South Carolina ratified the United States Constitution on May 23, 1788. Its Senate seats were declared vacant in July 1861 owing to its secession from the Union. They were again filled from July 1868. The state's current U.S. Senators are Republicans Lindsey Graham, serving since 2003, and Tim Scott, serving since 2013.
South Carolina is a state in the Southeastern United States and the easternmost of the Deep South. It is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the southwest by Georgia across the Savannah River.
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol Building, in Washington, D.C.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the Union, also known as the North, referred to the United States of America and specifically to the national government of President Abraham Lincoln and the 20 free states and four border and slave states that supported it. The Union was opposed by 11 southern slave states that formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the Confederacy" or "the South".
Class 2 Class 2 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. The next election will be in 2020. | C o n g r e s s | Class 3 Class 3 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 1998, 2004, 2010, and 2016. The next election will be in 2022. | ||||||||||
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# | Senator | Party | Years in office | Electoral history | T e r m | T e r m | Electoral history | Years in office | Party | Senator | # | |
1 | Pierce Butler | Pro- Admin. | March 4, 1789 – October 25, 1796 | Elected in 1789. | 1 | 1st | 1 | Elected in 1789. | March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1795 | Pro- Admin. | Ralph Izard | 1 |
Anti- Admin. | 2nd | |||||||||||
Re-elected in 1793. Resigned. | 2 | 3rd | ||||||||||
Democratic- Republican | 4th | 2 | Elected during the 1794/95 cycle. Lost re-election. | March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1801 | Federalist | Jacob Read | 2 | |||||
Vacant | October 25, 1796 – December 8, 1796 | |||||||||||
2 | John Hunter | Democratic- Republican | December 8, 1796 – November 26, 1798 | Elected to finish Butler's term. Resigned. | ||||||||
5th | ||||||||||||
3 | Charles Pinckney | Democratic- Republican | December 6, 1798 – June 6, 1801 | Elected to finish Hunter's term. | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1799. Resigned to become U.S. Minister to Spain. | 3 | 6th | ||||||||||
7th | 3 | Elected in 1800. Died. | March 4, 1801 – October 26, 1802 | Democratic- Republican | John E. Colhoun | 3 | ||||||
Vacant | June 6, 1801 – December 15, 1801 | |||||||||||
4 | Thomas Sumter | Democratic- Republican | December 15, 1801 – December 16, 1810 | Elected December 3, 1801 to finish Pinckney's term. | ||||||||
October 26, 1802 – November 4, 1802 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Elected to finish Colhoun's term. Resigned. | November 4, 1802 – November 21, 1804 | Democratic- Republican | Pierce Butler | 4 | ||||||||
8th | ||||||||||||
November 21, 1804 – December 6, 1804 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Elected to finish Butler's term. | December 6, 1804 – February 26, 1826 | Democratic- Republican | John Gaillard | 5 | ||||||||
Re-elected December 6, 1804. Resigned. | 4 | 9th | ||||||||||
10th | 4 | Re-elected in 1806. | ||||||||||
11th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | December 16, 1810 – December 31, 1810 | |||||||||||
5 | John Taylor | Democratic- Republican | December 31, 1810 – November 1816 | Elected to finish Sumter's term. | ||||||||
Re-elected December 20, 1810. Resigned. | 5 | 12th | ||||||||||
13th | 5 | Re-elected in 1812. | ||||||||||
14th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | November 1816 – December 4, 1816 | |||||||||||
6 | William Smith | Democratic- Republican | December 4, 1816 – March 3, 1823 | Elected to finish Taylor's term. | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1816. Lost re-election. | 6 | 15th | ||||||||||
16th | 6 | Re-elected in 1818. | ||||||||||
17th | ||||||||||||
7 | Robert Y. Hayne | Jacksonian Republican | March 4, 1823 – December 13, 1832 | Elected in 1822. | 7 | 18th | Crawford Republican | |||||
Jacksonian | 19th | 7 | Re-elected in 1824. Died. | Jacksonian | ||||||||
February 26, 1826 – March 8, 1826 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Gaillard's term. | March 8, 1826 – November 29, 1826 | Jacksonian | William Harper | 6 | ||||||||
Elected to finish Gaillard's term. Lost re-election. | November 29, 1826 – March 3, 1831 | Jacksonian | William Smith | 7 | ||||||||
20th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1828. Resigned to become South Carolina Governor. | 8 | 21st | ||||||||||
Nullifier | 22nd | 8 | Elected in 1830. Resigned due to ill health. | March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 | Nullifier | Stephen Decatur Miller | 8 | |||||
Vacant | December 13, 1832 – December 29, 1832 | |||||||||||
8 | John C. Calhoun | Nullifier | December 29, 1832 – March 3, 1843 | Elected to finish Hayne's term. | ||||||||
23rd | March 3, 1833 – November 26, 1833 | Vacant | ||||||||||
Elected to finish Miller's term. | November 26, 1833 – November 29, 1842 | Nullifier | William C. Preston | 9 | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1834. | 9 | 24th | ||||||||||
Democratic | 25th | 9 | Re-elected in 1837. | Whig | ||||||||
26th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1840. Resigned. | 10 | 27th | ||||||||||
November 29, 1842 – December 23, 1842 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Elected to finish Preston's term. | December 23, 1842 – August 17, 1846 | Democratic | George McDuffie | 10 | ||||||||
9 | Daniel Elliott Huger | Democratic | March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845 | Elected to finish Calhoun's term. Resigned. | 28th | 10 | Re-elected during the 1842/43 cycle. | |||||
Vacant | March 3, 1845 – November 26, 1845 | 29th | ||||||||||
10 | John C. Calhoun | Democratic | November 26, 1845 – March 31, 1850 | Re-elected to finish Huger's term. | ||||||||
August 17, 1846 – December 4, 1846 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue McDuffie's term. Elected to finish McDuffie's term. | December 4, 1846 – May 25, 1857 | Democratic | Andrew Butler | 11 | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1846. Died. | 11 | 30th | ||||||||||
31st | 11 | Re-elected in 1848. | ||||||||||
Vacant | March 31, 1850 – April 11, 1850 | |||||||||||
11 | Franklin H. Elmore | Democratic | April 11, 1850 – May 29, 1850 | Appointed to continue Calhoun's term. Died. | ||||||||
Vacant | May 29, 1850 – June 4, 1850 | |||||||||||
12 | Robert Woodward Barnwell | Democratic | June 4, 1850 – December 8, 1850 | Appointed to continue Elmore's term. Retired when his successor was elected. | ||||||||
Vacant | December 8, 1850 – December 18, 1850 | |||||||||||
13 | Robert Rhett | Democratic | December 18, 1850 – May 7, 1852 | Elected to finish Elmore's term. Resigned. | ||||||||
32nd | ||||||||||||
Vacant | May 7, 1852 – May 10, 1852 | |||||||||||
14 | William F. De Saussure | Democratic | May 10, 1852 – March 3, 1853 | Appointed to continue Rhett's term. Elected November 29, 1852 [1] | ||||||||
15 | Josiah J. Evans | Democratic | March 4, 1853 – May 6, 1858 | Elected during the 1852/53 cycle. Died. | 12 | 33rd | ||||||
34th | 12 | Re-elected in 1854. Died. | ||||||||||
35th | ||||||||||||
May 25, 1857 – December 7, 1857 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Elected to finish Butler's term. Withdrew. | December 7, 1857 – November 11, 1860 | Democratic | James Henry Hammond | 12 | ||||||||
Vacant | May 6, 1858 – May 11, 1858 | |||||||||||
16 | Arthur P. Hayne | Democratic | May 11, 1858 – December 2, 1858 | Appointed to continue Evans' term. Retired when his successor was elected. | ||||||||
17 | James Chesnut, Jr. | Democratic | December 3, 1858 – November 10, 1860 | Elected to finish Evans' term. | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1858. Withdrew and was later expelled for his support of the Confederate States. | 13 | 36th | ||||||||||
Vacant | November 10, 1860 – July 15, 1868 | Civil War and Reconstruction. | ||||||||||
Civil War and Reconstruction. | November 11, 1860 – July 16, 1868 | Vacant | ||||||||||
37th | 13 | |||||||||||
38th | ||||||||||||
14 | 39th | |||||||||||
40th | 14 | |||||||||||
18 | Thomas J. Robertson | Republican | July 15, 1868 – March 3, 1877 | Elected to finish the vacant term. | ||||||||
Elected to finish the vacant term. | July 16, 1868 – March 3, 1873 | Republican | Frederick A. Sawyer | 13 | ||||||||
41st | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1870. Retired. | 15 | 42nd | ||||||||||
43rd | 15 | Elected during the 1872/73 cycle. | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1879 | Republican | John J. Patterson | 14 | ||||||
44th | ||||||||||||
19 | Matthew Butler | Democratic | March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1895 | Elected in 1876. | 16 | 45th | ||||||
46th | 16 | Elected in 1878. | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1891 | Democratic | Wade Hampton III | 15 | ||||||
47th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1882. | 17 | 48th | ||||||||||
49th | 17 | Re-elected in 1884. Lost re-election. | ||||||||||
50th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1888. Lost renomination. | 18 | 51st | ||||||||||
52nd | 18 | Elected in 1890. Retired. | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1897 | Democratic | John L. M. Irby | 16 | ||||||
53rd | ||||||||||||
20 | Benjamin Tillman | Democratic | March 4, 1895 – July 3, 1918 | Elected December 11, 1894. | 19 | 54th | ||||||
55th | 19 | Elected January 26, 1897. Died. | March 4, 1897 – May 20, 1897 | Democratic | Joseph H. Earle | 17 | ||||||
May 20, 1897 – May 27, 1897 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Earle's term. Elected January 26, 1898 to finish Earle's term. [2] Retired. | May 27, 1897 – March 3, 1903 | Democratic | John L. McLaurin | 18 | ||||||||
56th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1901. | 20 | 57th | ||||||||||
58th | 20 | Elected January 27, 1903. [3] Died. | March 4, 1903 – February 20, 1908 | Democratic | Asbury Latimer | 19 | ||||||
59th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected January 22, 1907. [4] | 21 | 60th | ||||||||||
February 20, 1908 – March 6, 1908 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Elected in 1908 to finish Latimer's term. Retired. | March 6, 1908 – March 3, 1909 | Democratic | Frank B. Gary | 20 | ||||||||
61st | 21 | Elected January 26, 1909. | March 4, 1909 – November 17, 1944 | Democratic | Ellison D. Smith | 21 | ||||||
62nd | ||||||||||||
Re-elected January 28, 1913. Died. | 22 | 63rd | ||||||||||
64th | 22 | Re-elected in 1914. | ||||||||||
65th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | July 3, 1918 – July 6, 1918 | |||||||||||
21 | Christie Benet | Democratic | July 6, 1918 – November 5, 1918 | Appointed to continue Tillman's term. Lost election to finish Tillman's term. | ||||||||
22 | William P. Pollock | Democratic | November 6, 1918 – March 3, 1919 | Elected to finish Tillman's term. [Data unknown/missing.]. | ||||||||
23 | Nathaniel B. Dial | Democratic | March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1925 | Elected in 1918. Lost renomination. | 23 | 66th | ||||||
67th | 23 | Re-elected in 1920. | ||||||||||
68th | ||||||||||||
24 | Coleman Livingston Blease | Democratic | March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1931 | Elected in 1924. Lost renomination. | 24 | 69th | ||||||
70th | 24 | Re-elected in 1926. | ||||||||||
71st | ||||||||||||
25 | James F. Byrnes | Democratic | March 4, 1931 – July 8, 1941 | Elected in 1930. | 25 | 72nd | ||||||
73rd | 25 | Re-elected in 1932. | ||||||||||
74th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1936. Resigned. | 26 | 75th | ||||||||||
76th | 26 | Re-elected in 1938. Lost renomination before dying. | ||||||||||
77th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | July 8, 1941 – July 22, 1941 | |||||||||||
26 | Alva M. Lumpkin | Democratic | July 22, 1941 – August 1, 1941 | Appointed to continue Byrnes' term. Died. | ||||||||
27 | Roger C. Peace | Democratic | August 5, 1941 – November 4, 1941 | Appointed to continue Byrnes' term. Retired when successor elected. | ||||||||
28 | Burnet R. Maybank | Democratic | November 5, 1941 – September 1, 1954 | Elected to finish Byrnes's term. | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1942. | 27 | 78th | ||||||||||
November 17, 1944 – November 20, 1944 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to complete Smith's term. | November 20, 1944 – January 3, 1945 | Democratic | Wilton E. Hall | 22 | ||||||||
79th | 27 | Elected in 1944. | January 3, 1945 – April 18, 1965 | Democratic | Olin D. Johnston | 23 | ||||||
80th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1948. Died. | 28 | 81st | ||||||||||
82nd | 28 | Re-elected in 1950. | ||||||||||
83rd | ||||||||||||
Vacant | September 1, 1954 – September 6, 1954 | |||||||||||
29 | Charles E. Daniel | Democratic | September 6, 1954 – December 23, 1954 | Appointed to finish Maybank's term. Resigned early to give successor preferential seniority. | ||||||||
30 | Strom Thurmond | Democratic | December 24, 1954 – April 4, 1956 | Appointed to finish Daniel's term, having been elected to the next term. | ||||||||
Elected in 1954. Resigned. | 29 | 84th | ||||||||||
31 | Thomas A. Wofford | Democratic | April 5, 1956 – November 6, 1956 | Appointed to continue Thurmond's term. Retired. | ||||||||
32 | Strom Thurmond | Democratic | November 7, 1956 – January 3, 2003 | Elected in 1956 to finish his own term. | ||||||||
85th | 29 | Re-elected in 1956. | ||||||||||
86th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1960. Changed parties September 16, 1964. | 30 | 87th | ||||||||||
88th | 30 | Re-elected in 1962. Died. | ||||||||||
Republican | ||||||||||||
89th | ||||||||||||
April 18, 1965 – April 22, 1965 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Johnston's term. Lost nomination to finish Johnston's term. | April 22, 1965 – November 8, 1966 | Democratic | Donald S. Russell | 24 | ||||||||
Elected to finish Johnston's term. | November 9, 1966 – January 3, 2005 | Democratic | Fritz Hollings | 25 | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1966. | 31 | 90th | ||||||||||
91st | 31 | Re-elected in 1968. | ||||||||||
92nd | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1972. | 32 | 93rd | ||||||||||
94th | 32 | Re-elected in 1974. | ||||||||||
95th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1978. | 33 | 96th | ||||||||||
97th | 33 | Re-elected in 1980. | ||||||||||
98th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1984. | 34 | 99th | ||||||||||
100th | 34 | Re-elected in 1986. | ||||||||||
101st | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1990. | 35 | 102nd | ||||||||||
103rd | 35 | Re-elected in 1992. | ||||||||||
104th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1996. Retired. | 36 | 105th | ||||||||||
106th | 36 | Re-elected in 1998. Retired. | ||||||||||
107th | ||||||||||||
33 | Lindsey Graham | Republican | January 3, 2003 – Present | Elected in 2002. | 37 | 108th | ||||||
109th | 37 | Elected in 2004. | January 3, 2005 – January 1, 2013 | Republican | Jim DeMint | 26 | ||||||
110th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 2008. | 38 | 111th | ||||||||||
112th | 38 | Re-elected in 2010. Resigned to head The Heritage Foundation. | ||||||||||
Appointed to continue DeMint's term. Elected to finish DeMint's term. | January 2, 2013 – Present | Republican | Tim Scott | 27 | ||||||||
113th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 2014. | 39 | 114th | ||||||||||
115th | 39 | Re-elected in 2016. | ||||||||||
116th | ||||||||||||
To be determined in the 2020 election. | 40 | 117th | ||||||||||
118th | 40 | To be determined in the 2022 election. | ||||||||||
# | Senator | Party | Years in office | Electoral history | T e r m | T e r m | Electoral history | Years in office | Party | Senator | # | |
Class 2 | Class 3 |
As of April 2019 [update] , there is one living former U.S. Senator from South Carolina. The most recent Senator to die was Fritz Hollings (served 1966–2005) on April 6, 2019, who is also the most recently serving Senator to die.
Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from South Carolina from 1966 to 2005. A conservative Democrat, he was also the Governor of South Carolina and the 77th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. He served alongside Republican Senator Strom Thurmond for 36 years, making them the longest-serving Senate duo in history. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former U.S. Senator.
Senator | Party | Term of office | Class | Date of birth (and age) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jim DeMint | Republican | 2005–2013 | 3 | September 2, 1951 |
Robert Carlyle Byrd was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd previously served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959. He is the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history. In addition, he was, at the time of his death, the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress, a record later surpassed by Representative John Dingell of Michigan. Byrd was the last remaining member of the U.S. Senate to have served during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, and the last remaining member of Congress to have served during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Byrd is also the only West Virginian to have served in both chambers of the state legislature and both chambers of Congress.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States and a Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city, located on the Potomac River bordering Maryland and Virginia, is one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.
The United States Government Publishing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive departments, and independent agencies.