South Carolina Senate Race
Incumbent --
Jim DeMint (R)
; Running for re-election
Safe Republican
Updated Oct. 14, 2010
Democrat Alvin Greene may be one of the most unusual political stories of the 2010 cycle, but that doesn't give him any more of a chance at knocking off DeMint.
Greene, a 32-year-old black Army veteran, came out of nowhere to upset Vic Rawl to win the Democratic nomination in June.
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But Greene, who is unemployed and lives with his father, is more of a political curiosity than a serious candidate. His long-shot campaign wasn't helped in August when he was indicted on a felony charge of showing pornography to a teenage student in a South Carolina college computer lab in 2009.
With millions in the bank, a favorable political environment and a growing national reputation as a conservative champion, DeMint has little to fear this fall.
State Information
U.S. Senate Delegation: 2 Republicans
U.S. House Delegation:
South Carolina's Other Senator
Sen. Lindsey Graham-R
First Elected: 2002 (2nd term)
Last Elected: 2008 (57.52%)
State Offices
Governor: Nikki R. Haley, R
First Elected: 2010 (1st term)
State House Control: Republican
State Senate Control: Republican
State Election History
| Year |
Election |
Candidate |
Votes |
Percent |
| 2010 |
general |
Jim DeMint (R) |
810,771 |
61.5% |
| Alvin Greene (D) |
364,598 |
27.6% |
| Tom Clements (GREEN) |
121,472 |
9.2% |
| 2004 |
general |
Jim DeMint (R) |
857,167 |
53.7% |
| Inez Tenenbaum (D) |
704,384 |
44.1% |
| Patrick Tyndall (CNSTP) |
13,464 |
0.8% |
| Rebekah Sutherland (LIBERT) |
10,678 |
0.7% |
| Tee Ferguson (UC) |
5,859 |
0.4% |
| Efia Nwangaza (GREEN, INDC) |
4,383 |
0.3% |
| 1998 |
general |
Ernest F. Hollings (D) |
562,791 |
52.7% |
| Bob Inglis (R) |
488,132 |
45.7% |
| Richard T. Quillian (LIBERT) |
16,987 |
1.6% |
| 1992 |
general |
Ernest F. Hollings (D) |
591,030 |
50.1% |
| Thomas F. Hartnett (R) |
554,175 |
46.9% |
| Mark Johnson (LIBERT) |
22,962 |
1.9% |
| Robert Barnwell Clarkson II (AM) |
11,568 |
1% |
| 1986 |
general |
Ernest F. Hollings (D) |
465,500 |
63.1% |
| 1980 |
general |
Ernest F. Hollings (D) |
612,554 |
70.4% |
| Marshall T. Mays (R) |
257,946 |
29.6% |
| 1974 |
general |
Ernest F. Hollings (D) |
356,126 |
69.5% |
| 1968 |
general |
Ernest F. Hollings (D) |
404,060 |
61.9% |
Vote For President
| Year |
Democrat |
Republican |
Independent |
|
2012
+
|
: |
: |
|
| 2008 |
Barack Obama: 44.9% |
John McCain: 53.87% |
|
| 2004 |
John Kerry: 41% |
George W. Bush: 58% |
|
| 2000 |
Al Gore: 41% |
George W. Bush: 57% |
|
+ Nearly complete, unofficial returns
