In 1964, Hartnett was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from a Charleston-area district. He served four terms in that body. Originally a Democrat, he became a Republican in 1972, and attended that year's state Republican convention (and every convention after that until 1980). He was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1972 and served two terms.
In 1980, Hartnett won the Republican nomination for the Charleston-based 1st District after five-term incumbent Mendel Jackson Davis retired due to back problems. He narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent, Associate Deputy Commerce Secretary Charles D. Ravenel, becoming the first Republican to win an undisputed election in the district since Reconstruction. Hartnett likely owed his win to Ronald Reagan winning Charleston County with 55% of the vote. The district had also been trending Republican for some time at the national level; it has only supported the Democratic candidate for president once since 1956, when Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976. But conservative Democrats continued to hold most of the district's seats in the state legislature, as well as most local offices, well into the 1990s.
Hartnett was convincingly reelected in 1982, and took 61% of the vote in 1984. He gave up his seat in 1986 to run for lieutenant governor, narrowly losing to Democratic State Senator Nick Theodore. He then became a real estate agent, founding Hartnett Realty in his hometown of Mount Pleasant.
Hartnett came out of retirement in 1992 to run for the United States Senate against four-term incumbent and fellow Charleston resident Ernest Hollings. He gave Hollings his closest race ever, losing by only three percentage points in a very good year for Democrats nationally.
Hartnett lives in Mount Pleasant and is chairman of the family-owned Hartnett Realty.[1] The firm was created in 1947 by Catherine Forbes Hartnett and is one of the oldest[2] Charleston real estate firms. He was a delegate to every Republican National Convention from 1980 to 2000.
References
^. www.postandcourier.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
thomas, hartnett, thomas, forbes, tommy, hartnett, born, august, 1941, former, american, politician, served, representative, from, south, carolina, member, house, representatives, from, south, carolina, districtin, office, january, 1981, january, 1987preceded,. Thomas Forbes Tommy Hartnett born August 7 1941 is a former American politician who served as a U S Representative from South Carolina Thomas F HartnettMember of the U S House of Representatives from South Carolina s 1st districtIn office January 3 1981 January 3 1987Preceded byMendel J DavisSucceeded byArthur Ravenel Jr Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 16th DistrictIn office January 9 1973 January 3 1981Member of theSouth Carolina House of Representativesfrom Charleston CountyIn office January 12 1965 January 9 1973Personal detailsBornThomas Forbes Hartnett 1941 08 07 August 7 1941 age 81 Charleston South Carolina U S Political partyDemocrat until 1972 Republican 1972 present Life and career EditHartnett was born in Charleston He graduated from Bishop England High School in Charleston in 1960 He attended the College of Charleston from 1960 to 1961 and was in the United States Air Force Reserve from 1963 to 1969 and South Carolina Air National Guard from 1981 to 1987 In 1964 Hartnett was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from a Charleston area district He served four terms in that body Originally a Democrat he became a Republican in 1972 and attended that year s state Republican convention and every convention after that until 1980 He was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1972 and served two terms In 1980 Hartnett won the Republican nomination for the Charleston based 1st District after five term incumbent Mendel Jackson Davis retired due to back problems He narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent Associate Deputy Commerce Secretary Charles D Ravenel becoming the first Republican to win an undisputed election in the district since Reconstruction Hartnett likely owed his win to Ronald Reagan winning Charleston County with 55 of the vote The district had also been trending Republican for some time at the national level it has only supported the Democratic candidate for president once since 1956 when Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976 But conservative Democrats continued to hold most of the district s seats in the state legislature as well as most local offices well into the 1990s Hartnett was convincingly reelected in 1982 and took 61 of the vote in 1984 He gave up his seat in 1986 to run for lieutenant governor narrowly losing to Democratic State Senator Nick Theodore He then became a real estate agent founding Hartnett Realty in his hometown of Mount Pleasant Hartnett came out of retirement in 1992 to run for the United States Senate against four term incumbent and fellow Charleston resident Ernest Hollings He gave Hollings his closest race ever losing by only three percentage points in a very good year for Democrats nationally Hartnett lives in Mount Pleasant and is chairman of the family owned Hartnett Realty 1 The firm was created in 1947 by Catherine Forbes Hartnett and is one of the oldest 2 Charleston real estate firms He was a delegate to every Republican National Convention from 1980 to 2000 References Edit New program hopes to weatherize 80 Charleston area homes in 2 years Post and Courier www postandcourier com Archived from the original on 2015 09 24 Home hartnettrealty com Sources EditUnited States Congress Thomas F Hartnett id H000302 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Appearances on C SPANU S House of RepresentativesPreceded byMendel J Davis Member of the U S House of Representatives from South Carolina s 1st congressional districtJanuary 3 1981 January 3 1987 Succeeded byArthur Ravenel Jr Party political officesPreceded by Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina1986 Succeeded byHenry McMasterPreceded byHenry McMaster Republican nominee for U S Senator from South Carolina Class 3 1992 Succeeded byBob InglisU S order of precedence ceremonial Preceded byAnthony Brownas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United Statesas Former US Representative Succeeded byMick Mulvaneyas Former US Representative Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas F Hartnett amp oldid 1141795340, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
