United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1978

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Strom Thurmond

The 1978 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1978 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Republican Senator Strom Thurmond defeated Democratic challenger Charles D. Ravenel.

Democratic primary

The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on June 13, 1978. Charles D. Ravenel, an unsuccessful candidate in the 1974 gubernatorial contest, originally planned to run for Governor again in 1978, but was convinced by Vice President Walter Mondale in 1977 to run for Senator. He garnered over 50% of the vote in the primary and avoided a runoff election.

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Charles D. Ravenel	205,348	55.9
John Bolt Culbertson	69,184	18.9
Tom Triplett	50,957	13.9
Tom McElveen	41,550	11.3

Republican primary

Senator Strom Thurmond faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans and avoided a primary election.

General election campaign

Thurmond generally ignored Ravenel on the campaign and refused to debate him. When they did cross paths, Thurmond criticized Ravenel for never having held a political office. Ravenel did not help his cause by his actions in the 1974 gubernatorial race when he refused to endorse the Democratic nominee after he had been disqualified. This irritated many Democrats and they also accused him of being nothing more than a liberal New Yorker. Age was beginning to become an issue with Thurmond, so to combat perceptions of old age, Thurmond often appeared with his children on the campaign trail. While 1978 was generally a Democratic year, Thurmond was able to pull off a commanding victory over Ravenel.

Election results

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1978
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Strom Thurmond	351,733	55.6	-7.9
	Democratic	Charles D. Ravenel	281,119	44.4	+7.9
	No party	Write-Ins	257	0.0	0.0
Majority			70,614	11.2	-15.8
Turnout			633,109	57.7	-7.5
	Republican hold

References

Bass, Jack; Marilyn W. Thompson (1998). Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond. Longstreet. pp. 290–292.
State Election Commission (1979). Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission. Columbia, SC: State Election Commission. p. 54.
"Challenging a Southern Legend". Time. 1978-10-16. Retrieved 2008-02-09.

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See also: Political party strength in South Carolina

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