PolitiFinder

1978 South Carolina U.S. Senate Election

South Carolina · 2 candidates · See every 1978 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1978 South Carolina U.S. Senate Election?

Strom Thurmond won the 1978 South Carolina U.S. Senate Election. Strom Thurmond received 351,917 popular votes (55.68%). The main challenger was Charles D. Ravenel (44.32%).

See the full head-to-head between Thurmond and Ravenel

Thurmond +11.4 pts · won by 71,771 votes
Strom ThurmondRepublicanWINNER55.68%
351,917 votes
Charles D. RavenelDemocratic44.32%
280,146 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. Senate elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.