The 1938 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 8, 1938, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections were held on August 30 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on September 13. Three incumbents were re-elected, but two incumbents were defeated in the Democratic primary. The three open seats were retained by the Democrats and the composition of the state delegation thus remained solely Democratic.
1st congressional district Incumbent Democratic Congressman Thomas S. McMillan of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1925, defeated A. Russell McGowan in the Democratic primary and Republican B.L. Hendrix in the general election.
Democratic primary Democratic primaryCandidateVotes% Thomas S. McMillan 29,173 62.8 A. Russell McGowan 17,255 37.2
General election results
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
2nd congressional district Incumbent Democratic Congressman Hampton P. Fulmer of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1921, defeated former Lieutenant Governor Andrew J. Bethea in the Democratic primary and Republican S.J. Leaphart in the general election.
Democratic primary Democratic primaryCandidateVotes% Hampton P. Fulmer 42,058 71.4 Andrew J. Bethea 16,868 28.6
General election results
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
3rd congressional district Incumbent Democratic Congressman John C. Taylor of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1933, was defeated in the Democratic primary by Butler B. Hare who defeated Republican O.B. Menees in the general election.
Democratic primary Democratic primaryCandidateVotes% John C. Taylor 22,164 40.6 Butler B. Hare 18,556 34.0 Theo H. Vaughn 10,407 19.1 Robert E. McCaslan 3,445 6.3
Democratic primary runoffCandidateVotes%±% Butler B. Hare 29,852 55.7 +21.7 John C. Taylor 23,732 44.3 +3.7
General election results
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
4th congressional district Incumbent Democratic Congressman Gabriel H. Mahon, Jr. of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1937, was defeated in the Democratic primary by Joseph R. Bryson who defeated Republican H.A. Costner in the general election. The first primary had the two candidates only separated by 8 votes so the South Carolina Democratic Party Executive Committee ordered a new race instead of a recount, which Bryson clearly won.
Democratic primary 1st Democratic primaryCandidateVotes% Joseph R. Bryson 31,634 50.0 Gabriel H. Mahon, Jr. 31,626 50.0
2nd Democratic primaryCandidateVotes% Joseph R. Bryson 35,948 54.5 Gabriel H. Mahon, Jr. 29,967 45.5
General election results
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
5th congressional district Incumbent Democratic Congressman James P. Richards of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1933, defeated Republican challenger A.B. McCraw.
General election results
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
6th congressional district Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Elizabeth Hawley Gasque of the 6th congressional district succeeded her husband, Allard H. Gasque, in office upon his death in 1938 and she did not seek re-election. John L. McMillan won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican W.S. Thompson in the general election.
Democratic primary Democratic primaryCandidateVotes% Lloyd Ford 19,581 35.3 John L. McMillan 15,578 28.1 James R. Turner 7,183 12.9 Jerome P. Pate 5,771 10.4 Earl Ellerbe 4,809 8.7 D.F. Hogan 2,558 4.6
Democratic primary runoffCandidateVotes%±% John L. McMillan 27,083 51.9 +23.8 Lloyd Ford 25,068 48.1 +12.8
General election results
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
See also 1938 United States House of Representatives elections 1938 United States Senate election in South Carolina 1938 South Carolina gubernatorial election South Carolina's congressional districts
References
"Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Report of the State Officers Boards and Committees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, SC: 1939, pp. 7–9.