1964 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

The 1964 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 3, 1964, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections were held on June 9 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 23. All five incumbents who ran were re-elected and the open seat in the 5th congressional district was retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation thus remained solely Democratic.

1964 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

November 3, 1964 (1964-11-03)
All 6 South Carolina seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 6 0 Seats won 6 0 Seat change Popular vote 386,738 48,970 Percentage 88.26% 11.18% Swing 2.28% 2.84%
District results Democratic   60–70%   90–100%

1st congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman L. Mendel Rivers of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1941, was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

General election results

South Carolina's 1st congressional district election results, 1964

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	L. Mendel Rivers (incumbent)	56,152	99.6	−0.4
	No party	Write-Ins	244	0.4	+0.4
Majority			55,908	99.2	−0.8
Turnout			56,396
	Democratic hold

2nd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Albert Watson of the 2nd congressional district in office since 1963, was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd congressional district election results, 1964

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Albert Watson	88,682	97.6	+44.8
	No party	Write-Ins	2,209	2.4	+2.4
Majority			86,473	95.2	+89.6
Turnout			90,891
	Democratic hold

3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1951, won the Democratic primary and was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
William J.B. Dorn (incumbent)	39,934	70.6
T. M. Tucker	16,658	29.4

General election results

South Carolina's 3rd congressional district election results, 1964

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William J.B. Dorn (incumbent)	65,920	99.9	−0.1
	No party	Write-Ins	47	0.1	+0.1
Majority			65,873	99.8	−0.2
Turnout			65,967
	Democratic hold

4th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robert T. Ashmore of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1953, won the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Robert T. Ashmore	42,068	84.2
Gordon Weathers	7,910	15.8

General election results

South Carolina's 4th congressional district election results, 1964

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Robert T. Ashmore (incumbent)	81,727	100.0	0.0
Majority			81,727	100.0	0.0
Turnout			81,727
	Democratic hold

5th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robert W. Hemphill of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1957, opted to retire. Thomas S. Gettys won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican challenger Robert M. Doster in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Thomas S. Gettys	19,092	39.4
George F. Coleman	18,048	37.2
J. Bates Harvey	8,913	18.4
Harold Hough	2,417	5.0

Democratic primary runoff
Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Thomas S. Gettys	16,861	52.2	+12.8
George F. Coleman	15,415	47.8	+10.6

General election results

South Carolina's 5th congressional district election results, 1964

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas S. Gettys	44,859	66.7	−27.2
	Republican	Robert M. Doster	22,384	33.3	+27.3
Majority			22,475	33.4	−54.5
Turnout			67,243
	Democratic hold

6th congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John L. McMillan of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1939, defeated Republican challenger E. R. Kirkland.

General election results

South Carolina's 6th congressional district election results, 1964

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John L. McMillan (incumbent)	49,398	65.1	−34.9
	Republican	E. R. Kirkland	26,586	34.9	+34.9
	No party	Write-Ins	1	0.0	0.0
Majority			22,812	30.2	−69.8
Turnout			75,985
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House elections, 1964
• South Carolina's congressional districts

Sources

• Scammon, Richard. America Votes, Vol. 6. p. 378.
• Info