Rep. Henry Brown (R) Elected 2000, 3d term
Born:	Dec. 20, 1935, Bishopville
Home:	Hanahan
Education:	The Citadel; Baptist Col.
Religion:	Baptist
Marital Status:	married (Billye)
Elected  Office:	Hanahan City Council, 1981-85; SC House of Reps., 1985-00.
Military Career:	SC Natl. Guard, 1953-62.
Professional Career:	V.P., Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., 1958-85.
DC Office	1124 LHOB20515, 202-225-3176; Fax: 202-225-3407; Web site: www.house.gov/henrybrown
State Offices	Myrtle Beach, 843-445-6459; N. Charleston, 843-747-4175.
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Looking out across the harbor to Fort Sumter are the glorious mansions of the Battery, gazing on the same view that the hot-blooded young swells of Charleston saw in April 1861 when they fired the shots that began the Civil War. Today there are few more beautiful urban scenes in America than the pastel "single houses" of Charleston, built flush with the sidewalk, turning their shoulders to the streets, with open piazzas inside their iron gateways facing south to catch the breeze. Charleston, founded in 1670, was blessed with one of the finest harbors on the Atlantic, at the point where, Charlestonians say, the Ashley and Cooper Rivers meet to form the Atlantic Ocean. It was one of the South's two leading cities through the Civil War; across its docks went cargoes of rice, indigo, cotton and slaves, enriching the white planters and merchants who dominated the state's economic and political life. After the Civil War, Charleston became an economic backwater, enabling the old buildings to survive; more recently, prosperity and insurance payouts after Hurricane Hugo in 1989 have funded loving restorations, making the center city look better than ever--and able to attract an annual $5.7 billion in tourism revenue.

This old society, descended from Barbados planters and French Huguenots, Sephardic Jews and the second sons of English gentry, was once a leading force in American political life. The hotheads in the gallery disrupted the 1860 Democratic National Convention here so boisterously that it was adjourned and reconvened in Baltimore, while Southern Democrats split off and nominated their own candidate, enabling Abraham Lincoln to win with 38% of the popular vote. The local accent seems to outsiders to have a touch of New Jersey and can be incomprehensible when rapidly spoken. The history of black South Carolinians, memorialized in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, is long and noteworthy, but the tale of slavery, once hidden under a blanket of politeness, is only now emerging, as many, though not all, plantations near Charleston add programs on the history of slavery to tours once dominated by romantic tales of the old South.

Some 25 years ago, Navy and Air Force bases accounted for 20% of payrolls in metropolitan Charleston. Many of these bases are now closed, but a vibrant private economy with lots of small companies has emerged, most notably at the 1,600-acre Charleston Naval Base, which, thanks to concerted efforts by regional officials, has created thousands of new jobs since it closed in 1996. Now Vought Aircraft and Alenia Aeronautica are building an aircraft factory near the Charleston airport. Ninety miles northeast, Myrtle Beach has also bounced back impressively from the loss of an air force base in 1991; after years in which the site sat dormant, a mix of commercial and residential development has sparked a boom in retirees and vacationers. Although far from an Interstate, Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, the miles of beachfront and 123 golf courses, attract 14 million tourists annually and the population of Horry County population has more than doubled since 1980. Myrtle Beach has taken steps to rein in its visual clutter, hoping to join the rest of the Low Country as one of the most gracefully growing regions of the United States.

The 1st Congressional District of South Carolina stretches along the coast from south of Charleston to north of Myrtle Beach, including Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island and Litchfield Beach. It includes the heavily white Battery and the area west of the Ashley River but not the heavily black areas to the north and in North Charleston; still, the 1st District's population is 21% black. It also includes the burgeoning suburbs in Berkeley and Dorchester Counties. This is solidly Republican country, 61% for George W. Bush in 2004. But the conservatism of the Low Country district is more economic and less cultural than the conservatism of Up Country South Carolina; many voters here favor environmental restrictions and efforts to curb sprawl. This area was strong for John McCain in the 2000 presidential primary and nearly unanimous for Mark Sanford, the former 1st District congressman, in the 2002 nomination for governor.

The congressman from the 1st District is Henry Brown, a Republican first elected in 2000. Brown grew up on a small farm in Cordesville in Berkeley County, worked at the Charleston Naval Shipyard as his father had, and then spent almost 30 years working for the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain, where he eventually became a vice president. In 1981, at age 45, Brown was elected to the city council in Hanahan, north of North Charleston. In 1985 he was elected to the state House in a special election; after the 1994 election he became chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. When Sanford, first elected to the House in 1994, made clear he would keep his promise to serve only three terms in the House, Brown and other Republicans started running for the seat after the 1998 election. Brown stressed issues of concern to the district's many senior citizens--property tax relief and shoring up Social Security. To boost his name recognition, he distributed 20,000 "Oh! Henry" chocolate bars. His chief opponent, Buck Limehouse, was best known as head of the state's Transportation Commission. Brown won endorsements from many legislators and from Christian conservatives. Limehouse, a Charleston developer, spent $790,000 to Brown's $315,000 and had the support of most party leaders. In the six-candidate primary Brown led 44%-34%. In the runoff two weeks later, Brown won 55%-45%. In the anticlimactic general election, Brown won 60%-36%.

In the House, Brown has usually had a conservative voting record. Responding to court decisions, he sponsored a constitutional amendment to ban child pornography, and the House passed his resolution expressing support for public schools that display "God Bless America." In March 2004, he fueled a local controversy when brush that he was burning on his property, with a permit, jumped to adjacent federal lands and burned 20 acres. When the Forest Service told him that he would be fined, Brown threatened to retaliate with congressional action; after the regulators agreed to clarify a regulation, he agreed to pay a $250 fine. In 2005 he lost a bid for Appropriations. Instead, he added Resources to his previous seats on Transportation and Veterans Affairs. Brown had no Democratic opponent in 2002 or 2004.

Committees

• Resources (20th of 27 R): Forests & Forest Health; National Parks.
• Transportation & Infrastructure (20th of 41 R): Aviation; Highways, Transit & Pipelines; Water Resources & Environment.
• Veterans' Affairs (8th of 16 R): Health (Chmn.).

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	0	0	0	0	100	55	100	96	75	92	--
2003	10	--	0	10	--	59	97	92	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	21%	--	75%		17%	--	80%
Social	5%	--	87%		17%	--	81%
Foreign	0%	--	89%		10%	--	86%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR Y 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts Y 3. Medicare/Rx Bill Y 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. N 5. DC School Vouchers Y 6. Ban Human Cloning Y		7. Restrict Gun Liability Y  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage Y 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds N 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Henry Brown (R)	186,448	88%	$205,460
	James Dunn (Green)	25,674	12%
2004 primary	Henry Brown (R)	47,066	83%
	Bob Batchelder (R)	9,326	17%
2002 general	Henry Brown (R)	127,562	89%	$189,806
	James Dunn (UCIT)	9,841	7%
	Other	5,022	4%
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (60%)

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 172,836 (61%) Kerry (D) 109,790 (39%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 139,758 (59%) Gore (D) 91,510 (38%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the First District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +10
• District Size: 3,419 square miles
• Population in 2000: 668,668; 78.4% urban; 21.6% rural
• Median Household Income: $40,713; 11.5% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 23.0% blue collar; 59.7% white collar; 17.3% gray collar; 17.2% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 73.7% White, 20.9% Black, 1.2% Asian, 0.4% Amer. Indian, 0.1% Hawaiian, 1.1% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 2.5% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 9.6% German, 9.3% USA, 8.9% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.