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 County results Thurmond: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Purvis: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1984 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1984, to select theU.S. Senator from the state ofSouth Carolina. Popular incumbentRepublican SenatorStrom Thurmond cruised to re-election againstDemocratic challenger Melvin Purvis.
TheSouth Carolina Democratic Party held theirprimary on June 12, 1984. Melvin Purvis, a minister and the son of famous FBI agentMelvin Purvis, won a close race against photographerCecil J. Williams. The closeness of the race and the fact that the black candidate did not win propelledJesse Jackson to request a Justice Department investigation into the primary and he also considered an independent bid for the seat.GovernorRichard Riley and3rd districtRepresentativeButler Derrick flirted with running, but backed down when Thurmond received endorsements from prominent Democrats in South Carolina.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Melvin Purvis | 149,730 | 50.19% | |
| Democratic | Cecil J. Williams | 148,586 | 49.81% | |
| Total votes | 298,316 | 100.00% | ||
TheSouth Carolina Republican Party held theirprimary on June 12, 1984. SenatorStrom Thurmond easily defeated Bob Cunningham to advance to the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Strom Thurmond (incumbent) | 44,662 | 94.31% | |
| Republican | Bob Cunningham | 2,693 | 5.69% | |
| Total votes | 47,355 | 100.00% | ||
Thurmond received endorsements from former Democratic governorRobert Evander McNair,Charleston mayorJoseph P. Riley Jr., and an assortment of black mayors in the state. He did not face a serious challenge and spent almost $1.5 million on the race whereas Purvis spent less than $10,000. An ironic footnote to the election is the fact that Purvis used Thurmond's age as an issue in the campaign. He claimed Thurmond was too old, yet Purvis died less than two years after the election of a heart attack at age 46.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Strom Thurmond (incumbent) | 644,814 | 66.79% | +11.23% | |
| Democratic | Melvin Purvis | 306,982 | 31.80% | −12.60% | |
| Libertarian | Stephen Davis | 13,323 | 1.38% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 335 | 0.03% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 965,454 | 100.00% | |||
| Majority | 337,832 | 34.99% | +23.84% | ||
| Turnout | 965,454 | 68.7% | +11.0% | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
