South Carolina 3rd Congressional District (SC) — Elections 1876–2024

South Carolina 3rd Congressional District, South Carolina: Old Confederacy district. In 2024, voted R+41%. Democratic peak: D+99 in 1932.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+41MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: Old ConfederacyAkashic typology
Population: 817,8562024 5-year
Median household income: $64,1562024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 72.8%2024 5-year
Black: 16.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 7.1%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+99 in 1932MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+53 in 1972MIT Election Lab

BIGGS, SheriCongress 119 · Republican

−1 liberal

+1 conservative

Predecessors: DUNCAN, Jeff (2023–2025), DUNCAN, Jeff (2021–2023), DUNCAN, Jeff (2019–2021), DUNCAN, Jeff (2017–2019)

Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).

2024 results by constituent county

11 counties · 0 D · 11 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−40.6%	112,189	268,854	386,177
2020	R	−35.0%	120,550	253,535	379,672
2016	R	−35.9%	97,121	213,682	324,454
2012	R	−30.0%	103,557	194,189	302,390
2008	R	−27.8%	108,129	193,213	305,796
2004	R	−31.5%	89,731	173,724	266,365
2000	R	−28.5%	79,667	145,488	230,766
1996	R	−14.3%	74,931	102,531	192,607
1992	R	−16.0%	70,286	102,122	199,428
1988	R	−31.3%	55,995	107,354	164,195
1984	R	−35.4%	49,285	103,849	153,966
1980	D	+4.7%	76,078	69,172	148,446
1976	D	+19.5%	79,654	53,552	134,083
1972	R	−53.5%	24,358	82,834	109,383
1968	O	−13.5%	26,464	42,016	114,920
1964	R	−4.9%	43,473	47,922	91,399
1960	D	+20.4%	43,130	28,524	71,654
1956	D	+40.0%	35,468	12,346	57,847
1952	D	+15.4%	38,092	27,950	66,042
1948	O	+21.7%	6,158	822	24,615
1944	D	+81.8%	16,333	797	18,987
1940	D	+94.2%	20,432	612	21,044
1936	D	+99.0%	24,102	0	24,337
1932	D	+99.1%	23,972	0	24,182
1928	D	+92.1%	15,785	645	16,443
1924	D	+97.2%	13,337	135	13,586
1920	D	+96.0%	15,136	300	15,448
1916	D	+97.1%	14,439	152	14,719
1912	D	+96.5%	11,309	0	11,719
1908	D	+93.5%	14,718	477	15,226
1904	D	+95.4%	11,241	267	11,509
1900	D	+94.9%	12,044	315	12,359
1896	D	+80.7%	15,145	1,596	16,783
1892	D	+74.9%	12,849	1,320	15,392
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Congressional elections · 16 Senate races

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year	Won	D %	R %	Total
2022	R	37.0%	62.9%	1,695,702
2020	R	44.2%	54.4%	2,515,104
2016	R	34.4%	60.6%	2,049,893
2014	R	36.8%	54.3%	1,240,075
2010	R	27.6%	61.5%	1,318,794
2008	R	42.2%	57.5%	1,871,431
2004	R	44.1%	53.7%	1,597,221
2002	R	44.2%	54.4%	1,102,912
1998	D	52.7%	45.7%	1,069,063
1996	R	44.0%	53.4%	1,161,231
1992	D	50.1%	46.9%	1,180,438
1990	R	32.5%	64.2%	750,716
1986	D	63.1%	35.6%	737,962
1984	R	31.8%	66.8%	965,130
1980	D	70.4%	29.6%	870,500
1978	R	44.3%	55.7%	632,063

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

English

13.5%

Irish

10.2%

American

9.5%

German

9.2%

Italian

2.5%

Scottish

2.5%

Polish

1.0%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 40.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.2%

2.6%

75–84

3.3%

5.4%

65–74

6.0%

6.5%

55–64

6.9%

5.9%

45–54

6.1%

5.9%

35–44

5.9%

6.1%

25–34

6.2%

5.2%

18–24

4.9%

8.0%

5–17

7.8%

2.8%

2.6%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$64,156

Congressional District 3 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 3$64,156

South Carolina$69,324

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

15.4%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1821.2%

Working age (18–64)14.2%

Seniors (65+)11.1%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

93.2%

speak English only

Spanish4.7%

Other Indo-European1.2%

Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%

Other languages0.3%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Baptist

30.5%

Other Christian

9.3%

Methodist

6.4%

Catholic & Orthodox

5.6%

Mainline Protestant

3.6%

Pentecostal & Holiness

3.0%

Non-Christian

0.3%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 41.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Anchored in the Upstate and stretching through rural Piedmont counties, SC-3 recorded a 42.9-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, reflecting a heavily white, working-class electorate with deep roots in evangelical Christianity and manufacturing heritage.

The shift began with civil rights. 1984 marked the realignment in South Carolina 3rd Congressional District, by a thirty-five points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at fifty-three points in 1972. The 2024 margin was forty-one points.

The political shift has tracked, in South Carolina 3rd Congressional District, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 73% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $64,156, and a 15% poverty rate describe the demographic context.

Compare two places, side by side

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Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 3, South Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/4503/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 3, South Carolina vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 3, South Carolina voted Republican by 40.6 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 386,177 votes cast, 112,189 went Democratic and 268,854 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 3, South Carolina's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 3, South Carolina as a "Old Confederacy" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 19 times, Republican 13 times, and other 2 times.

When did Congressional District 3, South Carolina last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 3, South Carolina voted Democratic was 1980.

How many people live in Congressional District 3, South Carolina?

Congressional District 3, South Carolina has a population of 817,856 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 3, South Carolina?

Median household income in Congressional District 3, South Carolina is $64,156 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.

What is the political history of Congressional District 3, South Carolina?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 3, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Old Confederacy" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

South Carolina 3rd Congressional District voted Democratic for a century; it now votes Republican by 41 points.

Key facts

U.S. Senate

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions