United States presidential elections in South Carolina


Following is a table of United States presidential elections in South Carolina, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1788, South Carolina has participated in every U.S. presidential election except the election of 1864 during the American Civil War, when the state had seceded to join the Confederacy.
Winners of the state are in bold.

Elections from 1864 to present

YearWinner VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentOther national
candidates
VotesPercentElectoral
Votes
Notes
2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
2016Donald Trump1,155,38954.94Hillary Clinton855,37340.679
2012Barack Obama865,94144.09Mitt Romney1,071,64554.569
2008Barack Obama862,44944.90John McCain1,034,89653.878
2004George W. Bush937,97457.98John Kerry661,69940.908
2000George W. Bush785,93756.84Al Gore565,56140.908
1996Bill Clinton504,05143.85Bob Dole573,45849.89Ross Perot64,3865.608
1992Bill Clinton479,51439.88George H. W. Bush577,50748.02Ross Perot138,87211.558
1988George H. W. Bush606,44361.50Michael Dukakis370,55437.588
1984Ronald Reagan615,53963.55Walter Mondale344,47035.578
1980Ronald Reagan441,20749.57Jimmy Carter427,56048.04John B. Anderson14,1501.598
1976Jimmy Carter450,82556.17Gerald Ford346,14043.138
1972Richard Nixon478,42770.58George McGovern189,27027.928
1968Richard Nixon254,06238.09Hubert Humphrey197,48629.61George Wallace215,43032.308
1964Lyndon B. Johnson215,70041.10Barry Goldwater309,04858.898
1960John F. Kennedy198,12951.24Richard Nixon188,55848.768
1956Dwight D. Eisenhower75,70025.18Adlai Stevenson II136,37245.37T. Coleman Andrews/
Unpledged Electors
88,51129.458
1952Dwight D. Eisenhower168,08249.28Adlai Stevenson II173,00450.728
1948Harry S. Truman34,42324.14Thomas E. Dewey5,3863.78Strom Thurmond102,60771.978
1944Franklin D. Roosevelt90,60187.64Thomas E. Dewey4,6104.468
1940Franklin D. Roosevelt95,47095.63Wendell Willkie4,3604.378
1936Franklin D. Roosevelt113,79198.57Alf Landon1,6461.438
1932Franklin D. Roosevelt102,34798.03Herbert Hoover1,9781.898
1928Herbert Hoover5,8588.54Al Smith62,70091.399
1924Calvin Coolidge1,1232.21John W. Davis49,00896.56Robert M. La Follette Sr.6201.229
1920Warren G. Harding2,6103.91James M. Cox64,17096.05Parley P. Christensen9
1916Woodrow Wilson61,84696.71Charles E. Hughes1,5502.429
1912Woodrow Wilson48,35795.94Theodore Roosevelt1,2932.57William H. Taft5361.069
1908William H. Taft3,9455.94William Jennings Bryan62,28893.849
1904Theodore Roosevelt2,5544.63Alton B. Parker52,56395.369
1900William McKinley3,5797.04William Jennings Bryan47,23392.969
1896William McKinley9,31313.51William Jennings Bryan58,80185.39
1892Grover Cleveland54,68077.56Benjamin Harrison13,34518.93James B. Weaver2,4073.419
1888Benjamin Harrison13,73617.17Grover Cleveland65,82482.289
1884Grover Cleveland69,84575.25James G. Blaine21,73023.419
1880James A. Garfield57,95434.13Winfield S. Hancock111,23665.51James B. Weaver5670.337
1876Rutherford B. Hayes91,78650.24Samuel J. Tilden90,89749.767
1872Ulysses S. Grant72,29075.73Horace Greeley22,69923.787
1868Ulysses S. Grant62,30157.9Horatio Seymour45,23742.16
1864Abraham Lincolnn/an/aGeorge B. McClellann/an/an/aNo vote due to secession.

Election of 1860

The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent of slavery, spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about the American Civil War.
YearWinner VotesLoser VotesLoser VotesLoser VotesElectoral
Votes
1860Abraham Lincolnno popular voteStephen A. Douglasno popular voteJohn C. Breckinridgeno popular voteJohn Bellno popular vote8

Vote allocated by legislature.

Elections from 1788-89 to 1856

In all elections from 1792 to 1860, South Carolina did not conduct a popular vote. Each Elector was appointed by the state legislature.
The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailing Democratic-Republican Party, resulting in four different candidates each claiming to carry the banner of the party, and competing for influence in different parts of the country. The election was the only one in history to be decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution after no candidate secured a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received a plurality of electoral votes did not become President, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams a corrupt bargain.
YearWinner Loser Electoral
Votes
Notes
1856James BuchananJohn C. Frémont
Millard Fillmore
8
1852Franklin PierceWinfield Scott
John P. Hale
8
1848Zachary TaylorLewis Cass
Martin Van Buren
9
1844James K. PolkHenry Clay9
1840William Henry HarrisonMartin Van Buren11
1836Martin Van BurenWillie Person Mangum
Three other candidates
11South Carolina was the only state to vote for Magnum.
1832Andrew JacksonHenry Clay
John Floyd
11South Carolina was the only state to vote for Floyd.
1828Andrew JacksonJohn Quincy Adams11
1824John Quincy AdamsAndrew Jackson
Henry Clay
William H. Crawford
11
1820James Monroe-11Monroe effectively ran unopposed.
1816James MonroeRufus King11
1812James MadisonDeWitt Clinton11
1808James MadisonCharles C. Pinckney10
1804Thomas JeffersonCharles C. Pinckney10
1800Thomas JeffersonJohn Adams8
1796John AdamsThomas Jefferson8
1792George Washington-8Washington effectively ran unopposed.
1788-89George Washington-7Washington effectively ran unopposed.