Charleston, S.C., elects first Republican mayor since 1877

Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday evening elected its first Republican mayor since 1877.

State Rep. William Cogswell, 48, on Tuesday night narrowly edged out incumbent Democratic Mayor John Tecklenburg by a margin of 566 votes out of 27,350 votes cast, the state's election commission confirmed.

"Congratulations to Charleston Mayor-Elect William Cogswell on his major victory! Charleston will now have a Republican mayor for the first time since 1877!" the Republican National Committee posted Wednesday morning.

Congratulations to Charleston Mayor-Elect William Cogswell on his major victory!

Charleston will now have a Republican mayor for the first time since 1877!pic.twitter.com/ZDk692lEYQ

— GOP (@GOP) November 22, 2023

The city's last Republican mayor was George Cunningham, who served from 1873-1877, during the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. Before the war, the GOP had enjoyed support almost exclusively in the North, though the federal occupation of the southern states and the Radical Reconstruction policies of Washington saw the party control much of the southern political scene.

That situation ended in 1877 with the Wormley Conference, which reached a political settlement that saw Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes declared the winner of the disputed 1876 election. Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden won the popular vote but was unable to secure the Electoral College majority, due largely to the disputed elections in Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana over claims of widespread voter fraud.

The arrangement saw Democrats concede the race to Hayes in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops and an end to the post-war Reconstruction policies. Democrats asserted overwhelming control of southern politics for decades after.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.