South Carolina 78th State House District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Franklin D. Roosevelt1940
95.8%
342 votes · D+93.3 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936 · 95.7%
Republican
Rutherford B. Hayes1876
75.2%
474 votes · R+50.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1960 · 74.3%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Kamala Harris2024
12,093votes
61.0% of the vote · D+23.8 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 11,474 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2020
7,536votes
39.1% of the vote · D+20.4 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2024 · 7,375 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
John W. Davis1924
+110.1pts D vs U.S.
Place D+84.9 · U.S. R+25.2 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Alton B. Parker, 1904 · +88.9 pts
Republican
Barry Goldwater1964
+63.8pts R vs U.S.
Place R+41.3 · U.S. D+22.6 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1960 · +48.7 pts
current representation
Current officeholders
DBeth BernsteinState House · 78
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
U.S. House elections · 2 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year
Vote lead
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
D
65.6%11,171
34.4%5,856
17,027
2018
D
68.6%9,212
31.4%4,223
13,435
District 78 backed the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee by nearly 24 points, placing it among the state's bluest legislative constituencies. Its population of roughly 41,000 reflects a compact, urban-anchored electorate with consistent leftward tendencies.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 93.3 points in 1940 and a Republican high of 50.5 points in 1876. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 3.4 points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was 23.8 points.
A population of 41,126, a 47% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $82,644 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State House District 64 and State House District 101.
Akashic
Political twins — state-house districts
The state-house districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons → · Or open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
South Carolina 78th State House District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/45078/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did South Carolina 78th State House District vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Carolina 78th State House District voted Democratic by 23.8 points (D+23.8), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 19,837 votes cast, 12,093 went Democratic and 7,375 went Republican.
When did South Carolina 78th State House District last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which South Carolina 78th State House District voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in South Carolina 78th State House District?
South Carolina 78th State House District has a population of 41,126 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Carolina 78th State House District?
Median household income in South Carolina 78th State House District is $82,644 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of South Carolina 78th State House District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Carolina 78th State House District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 14 went Republican.