2001 South Carolina's 2nd congressional district special election

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2001 South Carolina's 2nd congressional district special election
Flag of South Carolina.svg
  2000 December 18, 2001 2002  
  Joe Wilson, official photo portrait, color.jpg
Nominee Joe Wilson Brent Weaver
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote40,35514,034
Percentage73.1%25.4%

U.S. Representative before election

Floyd Spence
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Joe Wilson
Republican

The 2001 South Carolina 2nd congressional district special election was held on December 18, 2001 to select a Representative for the 2nd congressional district to serve out the remainder of the term for the 107th Congress. The special election resulted from the death of 16-term Republican incumbent Floyd Spence on August 16, 2001. Joe Wilson, a state senator from Lexington County and a former aide to Spence, won the Republican primary and went on to win the general election against Democratic challenger Brent Weaver.

Contents

Republican primary

The South Carolina Republican Party held their primary on October 30, 2001. Wilson won 75 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff election.

Republican Primary
CandidateVotes%
Joe Wilson 34,646 75.5
Joe Grimaud 6,784 14.8
Stew Butler 1,881 4.1
Richard Chalk 1,455 3.2
Clyde T. Cobb 1,115 2.4

General election campaign

The Republican Party was on the rise in South Carolina and there was a great deal of enthusiasm among its voters. Additionally, the 2nd had long been a Republican stronghold; it had been in GOP hands without interruption since a 1965 special election. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party was clearly on the decline and was expected to fare poorly in the upcoming 2002 elections. Therefore, it was generally understood that Wilson had clinched a seat in Congress with his primary victory.

As expected, Wilson scored a decisive victory in the general election and he was sworn into Congress the very next day.

Election results

South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District Special Election Results, 2001
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Joe Wilson 40,35573.1+16.1
Democratic Brent Weaver14,03425.4-15.4
Libertarian Warren Eilertson4200.8-0.5
Constitution Steve LeFemine4040.7+0.7
No party Write-Ins 10.00.0
Majority26,32147.7+31.5
Turnout 55,214
Republican hold

See also


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