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All 8 South Carolina votes to the Electoral College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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County Results
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Elections in South Carolina |
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The 1960 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose eight [2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
For six decades up to 1950 South Carolina was a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party. The Republican Party had been moribund due to the disfranchisement of blacks and the complete absence of other support bases as South Carolina completely lacked upland or German refugee whites opposed to secession. [3] Between 1900 and 1948, no Republican presidential candidate ever obtained more than seven percent of the total presidential vote [4] – a vote which in 1924 reached as low as 6.6 percent of the total voting-age population [5] (or approximately 15 percent of the voting-age white population).
Following Harry S. Truman’s To Secure These Rights in 1947, the following year South Carolina’s small electorate overwhelmingly rejected him in favour of state Governor Strom Thurmond, who won 71 percent of the state’s limited electorate and every county except poor white industrial Anderson and Spartanburg. [6] During the 1950s, the state’s wealthier and more urbanized whites became extremely disenchanted with the national Democratic Party and to a lesser extent with the federal administration of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. [7] However, the state’s abolition of its poll tax in 1950 allowed increasing white voter registration and the poor white upcountry provided enough support to national Democrat Adlai Stevenson II to, aided by substantial majorities amongst the small but increasing number of blacks able to vote, [8] keep the state Democratic in the 1952 and 1956 elections.
During the 1950s, wealthy textile mill owners in the upcountry developed a grassroots state Republican Party dedicated to the tenets of the John Birch Society. This group nominated the most conservative delegation at the party’s 1960 convention. [9] These wealthy businessmen would merge with hardline segregationists to draft Barry Goldwater for the Republican nomination in 1960, and at the same time, the “Independents” in the lowcountry moved to support GOP nominees Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. as they had in 1952. [9] At the same time, Protestant clergymen in the state were quite outspoken against the nomination of Catholic Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy by the Democratic Party. [10]
Both candidates toured the state in October, when James F. Byrnes, former governor, criticized severely the Kennedy platform as economically unaffordable and injurious to the states’ independence. [11] In September and October polls, the state was considered likely to go for Nixon, [12] and even on election night Nixon was leading until quite late when Kennedy overtook him. [13] Kennedy ultimately won the state by 2.48 percentage points, [14] [15] being aided by an exceptional turnout for him amongst the state’s seventy-five thousand or so black voters, [16] and by the loyalty of the pro-Stevenson upcountry despite its distaste for his Catholicism. [17] Nixon won a narrow majority of the state’s white voters, and a strong majority amongst the wealthier whites of the growing Columbia and Charleston metropolitan areas.
This was the second to last time South Carolina voted Democratic. Had Gerald Ford won the state in 1976, South Carolina would share the nation's longest Republican streak.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John F. Kennedy | 198,129 | 51.24% | |
Republican | Richard Nixon | 188,558 | 48.76% | |
Write-in | 1 | 0.00% | ||
Total votes | 386,688 | 100% |
County | John F. Kennedy Democratic | Richard Nixon Republican | Margin | Total votes cast | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Abbeville | 3,064 | 78.38% | 845 | 21.62% | 2,219 | 56.76% | 3,909 |
Aiken | 6,674 | 38.38% | 10,715 | 61.62% | -4,041 | -23.24% | 17,389 |
Allendale | 583 | 39.63% | 888 | 60.37% | -305 | -20.74% | 1,471 |
Anderson | 13,901 | 78.33% | 3,845 | 21.67% | 10,056 | 56.66% | 17,746 |
Bamberg | 908 | 35.47% | 1,652 | 64.53% | -744 | -29.06% | 2,560 |
Barnwell | 1,331 | 41.95% | 1,842 | 58.05% | -511 | -16.10% | 3,173 |
Beaufort | 1,800 | 47.11% | 2,021 | 52.89% | -221 | -5.78% | 3,821 |
Berkeley | 2,542 | 51.21% | 2,422 | 48.79% | 120 | 2.42% | 4,964 |
Calhoun | 536 | 38.62% | 852 | 61.38% | -316 | -22.76% | 1,388 |
Charleston | 12,010 | 36.14% | 21,223 | 63.86% | -9,213 | -27.72% | 33,233 |
Cherokee | 5,391 | 77.50% | 1,565 | 22.50% | 3,826 | 55.00% | 6,956 |
Chester | 4,262 | 71.97% | 1,660 | 28.03% | 2,602 | 43.94% | 5,922 |
Chesterfield | 4,450 | 76.43% | 1,372 | 23.57% | 3,078 | 52.86% | 5,822 |
Clarendon | 1,134 | 43.97% | 1,445 | 56.03% | -311 | -12.06% | 2,579 |
Colleton | 1,962 | 43.77% | 2,521 | 56.23% | -559 | -12.46% | 4,483 |
Darlington | 4,668 | 57.19% | 3,494 | 42.81% | 1,174 | 14.38% | 8,162 |
Dillon | 2,652 | 64.83% | 1,439 | 35.17% | 1,213 | 29.66% | 4,091 |
Dorchester | 2,357 | 40.07% | 3,525 | 59.93% | -1,168 | -19.86% | 5,882 |
Edgefield | 846 | 36.88% | 1,448 | 63.12% | -602 | -26.24% | 2,294 |
Fairfield | 1,633 | 51.32% | 1,549 | 48.68% | 84 | 2.64% | 3,182 |
Florence | 6,090 | 51.15% | 5,815 | 48.85% | 275 | 2.30% | 11,905 [lower-alpha 1] |
Georgetown | 2,811 | 51.88% | 2,607 | 48.12% | 204 | 3.76% | 5,418 |
Greenville | 13,976 | 38.15% | 22,657 | 61.85% | -8,681 | -23.70% | 36,633 |
Greenwood | 5,283 | 64.03% | 2,968 | 35.97% | 2,315 | 28.06% | 8,251 |
Hampton | 790 | 37.41% | 1,322 | 62.59% | -532 | -25.18% | 2,112 |
Horry | 6,006 | 61.45% | 3,768 | 38.55% | 2,238 | 22.90% | 9,774 |
Jasper | 721 | 48.07% | 779 | 51.93% | -58 | -3.86% | 1,500 |
Kershaw | 3,178 | 47.84% | 3,465 | 52.16% | -287 | -4.32% | 6,643 |
Lancaster | 5,561 | 65.66% | 2,909 | 34.34% | 2,652 | 31.32% | 8,470 |
Laurens | 4,547 | 57.95% | 3,299 | 42.05% | 1,248 | 15.90% | 7,846 |
Lee | 1,487 | 53.41% | 1,297 | 46.59% | 190 | 6.82% | 2,784 |
Lexington | 4,159 | 38.98% | 6,511 | 61.02% | -2,352 | -22.04% | 10,670 |
McCormick | 680 | 66.21% | 347 | 33.79% | 333 | 32.42% | 1,027 |
Marion | 2,397 | 59.29% | 1,646 | 40.71% | 751 | 18.58% | 4,043 |
Marlboro | 2,586 | 66.70% | 1,291 | 33.30% | 1,295 | 33.40% | 3,877 |
Newberry | 3,143 | 52.52% | 2,841 | 47.48% | 302 | 5.04% | 5,984 |
Oconee | 4,328 | 69.65% | 1,886 | 30.35% | 2,442 | 39.30% | 6,214 |
Orangeburg | 3,890 | 42.64% | 5,233 | 57.36% | -1,343 | -14.72% | 9,123 |
Pickens | 2,546 | 37.74% | 4,201 | 62.26% | -1,655 | -24.52% | 6,747 |
Richland | 11,694 | 36.06% | 20,736 | 63.94% | -9,042 | -27.88% | 32,430 |
Saluda | 1,353 | 51.62% | 1,268 | 48.38% | 85 | 3.24% | 2,621 |
Spartanburg | 20,134 | 64.79% | 10,940 | 35.21% | 9,194 | 29.58% | 31,074 |
Sumter | 2,616 | 36.09% | 4,633 | 63.91% | -2,017 | -27.82% | 7,249 |
Union | 5,229 | 72.53% | 1,980 | 27.47% | 3,249 | 45.06% | 7,209 |
Williamsburg | 1,513 | 39.43% | 2,324 | 60.57% | -811 | -21.14% | 3,837 |
York | 8,707 | 61.23% | 5,512 | 38.77% | 3,195 | 22.46% | 14,219 |
Totals | 198,129 | 51.24% | 188,558 | 48.76% | 9,571 | 2.48% | 386,688 |
The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During this period, the Democratic Party controlled southern state legislatures and most local, state and federal officeholders in the South were Democrats. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, Southern Democrats disenfranchised nearly all blacks in all the former Confederate states. This resulted in a one-party system, in which a candidate's victory in Democratic primary elections was tantamount to election to the office itself. White primaries were another means that the Democrats used to consolidate their political power, excluding blacks from voting.
The 1964 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 3, 1964, as part of the 1964 United States presidential election, which was held on that day throughout all 50 states and The District of Columbia. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1968 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 5, 1968, and was part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Whereas in the Deep South, Black Belt whites had deserted the national Democratic Party in 1948, in North Carolina, where they had historically been an economically liberalizing influence on the state Democratic Party, the white landowners of the Black Belt had stayed exceedingly loyal to the party until after the Voting Rights Act. This allowed North Carolina to be, along with Arkansas, the only state to vote for Democrats in all four presidential elections between 1952 and 1964. Indeed, the state had not voted Republican since anti-Catholic fervor lead it to support Herbert Hoover over Al Smith in 1928; and other than that the state had not voted Republican once in the century since the Reconstruction era election of 1872. Nonetheless, in 1964 Republican Barry Goldwater may have won a small majority of white voters, although he was beaten by virtually universal support for incumbent President Lyndon Johnson by a black vote estimated at 175 thousand.
The 1968 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose 8 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1968 United States presidential election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 1968. Mississippi voters chose seven electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice-President. During the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement dictated Mississippi's politics, with effectively the entire white population vehemently opposed to federal policies of racial desegregation and black voting rights. In 1960, the state had been narrowly captured by a slate of unpledged Democratic electors, but in 1964 universal white opposition to the Civil Rights Act and negligible black voter registration meant that white Mississippians turned almost unanimously to Republican Barry Goldwater. Goldwater's support for "constitutional government and local self-rule" meant that the absence from the ballot of "states' rights" parties or unpledged electors was unimportant. The Arizona Senator was one of only six Republicans to vote against the Civil Rights Act, and so the small electorate of Mississippi supported him almost unanimously.
The 1964 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 3, 1964, as part of the 1964 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose 8 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1960 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 11 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1960 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. North Carolina voters chose 14 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1956 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1944 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. State voters chose 8 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1952 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 1952, as part of the 1952 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose 8 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1908 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 3, 1908, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1904 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 8, 1904, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1900 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 6, 1900, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1896 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 3, 1896, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1892 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 8, 1892, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1888 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 6, 1888, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1884 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 4, 1884, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose twelve representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1880 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 2, 1880, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.