1962 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

South Carolina Congressional Districts, 1962 to 1970

  1st District

  2nd District

  3rd District

  4th District

  5th District

  6th District

The 1962 South Carolina United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 1962 to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections were held on June 12 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 26. All five incumbents who ran were re-elected and the open seat in the 2nd congressional district was retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation thus remained solely Democratic.

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, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	L. Mendel Rivers (incumbent)	39,176	100.0	0.0
Majority			39,176	100.0	0.0
Turnout			39,176
	Democratic hold

2nd Congressional District Special Election

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John J. Riley of the 2nd congressional district died on January 1, 1962. A special election was called and his widow, Corinne Boyd Riley, won the Democratic primary on February 13 and the special election on April 10 to serve out the remainder of the term.

Democratic primary

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Corinne Boyd Riley	10,277	69.0
Martha Fitzgerald	4,607	31.0

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District Special Election Results, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Corinne Boyd Riley	3,626	99.9	-0.1
	No party	Write-Ins	2	0.1	+0.1
Majority			3,624	99.8	-0.2
Turnout			3,628
	Democratic hold

2nd Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Corinne Boyd Riley of the 2nd congressional district succeeded her husband, John J. Riley, in office upon his death in 1962. She did not seek re-election and Democratic state Representative Albert Watson won the open seat against Republican Floyd Spence.

Democratic primary

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Albert Watson	21,137	33.9
Frank C. Owens	15,531	24.9
Leonard A. Williamson	13,899	22.3
Al Cook	9,947	15.9
Gerard Hartzog	1,849	3.0

Democratic Primary Runoff
Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Albert Watson	17,644	51.8	+17.9
Frank C. Owens	16,398	48.2	+23.3

General election results

South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District Election Results, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Albert Watson	39,149	52.8	-47.1
	Republican	Floyd Spence	34,947	47.2	+47.2
Majority			4,202	5.6	-94.2
Turnout			74,096
	Democratic hold

3rd Congressional District

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

General election results

South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District Election Results, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	William J.B. Dorn (incumbent)	34,545	100.0	0.0
	No party	Write-Ins	11	0.0	0.0
Majority			34,534	100.0	0.0
Turnout			34,556
	Democratic hold

4th Congressional District

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

Democratic primary

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Robert T. Ashmore	39,334	70.8
James Workman	14,131	25.4
Marion Tyus	2,089	3.8

General election results

South Carolina's 4th Congressional District Election Results, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Robert T. Ashmore (incumbent)	47,044	100.0	0.0
Majority			47,044	100.0	0.0
Turnout			47,044
	Democratic hold

5th Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robert W. Hemphill of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1957, defeated Republican challenger Robert M. Doster.

General election results

South Carolina's 5th Congressional District Election Results, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Robert W. Hemphill (incumbent)	28,989	93.9	-6.1
	Republican	Robert M. Doster	1,861	6.0	+6.0
	No party	Write-Ins	18	0.1	+0.1
Majority			27,128	87.9	-12.1
Turnout			30,868
	Democratic hold

6th Congressional District

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John L. McMillan of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1939, defeated G. Stanley Bryant in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.

Democratic primary

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
John L. McMillan	46,726	81.4
G. Stanley Bryant	10,655	18.6

General election results

South Carolina's 6th Congressional District Election Results, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John L. McMillan (incumbent)	36,811	100.0	0.0
	No party	Write-Ins	3	0.0	0.0
Majority			36,808	100.0	0.0
Turnout			36,814
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House elections, 1962
• United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1962
• South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1962
• South Carolina's congressional districts

References

• Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962. pp. 112, 121, 125–126.
• "Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume II. Columbia, SC: 1963, p. 149.
• "Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume II. Columbia, SC: 1963, pp. 16–17.