. The district borders were shifted south in the 2012 redistricting. It lost its share of the North Carolina border, and now takes in part of the area near the South Carolina-Georgia border.

The district was defined in the early 1990s in a deal between state Republicans (mostly white) and Democrats (mostly black) in the South Carolina General Assembly to ensure a majority-black population, known as a majority-minority district. The rural counties of the historical black belt in South Carolina make up much of the district, but it sweeps south to include most of the majority-black precincts in and around Charleston, and sweeps west to include most of the majority-black precincts in and around Columbia. In all of its configurations, its politics have been dominated by black voters in the Columbia and Charleston areas.

Following the Reconstruction era, the white Democratic-dominated legislature passed Jim Crow laws, as well as a new constitution in 1895 that effectively disfranchised blacks, crippling the Republican Party in the state. For most of the next 60 years, South Carolina was essentially a one-party state dominated by the Democrats, and blacks were nearly excluded from the political system.

Demographic and political changes have included the Great Migration (African American) of blacks out of the state during the Jim Crow era in the first half of the 20th century. At the same time, many white Democrats felt chagrin at the national party's greater support of civil rights for blacks from the 1940s onward, and began splitting their tickets in federal elections. After successes of the African American Civil Rights Movement in gaining passage of federal legislation in the mid-1960s to enforce their constitutional rights and ability to vote, blacks in South Carolina supported national Democratic candidates. This prompted a massive wave of party-switching in which white conservatives began moving into the Republican Party.

Since the late 20th century, South Carolina politics have been very racially polarized. Republicans in South Carolina have been mostly white, and most African Americans in the state continue to support the Democrats. In the 21st century, the 6th is considered the only "safe" Democratic district in the state.

Before 1993, this district included the northeastern part of the state, from Darlington to Myrtle Beach. It was a classic "Yellow Dog" Democratic district; in this configuration it only elected two Republicans, both for a single term. In 2012, the new 7th congressional district was created; it includes much of the territory that was in the 6th for most of the 20th century.

Jim Clyburn, a Democrat and the current Assistant House Minority Leader, has represented this district since first being elected in 1992.

List of representatives

Name Years Party Electoral history
District created in 1793
Andrew Pickens March 4, 1793 –
March 3, 1795		 Anti-
Administration		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Samuel Earle March 4, 1795 –
March 3, 1797		 Democratic-
Republican		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
William Smith March 4, 1797 –
March 3, 1799		 Democratic-
Republican		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Abraham Nott March 4, 1799 –
March 3, 1801		 Federalist [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Thomas Moore March 4, 1801 –
March 3, 1803		 Democratic-
Republican		 Redistricted to the 7th district
Levi Casey March 4, 1803 –
February 3, 1807		 Democratic-
Republican		 Died
Joseph Calhoun June 2, 1807 –
March 3, 1811		 Democratic-
Republican		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
John C. Calhoun March 4, 1811 –
November 3, 1817		 Democratic-
Republican		 Resigned after being appointed Secretary of War
Eldred Simkins January 24, 1818 –
March 3, 1821		 Democratic-
Republican		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
George McDuffie March 4, 1821 –
March 3, 1823		 Democratic-
Republican		 Redistricted to the 5th district
John Wilson March 4, 1823 –
March 3, 1825		 Jacksonian
Democratic-Republican		 Redistricted from the 7th district
March 4, 1825 –
March 3, 1827		 Jacksonian [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Warren R. Davis March 4, 1827 –
March 3, 1831		 Jacksonian Died
March 4, 1831 –
January 29, 1835		 Nullifier
Waddy Thompson, Jr. September 10, 1835 –
March 3, 1837		 Anti-
Jackson		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
March 4, 1837 –
March 3, 1841		 Whig
William Butler March 4, 1841 –
March 3, 1843		 Whig [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Isaac E. Holmes March 4, 1843 –
March 3, 1851		 Democratic Redistricted from the 1st district
William Aiken, Jr. March 4, 1851 –
March 3, 1853		 Democratic Redistricted to the 2nd district
William W. Boyce March 4, 1853 –
December 21, 1860		 Democratic Retired
Civil War - Occupation and Reconstruction - Not Allocated
District eliminated in 1867
District re-established 1883
George W. Dargan March 4, 1883 –
March 3, 1891		 Democratic [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Eli T. Stackhouse March 4, 1891 –
June 14, 1892		 Democratic Died
John L. McLaurin December 5, 1892 –
May 31, 1897		 Democratic Resigned after being elected to US Senate
James Norton December 6, 1897 –
March 3, 1901		 Democratic [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Robert B. Scarborough March 4, 1901 –
March 3, 1905		 Democratic [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
J. Edwin Ellerbe March 4, 1905 –
March 3, 1913		 Democratic [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
J. Willard Ragsdale March 4, 1913 –
July 23, 1919		 Democratic Died
Philip H. Stoll October 7, 1919 –
March 3, 1923		 Democratic [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Allard H. Gasque March 4, 1923 –
June 17, 1938		 Democratic Died
Elizabeth H. Gasque September 13, 1938 –
January 3, 1939		 Democratic [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
John L. McMillan January 3, 1939 –
January 3, 1973		 Democratic Lost primary to John Jenrette in 1972
Edward Lunn Young January 3, 1973 –
January 3, 1975		 Republican Beat Jenrette in 1972 only to lose to him two years later.
John Jenrette January 3, 1975 –
December 10, 1980		 Democratic First sought the office in 1972, winning on his second attempt. Defeated for reelection in 1980 and resigned early as a result of the ABSCAM scandal
John L. Napier January 3, 1981 –
January 3, 1983		 Republican Defeated for reelection
Robin Tallon January 3, 1983 –
January 3, 1993		 Democratic Retired when district was redistricted as a minority-majority district
Jim Clyburn January 3, 1993 –
Present		 Democratic First elected in 1992

Historical district boundaries

1995 - 2013

See also

References

Coordinates: 33°18′N 80°33′W / 33.30°N 80.55°W / 33.30; -80.55

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