PolitiFinder

1986 South Carolina U.S. Senate Election

South Carolina · 4 candidates · See every 1986 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1986 South Carolina U.S. Senate Election?

Ernest Fritz Hollings won the 1986 South Carolina U.S. Senate Election. Ernest Fritz Hollings received 465,500 popular votes (63.08%). The main challenger was Henry D. McMaster (35.62%).

See the full head-to-head between Hollings and McMaster

Hollings +27.5 pts · won by 202,614 votes
Ernest Fritz HollingsDemocraticWINNER63.08%
465,500 votes
Henry D. McMasterRepublican35.62%
262,886 votes
Steven B. VanderveldeLibertarian0.65%
4,789 votes
Ray HillyardAmerican0.62%
4,588 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.