One box at a time, staffers are packing up U.S. Rep. John Spratt's Rock Hill office and preparing to hand over legislative duties to Republican Mick Mulvaney.

A sign posted on the door tells constituents to seek help from the offices of Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint.

"Our offices are in the process of closing, and cannot take on any new casework," spokesman Chuck Fant said Friday. "We're asking folks who need assistance to contact the offices of Senator Graham or DeMint."

District aides for Spratt were at work Friday morning preparing to vacate the office, housed for 28 years in a suite on the top floor of the Gettys Center on East Main Street.

Artists occupy other spaces in the historic downtown building, a 1930s-era former post office and federal court house. A neighboring tenant said the top floor would make a nice spot for an artist.

Mulvaney, who defeated Spratt with 55 percent of the vote in the Nov. 2 election, has not announced where he will open district offices.

"Congressman-elect Mulvaney cannot open new casework files or district offices until he is sworn into office on January 3rd," said Mulvaney spokesman Bryan Partridge. "We will be happy to accept all cases that are in progress when his (Spratt's) term expires."

The 5th Congressional District spans 14 counties across the upper third of South Carolina, including the cities of Rock Hill, York, Lancaster and Sumter.

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