South Carolina's 6th congressional district

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 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

• South Carolina's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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