It has been more than 130 years since the last time a South Carolinian was elected to a third nonconsecutive U.S. House term

Photo of South Carolina U.S. Representative Mark SanfordIn late March, former Republican South Carolina U.S. Representative Mark Sanford filed paperwork to win back his old 1st Congressional District seat that opened up this cycle with Rep. Nancy Mace running for governor.

Sanford served six terms in two stints sandwiched around his eight years as governor of the Palmetto State – three terms prior (1995-2001) and nearly three full terms thereafter (2013-2019).

It is not unusual for U.S. Representatives to return to the chamber – whether after a planned or unexpected exit. In South Carolina, nearly one-in-seven U.S. Representatives since statehood have served interrupted terms: 30 of 224 (13.4 percent).

Sanford, however, is attempting a second successful comeback for a third stint in the U.S. House – a feat only four of his predecessors in South Carolina have accomplished, and none since the 19th Century.

The South Carolinian with the most hiccups during his U.S. House tenure is Democrat William Elliott.

Elliott, an attorney from Beaufort and former State Representative, was first elected to congress in 1886, serving one full term plus half a year into his second from the 7th CD (1887-1889) when he lost an election contest to Republican Thomas Miller, a former State Representative.

Elliott won back his seat during the Election of 1890 and served one term (1891-1893) but did not seek reelection in 1892. He returned to the U.S. House after the 1894 election after unseating 1st CD Republican incumbent George Murray. That lasted for just 15 months (1895-1896), however, with Murray winning an election contest and regaining his seat in June 1896.

Elliott was elected back to the U.S. House for a state record fourth non-consecutive stint after winning the election of 1896 and subsequently served three full terms (1897-1903).

The first South Carolinian to serve three distinct periods in the U.S. House was Democratic-Republican Elias Earle – a former State Representative and State Senator.

Earle served one term in the 8th CD (1805-1807) before being unseated by former State Representative Lemuel Alston.

After four years out of office, Earle returned to congress after winning back his seat in 1810 and then served a second term from the 7th CD in 1812 (1811-1815) before losing the election of 1814 to former State Representative John Taylor.

Earle then unseated Taylor in 1816 and served two final terms (1817-1821).

Next came Thomas Mitchell, an attorney and former State Representative, who served the state’s 3rd congressional district during three stretches. He first won a U.S. House seat from 1821-1823 as a Democratic-Republican but lost reelection in 1822 to State Senator Robert Campbell.

Mitchell then unseated Campbell in 1824 as a Jacksonian and served two terms (1825-1829) before losing in 1828 to Campbell’s brother, John Campbell.

Mitchell returned to congress for one more term (1831-1833) before losing his seat for a third time in 1832.

Robert Smalls, a renowned black Republican from Beaufort who served in the Union Navy and later the state legislature, is the remaining U.S. Representative from South Carolina to serve three nonconsecutive terms.

Smalls won a seat from the 5th CD in 1874 and served two terms (1875-1879) and returned to the chamber (1882-1883) after successfully contesting the Election of 1880 against incumbent George Tillman.

Rep. Smalls was defeated again in 1882 but won the 7th CD seat in an 1884 special election and then a general election that fall (1884-1887).

The remaining 25 South Carolina U.S. Representatives to serve interrupted terms are:

  • Democratic-Republican Thomas Sumter (4th CD): 1789-1793; 1797-1801
  • Anti-Administration and Democratic-Republican Richard Winn (4th CD): 1793-1797; 1803-1813
  • Democratic-Republican Wade Hampton: 1795-1797 (2nd CD); 1803-1805 (4th CD)
  • Federalist Benjamin Huger (3rd CD): 1799-1805; 1815-1817
  • Democratic-Republican Thomas Moore: 1801-1813 (6th and 7th CDs); 1815-1817 (8th CD)
  • Democratic-Republican David Williams (3rd CD): 1805-1809; 1811-1813
  • Democratic-Republican and Jacksonian James Blair: 1821-1822 (9th CD); 1829-1834 (8th CD)
  • Jacksonian-Republican and Nullifier Robert Campbell (3rd CD): 1823-1825; 1834-1837
  • Jacksonian, Nullifier, and Democrat John Campbell (3rd CD): 1829-1831; 1837-1845
  • Nullifier William Clowney (7th CD): 1833-1835; 1837-1839
  • Jacksonian and Democrat James Rogers (7th CD): 1835-1837; 1839-1843
  • Democrat Preston Brooks (4th CD): 1853-1856; 1856-1857 [Note: Resigned in 1856 and then won a special election to fill his own vacancy].
  • Democrat Laurence Keitt (3rd CD): 1853-1856; 1856-1860 [Note: Resigned in 1856 and then won a special election to fill his own vacancy].
  • Republican Solomon Hoge (3rd CD): 1869-1871; 1875-1877
  • Republican Richard Cain: 1873-1875 (At-large); 1877-1879 (2nd CD)
  • Independent Republican and Republican Edmund Mackey (2nd CD): 1875-1876; 1882-1884
  • Democrat George Tillman: 1879-1882 (5th CD); 1883-1891 (2nd CD)
  • Democrat Samuel Dibble: 1881-1882 (2nd CD); 1883-1891 (1st CD)
  • Republican George Murray: 1893-1895 (7th CD); 1896-1897 (1st CD)
  • Democrat James Stokes (7th CD): 1895-1896; 1896-1901 [Note: Won a special election 1896 to fill his own vacancy].
  • Democrat Butler Hare: 1925-1933 (2nd CD); 1939-1947 (3rd CD)
  • Democrat John Riley (2nd CD): 1945-1949; 1951-1962
  • Democrat William Dorn (3rd CD): 1947-1949; 1951-1974
  • Democrat and Republican Albert Watson (2nd CD): 1963-1965; 1965-1971 [Note: Won a special election in 1965 to fill his own vacancy after changing his partisan affiliation from Democrat to Republican].
  • Republican Bob Inglis (4th CD): 1993-1999; 2005-2011

Sanford is one of 11 Republicans seeking the GOP nomination with primaries set to be held on June 9th.

A majority is required to receive the party’s nomination or a run-off election will be conducted two weeks thereafter.

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2 Comments

  1. Geoff Gamble on April 7, 2026 at 3:57 pm

    – In 1857 the new term began in *March* ; while his execretable conduct against Senator Sumner was vindicated by his constituents at the ballot box Preston Brooks died before he could (again) take his seat, thus joining a small group of deceased Congress Members-Elect, which include Edwin Keith Thomson of WY (1960) and Luke Joshua Letlow of LA (2020).
    – Sanford is also bidding for a third stint in essentially the same constituency, a rarity on top of a rare phenomenon. Some others with “interrupted” terms have represented clearly different constituencies, e.g. “Rick” Nolan, who had served in the southwest part of the state in his initial stint (1975-1981) and the northeast part of the state in his second/final stint (2013-2019).
    – Last but not least, Sanford is one of the somewhat rare cases of onetime state constitutional officers seeking a US House seat – for the second time at that.

    Reply
  2. Nikoli on April 8, 2026 at 6:10 pm

    – At least one other governor – incumbent or ex – is seeking a House seat this year as well; Paul LePage of ME is standing for election for CD-02, perhaps because his fellow Republican Susan Collins is seeking another term in the Senate (as all political junkies are aware, the House-to-governor pathway is far more common than the governor-to-House pathway).

    – Interestingly, Sanford has made all three of his non-incumbent House bids (1994, 2013 special, 2026) after the most recent occupant has vacated his seat (or is vacating her seat in case of Mace) for a statewide elective office (appointment to the US Senate in case of Tim Scott).

    Reply

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