2013 special election for South Carolina's 1st District
U.S. House · South Carolina
Mark Sanford (R) won with 54.0% of the vote, defeating Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) by 8.8 points.
Source: Federal Election CommissionUpdated Oct 3, 2026, 3:20 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2013
Races before and after
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2014.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2014
Polls against the result
- Poll with Busch ahead
- Poll with Sanford ahead
- Result
| Pollster | Dates | Sample | Busch | Sanford | Margin | Adjusted | Miss vs result | Grade | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling | May 4 | 1,239 | 46 | 47 | R+1 | — | +7.8 | B+ | Wikipedia |
| ccAdvertising | Apr 30 | 1,807 | 40 | 39.5 | D+0.5 | — | +9.3 | C− | Wikipedia |
| RRH Elections | Apr 30 | 650 | 46 | 46 | Even | — | +8.8 | B+ | Wikipedia |
| Public Policy Polling | Apr 20 | 796 | 50 | 41 | D+9 | — | +17.8 | B+ | Wikipedia |
| Lake Research PartnersD-sponsored | Mar 26 | 500 | 47 | 44 | D+3 | — | +11.8 | B+ | Wikipedia |
| Public Policy Polling | Mar 23 | 1,175 | 47 | 45 | D+2 | — | +10.8 | B+ | Wikipedia |
Adjusted: after correcting for the pollster's house effect and likely-voter screens. Miss: the poll's margin minus the result; + means the poll leaned Democratic. Grade: the pollster's accuracy in past elections, A+ to D (pollster ratings).
Source: Each poll's release, via FiveThirtyEight poll listsUpdated May 4, 2013