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Democrats gain second House seat in South Carolina with Joe Cunningham win

Posted at 2:13 AM, Nov 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-07 04:32:06-05

South Carolina Democratic candidate Joe Cunningham will be elected to Congress in a narrow victory over Republican Katie Arrington, CNN projects.

The pick up in District 1 win marks South Carolina’s second Democratic seat, with all seven districts reporting.

The win follows an already dramatic upset in the Republican primary in a district that has gone red since 1981.

Arrington, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, took on former incumbent Rep. Mark Sanford in the primary. Trump blasted Sanford in June as “very unhelpful” to his campaign and endorsed Arrington.

“We are the party of President Donald J. Trump,” she said following her primary win.

Democrats did not expect to win the district, and Republicans expressed concern about the race over the past few weeks. CNN polls forecast that the district would lean Republican.

Cunningham will join Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, currently the state’s sole Democrat in Congress, who overwhelmingly won re-election.