South Carolina's 2nd congressional district

Infobox U.S. congressional district
state = South Carolina
district number = 2


image width = 350
image caption =
representative = Joe Wilson
party = Republican
english area =
metric area =
percent urban =
percent rural =
population = 668,668
population year = 2000
median income = 42,915
percent white = 69.5
percent black = 26.4
percent asian = 1.2
percent native american = 0.3
percent hispanic = 3.3
percent other race = 0.1
percent blue collar =
percent white collar =
percent gray collar =
cpvi = R+9

The 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina is a congressional district in central and eastern South Carolina. It includes all of Lexington, Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Allendale and Barnwell counties; almost all of Richland County and parts of Aiken, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties. It is based in the state capital, Columbia; other major cities in the district are Beaufort and Hilton Head Island.

The district's current configuration dates from 1933, when South Carolina lost a district as a result of the 1930 Census. It has been in Republican hands since 1965, when the district's second-term Democratic congressman, Albert Watson, switched parties. The district's best-known congressman, Floyd Spence, represented the district for over 30 years and was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee from 1995 to 2001, when he died a few months after being elected to a 16th term. He was succeeded in a special election by one of his former aides, state senator Joe Wilson, who continues to hold the seat. Wilson is opposed in 2008 by Rob Miller (South Carolina politician).

Representatives

^(a) William Lowndes resigned in 1822; Hamilton succeeded him in a special election. ^(b) Christopher C. Bowen successfully contested the election of Robert De Large in 1870 and the seat was declared vacant on January 24, 1873, just a few weeks before being filled by Alonzo J. Ransier for the next term. ^(c) Charles Buttz successfully contested the election of Edmund Mackey in 1874 and filled the seat on November 7, 1876. ^(d) Michael O'Connor died in 1881; Dibble succeeded him in a special election. ^(e) Edmund Mackey successfully contested the election of Michael O'Connor and special election of Samuel Dibble to the Forty-seventh Congress and filled the seat for the remainder of the term. ^(f) George Croft died in 1904; his son Theodore won a special election and served as caretaker until Patterson took office in 1905. ^(g) Hampton Fulmer died in 1944; his widow Willa won a special election and served as caretaker until John Riley took office in 1945. ^(h) John Riley died in 1962; his widow Corinne won a special election and served as caretaker until Watson took office in 1963. ⁽ⁱ⁾ Watson served his first term and the first month of his second term as a Democrat, but was stripped of his seniority in 1965 for supporting Barry Goldwater in the previous year's presidential election. He then resigned and won a special election for his own vacancy as a Republican. ^(j) Spence died in 2001; Wilson succeeded him in a special election.

Source: [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/SC/ofc/usrep.html Political Graveyard database of South Carolina congressmen]