| South Carolina's 2nd congressional district | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 | |
| Representative | |
| Population (2024) | 764,414[1] |
| Median household income | $77,683[1] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | R+7[2] |
South Carolina's 2nd congressional district is in central and southwesternSouth Carolina. The district spans fromColumbia to the South Carolina side of theAugusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
From 1993 through 2012, it included all ofLexington,Jasper,Hampton,Allendale andBarnwell counties; most ofRichland andBeaufort counties and parts ofAiken,Calhoun andOrangeburg counties.
It was made more compact in the 2010 round of redistricting, and now comprises all of Lexington, Aiken and Barnwell counties, most of Richland County, and part ofOrangeburg County. Besides Columbia (60 percent of which is in the district), other major cities in the district includeAiken andNorth Augusta.
The district's current configuration dates from 1933, following South Carolina losing a seat in apportionment as a result of the 1930 Census showing that the state's population had declined. Before that time, much of its territory had been within the6th district.
As a Columbia-based district from 1933 to the early 1990s, it was a fairly compact district in the central part of the state, which was largely coextensive with the Columbia metropolitan area. As a result of the 1990 census, the state legislature was required to draw a black-majority district. In a deal between Republicans and Democrats, the6th district, previously located in the northeastern portion of the state, was reconfigured to incorporate most of the old 2nd's black residents. To make up for the loss in population, the 2nd was pushed as far west as the fringes of theAugusta suburbs and as far south asBeaufort/Hilton Head. As of 2019, the district was more than 69% white.[3]
Since 1965 the 2nd district has been held by the Republican Party, coinciding with the late 20th-century realignment of political parties in the South. In the decades after the Civil War and beforedisenfranchisement in 1895 under the new state constitution, members of the Republican Party in South Carolina and the South were mostly African Americans, including many freedmen enfranchised due to Republican support for amendments for emancipation, citizenship and the franchise. After white Democrats regained control of state governments across the South, in the late 19th century, they passed new constitutions from 1890 to 1908 todisenfranchise blacks, excluding them totally from the political process. The Republican Party was crippled in the region and nearly comatose.
As a result of theCivil Rights Movement, Congress passed theVoting Rights Act of 1965, which provided for federal enforcement of blacks' constitutional rights. That year, the 2nd district's second-termDemocratic congressman,Albert Watson, resigned, then ran as a Republican in the ensuing special election and won, becoming the first Republican to represent South Carolina in the House since Reconstruction.
However, the district had begun shedding itsYellow Dog Democrat roots before then. Some of the old-line Democrats began splitting their tickets as early as the 1940s.Lexington County has not supported the official Democratic candidate for president since1944, andAiken County not since1952. The district swung hard toStrom Thurmond during his third-party bid for president in 1948, and gave an equally massive margin toBarry Goldwater in 1964. Since 1964,Jimmy Carter has been the only Democrat to come close to carrying it. However, conservative Democrats held most local offices well into the 1980s.
Watson gave up the seat to run for governor in 1970. His successor, state senatorFloyd Spence, held the seat for more than 30 years. He was chairman of theHouse Armed Services Committee from 1995 to 2001, and died a few months after being elected to a 16th term. He was succeeded in a special election by one of his former aides, state senatorJoe Wilson.
Wilson has since been reelected eleven times. In the most recent election, held on November 11, 2022, Wilson earned 60% of the vote against Democrat Judd Larkins.
For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[4]
AikenCounty(17)
LexingtonCounty(21)
| Year | Office | Results[5] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | McCain 59% - 40% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 59% - 41% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 56% - 39% |
| Senate | Scott 62% - 35% | |
| 2018 | Governor | McMaster 54% - 46% |
| Secretary of State | Hammond 59% - 41% | |
| Treasurer | Loftis 57% - 39% | |
| Attorney General | Wilson 56% - 42% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 55% - 44% |
| Senate | Graham 54% - 44% | |
| 2022 | Senate | Scott 62% - 38% |
| Governor | McMaster 56% - 42% | |
| Secretary of State | Hammond 63% - 37% | |
| 2024 | President | Trump 56% - 42% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Wilson (incumbent) | 196,116 | 96.3 | |
| Write-in | 7,602 | 3.7 | ||
| Total votes | 203,718 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Wilson (incumbent) | 121,649 | 62.5 | |
| Democratic | Phil Black | 68,719 | 35.3 | |
| Labor | Harold Geddings III | 4,158 | 2.1 | |
| Write-in | 282 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 194,808 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Wilson (incumbent) | 183,746 | 60.2 | |
| Democratic | Arik Bjorn | 109,452 | 35.9 | |
| American | Eddie McCain | 11,444 | 3.8 | |
| Write-in | 354 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 304,996 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Wilson (incumbent) | 144,642 | 56.2 | |
| Democratic | Sean Carrigan | 109,199 | 42.5 | |
| American | Sonny Narang | 3,111 | 1.2 | |
| Write-in | 187 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 257,139 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Wilson (incumbent) | 202,715 | 55.7 | |
| Democratic | Adair Boroughs | 155,118 | 42.6 | |
| Constitution | Kathleen Wright | 6,163 | 1.7 | |
| Write-in | 219 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 364,215 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Wilson (incumbent) | 147,699 | 60.0 | |
| Democratic | Judd Larkins | 98,081 | 39.8 | |
| Write-in | 346 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 246,126 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Wilson (incumbent) | 211,514 | 59.5 | |
| Democratic | David Robinson | 142,985 | 40.3 | |
| Write-in | 786 | 0.2 | ||
| Total votes | 355,285 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
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