United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2016

United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2016
South Carolina
November 8, 2016

 
Nominee Donald Trump Hillary Clinton
Party Republican Democratic
Home state New York New York
Running mate Mike Pence Tim Kaine
Electoral vote 9 0
Popular vote 1,155,389 855,373
Percentage 54.9% 40.8%

County Results

  Trump—50-60%
  Trump—60-70%
  Trump—70-80%

  Clinton—40-50%
  Clinton—50-60%
  Clinton—70-80%


President before election

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elected President

Donald Trump
Republican

The 2016 United States presidential election was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 General Election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participated. South Carolina voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.

On February 20 and 27, 2016, in the presidential primaries, South Carolina voters expressed their preferences for the Republican and Democratic parties' respective nominees for President. Registered members of each party could only vote in their party's primary, while voters who were unaffiliated could choose any one primary in which to vote.

Republicans have only lost South Carolina once since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, in 1976 (by a double digit percentage margin). South Carolina did not vote for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 or George Wallace in 1968. Had it not voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976, the Palmetto State would have the longest streak of Republican wins, last voting Democratic in 1960, however, 1964 was the first time a Republican won South Carolina in as many as 88 years (back in 1876). Trump also became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Charleston County since Herbert Hoover in 1928.

Donald Trump continued the Republican tradition in South Carolina, carrying the state with 54.9% of the vote. Hillary Clinton received 40.8% of the vote.[1]

Background

The incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator from Illinois, was first elected president in the 2008 election, running with former Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Defeating the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, with 52.9% of the popular vote and 68% of the electoral vote,[2][3] Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 51.1% of the popular vote and 61.7% of electoral votes.[4] Although Barack Obama's approval rating in the RealClearPolitics poll tracking average remained between 40 and 50 percent for most of his second term, it has experienced a surge in early 2016 and reached its highest point since 2012 during June of that year.[5][6] Analyst Nate Cohn has noted that a strong approval rating for President Obama would equate to a strong performance for the Democratic candidate, and vice versa.[7]

Following his second term, President Obama is not eligible for another reelection. In October 2015, Obama's running-mate and two-term Vice President Biden decided not to enter the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination either.[8] With their terms expiring on January 20, 2017, the electorate is asked to elect a new president, the 45th President and 48th Vice President of the United States, respectively.

Political landscape in South Carolina

The Republican party's ticket has carried South Carolina in every election since 1980, and with the exception of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale's carrying the state in 1976, the Republican has carried the state since 1964. In the 2012 election, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan defeated Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden by a margin of 54% to 44%. The state has not had a Democratic Senator since Ernest Hollings retired in 2004. The state has had a Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives since the so-called "Republican Revolution" of 1994. However, some have suggested that South Carolina may become a battleground state in this election cycle because of Clinton's lead in the national polling.[9] A poll released on August 10 by Public Policy Polling had Trump leading Clinton by a margin of only 2 points,[9] and an internal poll commissioned for the South Carolina Democratic Party had the race tied.[10] This led Larry Sabato's political prediction website Sabato's Crystal Ball to move the rating of the South Carolina contest from "Safe Republican" to "Likely Republican" on August 18.[11]

Primary Elections

Democratic primary

South Carolina Democratic primary, 2016
South Carolina
February 27, 2016 (2016-02-27)

 
Candidate Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders
Home state New York Vermont
Delegate count 39 14
Popular vote 272,379 96,498
Percentage 73.44% 26.02%

South Carolina results by county
  Hillary Clinton
South Carolina Democratic primary, February 27, 2016
Candidate Popular vote Estimated delegates
Count Percentage Pledged Unpledged Total
Hillary Clinton 272,379 73.44% 39 5 44
Bernie Sanders 96,498 26.02% 14 0 14
Willie Wilson 1,314 0.35%
Martin O'Malley (withdrawn) 713 0.19%
Uncommitted 0 1 1
Total Votes 370,904 100% 53 6 59
Sources: The Green Papers, South Carolina State Election Commission

Republican primary

South Carolina Republican primary, 2016
South Carolina
February 20, 2016 (2016-02-20)

 
Candidate Donald Trump Marco Rubio Ted Cruz
Home state New York Florida Texas
Delegate count 50 0 0
Popular vote 240,882 166,565 165,417
Percentage 32.51% 22.48% 22.33%

 
Candidate Jeb Bush John Kasich Ben Carson
Home state Florida Ohio Maryland
Delegate count 0 0 0
Popular vote 58,056 56,410 53,551
Percentage 7.84% 7.61% 7.23%

South Carolina results by county
  Donald Trump
  Marco Rubio
South Carolina Republican primary, February 20, 2016
Candidate Votes Percentage Actual delegate count
Bound Unbound Total
Donald Trump 240,882 32.51% 50 0 50
Marco Rubio 166,565 22.48% 0 0 0
Ted Cruz 165,417 22.33% 0 0 0
Jeb Bush 58,056 7.84% 0 0 0
John Kasich 56,410 7.61% 0 0 0
Ben Carson 53,551 7.23% 0 0 0
Chris Christie (withdrawn) 0 0 0
Carly Fiorina (withdrawn) 0 0 0
Rand Paul (withdrawn) 0 0 0
Mike Huckabee (withdrawn) 0 0 0
Rick Santorum (withdrawn) 0 0 0
Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) 0 0 0
George Pataki (withdrawn) 0 0 0
Lindsey Graham (withdrawn) 0 0 0
Unprojected delegates: 0 0 0
Total: 740,881 100.00% 50 0 50
Source: The Green Papers

Green state convention

On April 30, the Green Party of South Carolina held its state convention. The public is welcome, but only members and delegates will be eligible to vote.[12]

On April 30, it was announced that William Kreml had won the primary.

South Carolina Green Party presidential convention, April 17, 2016
Candidate Votes Percentage National delegates
William Kreml - - 5
Jill Stein - - 3
Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza Curry - - -
Darryl Cherney - - -
Kent Mesplay - - -
Total - 100.00% 8

Polling

References

  1. http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/south-carolina
  2. "United States House of Representatives floor summary for Jan 8, 2009". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  3. "Federal elections 2008" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  4. "President Map". The New York Times. November 29, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  5. "Election Other – President Obama Job Approval". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  6. Byrnes, Jesse (2016-06-15). "Poll: Obama approval rating highest since 2012". TheHill. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  7. Cohn, Nate (2015-01-19). "What a Rise in Obama's Approval Rating Means for 2016". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  8. "Joe Biden Decides Not to Enter Presidential Race". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Clinton/Trump Race Tight in South Carolina". Public Policy Polling. Public Policy Polling. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  10. Master, Cyra. "Poll: Clinton tied with Trump in SC". The Hill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  11. Kondik, Kyle; Sabato, Larry; Skelley, Geoffrey. "Clinton Rises to 348 Electoral Votes, Trump Drops to 190". Sabato's Crystal Ball. University of Virginia Center for Politics. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  12. "2016 South Carolina Green Party state convention". South Carolina Green Party. 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
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