1970 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

The 1970 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 3, 1970, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections were held on June 9 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 23. All five incumbents who ran were re-elected and the open seat in the 2nd district was retained by the Republicans. The composition of the state delegation remained five Democrats and one Republican.

1970 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

November 3, 1970 (1970-11-03)
All 6 South Carolina seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 5 1 Seats won 5 1 Seat change Popular vote 309,487 115,531 Percentage 72.49% 27.06% Swing 6.20% 5.42%
District results Democratic   60–70%   70–80%   90–100% Republican   50–60%

South Carolina congressional districts, 1962 to 1970

  1st district

  2nd district

  3rd district

  4th district

  5th district

  6th district

1st congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman L. Mendel Rivers of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1941, was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

General election results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district election results, 1970

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	L. Mendel Rivers (incumbent)	63,891	100.0	0.0
Majority			63,891	100.0	0.0
Turnout			63,891
	Democratic hold

2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Albert Watson of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1963, chose to run for Governor instead of re-election. Floyd Spence, a Republican state senator who had unsuccessfully run for the seat in the 1962 elections, defeated Democratic challenger Heyward McDonald.

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election results, 1970

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Floyd Spence	48,093	53.1	−4.5
	Democratic	Heyward McDonald	42,005	46.4	+4.0
	Independent	Donald Cole	486	0.5	+0.5
Majority			6,088	6.7	−8.5
Turnout			90,584
	Republican hold

3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1951, defeated Republican challenger Grady Ballard.

General election results

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election results, 1970

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William J.B. Dorn (incumbent)	60,708	75.2	+9.1
	Republican	Grady Ballard	19,981	24.8	−6.9
Majority			40,727	50.4	+16.0
Turnout			80,689
	Democratic hold

4th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman James R. Mann of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1969, was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

General election results

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1970

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	James R. Mann (incumbent)	52,175	100.0	+38.8
Majority			52,175	100.0	+77.6
Turnout			52,175
	Democratic hold

5th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Thomas S. Gettys of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1964, defeated Republican challenger B. Leonard Phillips.

General election results

South Carolina's 5th congressional district election results, 1970

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas S. Gettys (incumbent)	43,712	65.9	−8.8
	Republican	B. Leonard Phillips	21,911	33.1	+11.3
	Independent	James B. Sumner	688	1.0	−2.5
Majority			21,801	32.8	−20.1
Turnout			66,311
	Democratic hold

6th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John L. McMillan of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1939, won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican Edward B. Baskin in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
John L. McMillan	26,192	49.6
Claude L. Stephens	11,534	21.8
Bill R. Craig	11,047	20.9
Olin Sansbury Jr.	4,042	7.7

Democratic primary runoff
Candidate	Votes	%	±%
John L. McMillan	46,030	71.2	+21.6
Claude L. Stephens	18,620	28.8	+7.0

General election results

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1970

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John L. McMillan (incumbent)	46,926	64.1	+5.8
	Republican	Edward B. Baskin	25,546	34.9	−5.0
	Independent	Charles H. Smith	773	1.0	−0.8
Majority			21,380	29.2	+10.8
Turnout			73,245
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House elections, 1970
• South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1970
• South Carolina's congressional districts

References

• State Election Commission (1973). Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission. Columbia, SC: State Election Commission. pp. 299, 578.