1894 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

The 1894 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 6, 1894, as part of the broader national elections for the 54th United States Congress. All seven South Carolina seats were contested, and the Democratic Party successfully retained its dominance in the state, winning six seats. A special election in the 1st congressional district in April saw Democrat James F. Izlar elected to complete the term. Notably, Democratic victors William Elliott and J. William Stokes faced strong challenges, the former later losing his seat in 1896 via a contested election.

1st congressional district special election

Incumbent Democratic Congressman William H. Brawley of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1891, resigned in 1894. A special election was called for April and it pitted two Democrats against each other because the South Carolina Democratic Party refused to organize a primary election. James F. Izlar defeated J. William Stokes in the special election to win the remainder of the term for the 53rd Congress.

General election results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district special election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	James F. Izlar	3,070	60.1	N/A
	Democratic	J. William Stokes	2,042	39.9	N/A
Majority			1,028	20.2	N/A
Turnout			5,112
	Democratic hold

1st congressional district

The 1st congressional district was redrawn in 1894 to cover much of the South Carolina Lowcountry. William Elliott defeated D.A.J. Sullivan in the Democratic primary and Republican challenger George W. Murray in the general election. However, Murray challenged the election and the Republican controlled Congress awarded him the seat from Elliott in 1896.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
William Elliott	2,937	62.1
D.A.J. Sullivan	1,789	37.9

General election results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William Elliott	5,650	59.1	−40.5
	Republican	George W. Murray	3,913	40.9	+40.9
Majority			1,737	18.2	−81.4
Turnout			9,563
	Democratic hold

2nd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman W. Jasper Talbert of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1893, was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	W. Jasper Talbert (incumbent)	5,942	99.5	−0.1
	No party	Write-Ins	31	0.5	+0.1
Majority			5,911	99.0	−0.2
Turnout			5,973
	Democratic hold

3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Asbury Latimer of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1893, defeated Republican Robert Moorman in the general election.

General election results

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Asbury Latimer (incumbent)	5,778	81.3	−9.9
	Republican	Robert Moorman	985	13.9	+5.3
	No party	Write-Ins	342	4.8	+4.6
Majority			4,793	67.4	−15.2
Turnout			7,105
	Democratic hold

4th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman George W. Shell of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1891, declined to seek re-election. Stanyarne Wilson won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican Lawson D. Melton in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Stanyarne Wilson	6,903	56.4
Joseph T. Johnson	3,628	29.7
David Duncan	1,696	13.9

General election results

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Stanyarne Wilson	8,425	75.1	−10.6
	Republican	Lawson D. Melton	2,771	24.7	+10.4
	No party	Write-Ins	28	0.2	+0.2
Majority			5,654	50.4	−21.0
Turnout			11,224
	Democratic hold

5th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Thomas J. Strait of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1893, defeated David E. Finley in the Democratic primary and Republican G.G. Alexander in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Thomas J. Strait	5,442	67.2
David E. Finley	2,655	32.8

General election results

South Carolina's 5th congressional district election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas J. Strait (incumbent)	6,141	67.6	−13.1
	Republican	G.G. Alexander	1,545	17.0	−2.3
	Independent	W.R. Davie	1,163	12.8	+12.8
	No party	Write-Ins	237	2.6	+2.6
Majority			4,596	50.6	−10.8
Turnout			9,086
	Democratic hold

6th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John L. McLaurin of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1893, defeated Republican challenger J.P. Wilson.

General election results

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John L. McLaurin (incumbent)	8,171	76.9	−7.7
	Republican	J.P. Wilson	2,452	23.1	+7.8
	No party	Write-Ins	7	0.0	−0.1
Majority			5,719	53.8	−15.5
Turnout			10,630
	Democratic hold

7th congressional district

The 7th congressional district was redrawn in 1894 to include much of the lower central part of the state. J. William Stokes was nominated by the Democrats and defeated Republican T.B. Johnson in the general election.

General election results

South Carolina's 7th congressional district election results, 1894

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	J. William Stokes	7,358	73.0	+23.4
	Republican	T.B. Johnson	2,656	26.3	−23.7
	No party	Write-Ins	70	0.7	+0.3
Majority			4,702	46.7	+46.3
Turnout			10,084
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 1894
• South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1894
• South Carolina's congressional districts

References

• Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962. pp. 96–97, 109, 113.
• "Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina. Election Returns." Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina at the Regular Session Commencing Nov. 27th, 1894. Volume II. Columbia, SC: Charles A. Calvo, Jr., 1894, pp. 466–469.