Joseph Rainey

U.S. Representative
Born
June 21, 1832
Died
August 1, 1887
Age at death
55
Home state
South Carolina
Party
Republican
On the ballot
1870–1878
4-1
RecordWin–Loss
Total Popular Votes
Rainey86,622
Opponents64,559
5
Elections run

Between 1870 and 1878, Joseph Rainey ran in 5 U.S. House elections, winning 4 and losing 1. Rainey's biggest single-election total was 20,221 votes, in the 1870 U.S. House election in South Carolina's District 1. Rainey's closest win came in the 1874 U.S. House election in South Carolina's District 1, decided by 797 votes.

Browse every U.S. House race in South Carolina's District 1 or all 1878 U.S. House races.

How many votes has Joseph Rainey received?

Joseph Rainey has received 86,622 popular votes across 5 U.S. elections, with a career record of 4–1.

Election history

Joseph Rainey’s election history
YearOfficeResultVotesOpponent(s)
1878U.S. HouseSouth CarolinaLost14,09638.3%John Richardson
1876U.S. HouseSouth CarolinaWon18,18052.18%R H Richardson
1874U.S. HouseSouth CarolinaWon14,36051.42%Samuel J Lee
1872U.S. HouseSouth CarolinaWon19,76599.98%
1870U.S. HouseSouth CarolinaWon20,22163.47%C W Dudley
Identity & sources. Identity verified against the Congressional Bioguide (R000016) and Wikidata (Q1386544). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.
Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “Joseph Rainey: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/joseph-rainey. Accessed [date].

Compiled by PolitiFinder. Election results from official certified sources and the MIT Election Lab. See Data & sources and methodology. Data last verified July 28, 2026.