1972 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

← 1970

November 7, 1972 (1972-11-07)^[1]

1974 →

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	4	2
Seat change	1	1
Popular vote	328,860	301,695
Percentage	52.15%	47.84%
Swing	20.34%	20.78%

District results

Democratic

50–60%

60–70%

70–80%

Republican

50–60%

90–100%

Federal government

U.S. President
1788-89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 Rep 2004 Dem 2008 Dem Rep 2012 Rep 2016 Dem 2020 Dem 2024 Dem Rep
U.S. Senate
1897 sp 1898 1902 1903 1907 1908 1909 1913 1914 1918 sp 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 sp 1941 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 sp 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 sp 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 2028
U.S. House of Representatives
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State offices

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Gubernatorial elections
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The 1972 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 7, 1972 to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections were held on August 29 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on September 12. Five incumbents were re-elected and the only change was in the 6th district where Republican Edward Lunn Young succeeded Democrat John L. McMillan, who was defeated in the Democratic primary. The composition of the state delegation after the elections was four Democrats and two Republicans.

1st congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mendel Jackson Davis of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1971, won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican Sidi Limehouse in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Mendel Jackson Davis	37,493	72.3
Benjamin Frasier	11,247	21.7
Milton L. Dukes	3,093	6.0

General election results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district election results, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mendel J. Davis (incumbent)	61,376	54.3	+6.0
	Republican	Sidi Limehouse	51,728	45.7	+4.3
Majority			9,648	8.6	+1.7
Turnout			113,104
	Democratic hold

2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Floyd Spence of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election results, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Floyd Spence (incumbent)	79,667	100.0	+46.9
Majority			79,667	100.0	+93.3
Turnout			79,667
	Republican hold

3rd congressional district

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

General election results

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election results, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William J.B. Dorn (incumbent)	82,579	75.2	0.0
	Republican	Ray Ethridge	27,173	24.8	0.0
Majority			55,406	50.4	0.0
Turnout			109,752
	Democratic hold

4th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman James R. Mann of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1969, defeated Republican challenger Wayne N. Whatley.

General election results

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	James R. Mann (incumbent)	64,989	66.1	-33.9
	Republican	Wayne N. Whatley	33,363	33.9	+33.9
Majority			31,626	32.2	-67.8
Turnout			98,352
	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, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas S. Gettys (incumbent)	66,343	60.9	-5.0
	Republican	B. Leonard Phillips	42,620	39.1	+6.0
Majority			23,723	21.8	-11.0
Turnout			108,963
	Democratic hold

6th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John L. McMillan of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1939, was defeated in the Democratic primary. Republican Edward Lunn Young defeated Democrat John Jenrette in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
John L. McMillan	38,542	43.9
John Jenrette	25,730	29.3
Bill R. Craig	23,476	26.8

Democratic primary runoff
Candidate	Votes	%	±%
John Jenrette	36,057	50.6	+21.3
John L. McMillan	35,212	49.4	+5.5

General election results

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edward Lunn Young	60,766	53.4	+18.5
	Democratic	John Jenrette	53,085	46.6	-17.5
Majority			7,681	6.8	-22.4
Turnout			113,851
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1972" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2024.

State Election Commission (1973). Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission. Columbia, SC: State Election Commission. pp. 575, 583.

v t e Elections in South Carolina
General	1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State Senate	2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
State House	2018 2020 2022
Governor	1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1788-89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1789 1793 1796 (special) 1798 (special) 1799 1801 (special) 1810 (special) 1810 1816 (special) 1822 1828 1832 (special) 1834 1840 1845 (special) 1846 1850 (special) 1852 1858 (special) 1868 1870 1876 1882 1888 1894 1900 1906 1912 1918 (special) 1918 1924 1930 1936 1941 (special) 1942 1948 1954 1956 (special) 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1789 1794/95 1800 1802 (special) 1804 (special) 1806 1812 1818 1824 1826 (special) 1830 1833 (special) 1837 1842 (special) 1848 1854 1857 (special) 1868 (special) 1872 1878 1884 1890 1897 1898 (special) 1903 1909 1914 1920 1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1966 (special) 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2014 (special) 2016 2022
U.S. House	1788 1790 1793 1794 5th sp 1795 2nd sp 1796 1797 1st sp 1798 1800 1802 4th sp 1803 1804 1805 8th sp 1806 1807 6th sp 1808 1810 1st sp 1810 1812 1814 1816 9th sp 1818 6th sp 1820 1821 9th sp 1822 2nd sp 4th sp 9th sp 1823 1824 1825 1st sp 1826 1828 1830 1833 1834 8th sp 1836 4th sp 8th sp 1838 1840 1843 1844 1846 1848 1st sp 1850 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1st sp 1872 1874 1876 2nd sp 1878 1880 1882 1884 7th sp 1886 1888 1890 1892 6th sp 1894 1st sp 4th sp 1896 7th sp 1897 6th sp 1898 1900 1901 7th sp 1902 1904 2nd sp 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 1st sp 1914 1915 4th sp 1916 1917 5th sp 1918 1919 6th sp 7th sp 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 6th sp 1940 1942 1944 2nd sp 1946 1948 1950 1952 1953 4th sp 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 2nd sp 1964 1965 2nd sp 1966 1968 1970 1971 1st sp 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2nd sp 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 1st sp 2014 2016 2017 5th sp 2018 2020 2022 Special
See also: Political party strength in South Carolina

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1st congressional district

Democratic primary

General election results

2nd congressional district

General election results

3rd congressional district

General election results

4th congressional district

General election results

5th congressional district

General election results

6th congressional district

Democratic primary

General election results

See also

References