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The2004 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 2, 2004. Longtime incumbentDemocratic U.S. SenatorFritz Hollings retired, and RepublicanU.S. RepresentativeJim DeMint won the open seat. DeMint was the first Republican to hold this Senate seat since 1879 and the first Republican ever to be popularly elected to this seat. Since DeMint took office in 2005, Republicans have held both of South Carolina’s Senate seats, which they had not done sinceReconstruction.
As of 2025, this is the last time the Democratic nominee for this Senate seat was white. This was also the last senate election in South Carolina to be won by single digits.
South Carolina's status as a Republican stronghold led observers to speculate that Hollings retiring would lead to his seat being picked up by a Republican.[1]Inez Tenenbaum, the South Carolina Superintendent of Education, would win the primary by a wide margin following the decision of many state Democrats to forgo a candidacy.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Inez Tenenbaum | 126,720 | 75.5% | |
| Democratic | Ben Frasier | 41,070 | 24.5% | |
TheSenate election two years earlier in 2002 did not have a primary election because theSouth Carolina Republicans were more preoccupied with thegubernatorial contest, despite having the first open senate seat in 40 years. The retirement of Democratic SenatorFritz Hollings gave the Republicans an opportunity to pick up the seat and with no other interesting positions up for election in 2004, a crowded field developed in the Republican primary. Furthermore, the Republicans were motivated by having PresidentBush at the top of the ticket enabling them to ride his coattails to victory.
FormerGovernorDavid Beasley, from thePee Dee, entered the race and quickly emerged as the frontrunner because of his support from the evangelical voters. However, during his term as governor from 1995 to 1999 he had greatly angered the electorate by proposing to remove theConfederate Naval Jack from the dome of the statehouse and by being against the adoption of astate lottery to provide for college scholarships. Both positions led to the loss of hisre-election in 1998 and the issues continued to trouble him in the Senate race.
The battle for second place in the primary was betweenUpstate congressman,Jim DeMint, andCharleston developerThomas Ravenel. DeMint was able to squeak out a second-place finish becauseCharlie Condon, a formerAttorney General of South Carolina, split theLowcountry vote with Ravenel thus providing DeMint the margin he needed. In addition, while many voters were attracted to the Ravenel campaign and felt that he had a future in politics, they believed that he should set his sights on a less high-profile office first before trying to become senator. Resigned to defeat, Ravenel endorsed DeMint in the runoff election.
In therunoff election on June 22, 2004, DeMint scored a surprising victory over Beasley. Ravenel's endorsement of DeMint proved crucial as the Lowcountry counties heavily went for the Representative from the Upstate. Also, Beasley had burnt too many bridges while governor and was unable to increase his share of the vote in the runoff.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[10] | Margin of error | Jim DeMint | David Beasley | Thomas Ravenel | Charlie Condon | Mark McBride | Bob Peeler | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[11] | June 18–20, 2004 | 499 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 54% | 44% | 2% | ||||
| Public Opinion Strategies (R)[12] | June 10–14, 2004 | 700 (LV) | 46% | 42% | 12% | |||||
| SurveyUSA[13] | June 12–14, 2004 | 527 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 47% | 48% | 5% | ||||
| Public Opinion Strategies (R)[12] | June 7, 2004 | 42% | 48% | 10% | ||||||
| Richard Quinn & Associates (R)[14][15] | June 9–10, 2004 | 300 (LV) | ± 5.8% | 38% | 47% | 15% | ||||
| SurveyUSA[16] | June 4–6, 2004 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 20% | 38% | 23% | 12% | 7% | ||
| SurveyUSA[17] | May 22–24, 2004 | 421 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 21% | 43% | 17% | 16% | 3% | ||
| Richard Quinn & Associates (R)[18] | May 11, 2004 | 467 (LV) | ± 4.7% | 18% | 40% | 11% | 9% | 22% | ||
| Public Opinion Strategies (R)[12] | May 2004 | 33% | 54% | 10% | ||||||
| SurveyUSA[19][20] | April 26–28, 2004 | 427 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 27% | 38% | 19% | 16% | |||
| Richard Quinn & Associates (R)[21] | February 4–5, 2004 | 716 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 13% | 41% | 9% | 15% | 2% | 20% | |
| Public Opinion Strategies (R)[22] | January 2004 | 550 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 16% | 37% | 10% | 19% | 2% | 16% | |
| Richard Quinn & Associates (R)[23][24] | October 17–20, 2003 | ± 3.8% | 8% | 24% | 8% | 16% | 44% | |||
| 24% | 44% | 32% | ||||||||
| 22% | 33% | 45% | ||||||||
| 44% | 28% | 28% | ||||||||
| Basswood Research (R)[25] | April 29, 2003 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 19% | 4% | 27% | 4% | 46% |
| Republican Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| David Beasley | 107,847 | 36.6% |
| Jim DeMint | 77,567 | 26.3% |
| Thomas Ravenel | 73,167 | 24.8% |
| Charlie Condon | 27,694 | 9.4% |
| Mark McBride | 6,479 | 2.2% |
| Orly Benny Davis | 1,915 | 0.7% |
| Republican Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Jim DeMint | 154,644 | 59.2% | +32.9% |
| David Beasley | 106,480 | 40.8% | +4.2% |
DeMint entered the general election campaign severely weakened from the primary fight, having spent most of his campaign funds. He stressed to the voters that he would followconservative principles and provide an important Republican vote in the closely divided Senate. Democrats fared poorly in statewide elections in South Carolina, so Tenenbaum tried to make the race about issues rather than party identification.
Tenenbaum attacked DeMint's support of theFairTax proposal because it would increase the sales tax by 23%. The election victory by DeMint merely cemented South Carolina's shift to the Republican column as the best candidate the Democrats could offer was soundly defeated by the typical 10-point margin.
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[26] | Likely R(flip) | November 1, 2004 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[10] | Margin of error | Jim DeMint (R) | Inez Tenenbaum (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[27] | October 29–31, 2004 | 635 (LV) | ± 4% | 52% | 41% | 7% |
| McLaughlin & Associates[28] | October 26–28, 2004 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 48% | 40% | 12% |
| SurveyUSA[29] | October 22–24, 2004 | 564 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 52% | 39% | 9% |
| Mason-Dixon[30] | October 19–20, 2004 | 625 (LV) | ± 4% | 47% | 43% | 10% |
| SurveyUSA[31] | October 10–12, 2004 | 563 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 46% | 43% | 11% |
| Rasmussen Reports[32] | October 6, 2004 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 49% | 43% | 8% |
| McLaughlin & Associates (R)[33] | September 29–30, 2004 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 46% | 36% | 18% |
| Mason-Dixon[34] | September 27–29, 2004 | 625 (RV) | ± 4% | 50% | 38% | 12% |
| Global Strategy Group (D)[35] | September 27–29, 2004 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 43% | 46% | 11% |
| SurveyUSA[36] | September 19–21, 2004 | 684 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 51% | 39% | 10% |
| Global Strategy Group (D)[37] | September 7–9, 2004 | 600 (LV) | ± 4% | 44% | 41% | 15% |
| SurveyUSA[38] | August 16–18, 2004 | 727 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 52% | 39% | 9% |
| SurveyUSA[39] | July 10–12, 2004 | 702 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 48% | 41% | 11% |
| Public Opinion Strategies (R)[40] | June 28–29, 2004 | 600 (LV) | ± 4% | 47% | 41% | 12% |
| Hickman Research (D)[41] | March 14–18, 2004 | 700 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 33% | 48% | 19% |
| Hickman Research (D)[42] | Jul 28–Aug 3, 2003 | 628 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 33% | 48% | 19% |
| DSCC (D)[43][24] | May 2003 | ± % | 33% | 45% | 22% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[10] | Margin of error | David Beasley (R) | Inez Tenenbaum (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickman Research (D)[44] | March 14–18, 2004 | 700 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 41% | 46% | 13% |
| McLaughlin & Associates (R)[45][46] | February 2004 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 48% | 32% | 20% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[10] | Margin of error | Charlie Condon (R) | Inez Tenenbaum (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickman Research (D)[41] | March 14–18, 2004 | 700 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 40% | 47% | 13% |
| Hickman Research (D)[42] | Jul 28–Aug 3, 2003 | 628 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 36% | 48% | 16% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[10] | Margin of error | Thomas Ravenel (R) | Inez Tenenbaum (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickman Research (D)[42] | Jul 28–Aug 3, 2003 | 628 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 29% | 49% | 22% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[10] | Margin of error | Jim DeMint (R) | Fritz Hollings (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSCC (D)[43][24] | May 2003 | ± % | 38% | 43% | 19% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim DeMint• | 857,167 | 53.67% | +8.00% | |
| Democratic | Inez Tenenbaum | 704,384 | 44.10% | −8.60% | |
| Constitution | Patrick Tyndall | 13,464 | 0.84% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Rebekah E. Sutherland | 10,678 | 0.67% | −0.92% | |
| United Citizens | Tee Ferguson | 5,859 | 0.37% | N/A | |
| Green | Efia Nwangaza* | 4,245 | 0.27% | N/A | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 1,286 | 0.08% | N/A | |
| Majority | 152,783 | 9.57% | +2.54% | ||
| Turnout | 1,597,221 | 69.0% | +16.2% | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | |||||
| *Nwangaza ran under the Independence Party inAiken andCalhoun counties; her totals are combined. | |||||
Official campaign websites (archived)
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