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 County Results
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| Elections in South Carolina |
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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 [2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Between 1900 and 1948, no Republican presidential candidate ever obtained more than seven percent of the total presidential vote [3] – a vote which in 1924 reached as low as 6.6 percent of the total voting-age population. [4] South Carolina was a one-party state dominated by the Democrats due to the disfranchisement of black voters. [5]
Following Harry S. Truman’s To Secure These Rights in 1947, the following year South Carolina's Governor Strom Thurmond, led almost all of the state Democratic machinery into the States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats). As the Dixiecrat presidential candidate, Thurmond 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]
Roger Milliken invited Barry Goldwater to speak in South Carolina in 1959, and it was televised in the entire state. Milliken later financially supported Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. [8] 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 join forces therein by the time of the next presidential election. [9]
U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond left the Democratic Party in September, to join the Republicans. Goldwater gave a televised speech in Columbia, South Carolina, that featured segregationist politicians on-stage with him, including Thurmond, Iris Faircloth Blitch, James F. Byrnes, James H. Gray Sr., Albert Watson, and John Bell Williams, in which he criticized the Civil Rights Act. [10]
The Democratic Party, for its part, had struggled bitterly over whether to select electors pledged to incumbent President Lyndon Johnson due to his support for civil rights and desegregation; however, like Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, South Carolina chose Democratic electors pledged to LBJ. [11] President Johnson did not campaign in the state, being hopeful that a black registration increased by more than Kennedy's 1960 margin [12] and support from economically liberal Senator Olin Johnston would help him win without campaigning. [13]
Early polls in the Palmetto State gave a substantial lead to Goldwater, but by the end of October, the state was viewed as similarly close to the 1952 and 1960 races where the Democrats won by under ten thousand votes. [14] [15]
Goldwater received 70% of the white vote. [16]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Barry Goldwater | 309,048 | 58.89% | |
| Democratic | Lyndon B. Johnson (inc.) | 215,700 | 41.10% | |
| Write-in | — | 8 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 524,756 | 100% | ||
| County | Barry Morris Goldwater Republican | Lyndon Baines Johnson Democratic | Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Abbeville | 1,448 | 35.00% | 2,689 | 65.00% | -1,241 | -30.00% | 4,137 |
| Aiken | 17,467 | 69.62% | 7,622 | 30.38% | 9,845 | 39.24% | 25,089 |
| Allendale | 1,740 | 69.27% | 772 | 30.73% | 968 | 38.54% | 2,512 |
| Anderson | 8,398 | 41.85% | 11,670 | 58.15% | -3,272 | -16.30% | 20,068 |
| Bamberg | 2,366 | 62.51% | 1,419 | 37.49% | 947 | 25.02% | 3,785 |
| Barnwell | 3,670 | 72.64% | 1,382 | 27.36% | 2,288 | 45.28% | 5,052 |
| Beaufort | 3,432 | 55.54% | 2,747 | 44.46% | 685 | 11.08% | 6,179 |
| Berkeley | 6,100 | 63.30% | 3,537 | 36.70% | 2,563 | 26.60% | 9,637 |
| Calhoun | 1,591 | 72.22% | 612 | 27.78% | 979 | 44.44% | 2,203 |
| Charleston | 32,509 | 69.06% | 14,564 | 30.94% | 17,945 | 38.12% | 47,073 |
| Cherokee | 3,627 | 46.00% | 4,258 | 54.00% | -631 | -8.00% | 7,885 |
| Chester | 2,915 | 42.89% | 3,882 | 57.11% | -967 | -14.22% | 6,797 |
| Chesterfield | 2,449 | 34.58% | 4,634 | 65.42% | -2,185 | -30.84% | 7,083 |
| Clarendon | 2,960 | 78.06% | 832 | 21.94% | 2,128 | 56.12% | 3,792 |
| Colleton | 4,637 | 69.33% | 2,051 | 30.67% | 2,586 | 38.66% | 6,688 |
| Darlington | 6,717 | 57.28% | 5,010 | 42.72% | 1,707 | 14.56% | 11,727 |
| Dillon | 2,742 | 49.72% | 2,773 | 50.28% | -31 | -0.56% | 5,515 |
| Dorchester | 5,109 | 76.11% | 1,604 | 23.89% | 3,505 | 52.22% | 6,713 |
| Edgefield | 2,489 | 75.13% | 824 | 24.87% | 1,665 | 50.26% | 3,313 |
| Fairfield | 1,997 | 43.18% | 2,628 | 56.82% | -631 | -13.64% | 4,625 |
| Florence | 10,346 | 59.11% | 7,157 | 40.89% | 3,189 | 18.22% | 17,503 |
| Georgetown | 4,705 | 57.89% | 3,423 | 42.11% | 1,282 | 15.78% | 8,128 |
| Greenville | 29,358 | 62.96% | 17,275 | 37.04% | 12,083 | 25.92% | 46,633 |
| Greenwood | 5,653 | 50.78% | 5,479 | 49.22% | 174 | 1.56% | 11,132 |
| Hampton | 2,259 | 61.09% | 1,439 | 38.91% | 820 | 22.18% | 3,698 |
| Horry | 8,293 | 60.37% | 5,444 | 39.63% | 2,849 | 20.74% | 13,737 |
| Jasper | 1,593 | 61.39% | 1,002 | 38.61% | 591 | 22.78% | 2,595 |
| Kershaw | 5,617 | 63.94% | 3,168 | 36.06% | 2,449 | 27.88% | 8,785 |
| Lancaster | 4,742 | 48.83% | 4,970 | 51.17% | -228 | -2.34% | 9,712 |
| Laurens | 5,081 | 53.79% | 4,365 | 46.21% | 716 | 7.58% | 9,446 |
| Lee | 2,489 | 68.29% | 1,156 | 31.71% | 1,333 | 36.58% | 3,645 |
| Lexington | 12,041 | 71.47% | 4,807 | 28.53% | 7,234 | 42.94% | 16,848 |
| Marion | 3,197 | 60.98% | 2,046 | 39.02% | 1,151 | 21.96% | 5,243 |
| Marlboro | 1,864 | 43.49% | 2,422 | 56.51% | -558 | -13.02% | 4,286 |
| McCormick | 939 | 65.34% | 498 | 34.66% | 441 | 30.68% | 1,437 |
| Newberry | 5,571 | 63.35% | 3,222 | 36.64% | 2,349 | 26.71% | 8,794 [lower-alpha 1] |
| Oconee | 2,712 | 32.79% | 5,560 | 67.21% | -2,848 | -34.42% | 8,272 |
| Orangeburg | 10,456 | 65.09% | 5,607 | 34.91% | 4,849 | 30.18% | 16,063 |
| Pickens | 5,882 | 62.63% | 3,506 | 37.33% | 2,376 | 25.30% | 9,391 [lower-alpha 2] |
| Richland | 27,306 | 60.35% | 17,939 | 39.65% | 9,367 | 20.70% | 45,245 |
| Saluda | 2,524 | 64.17% | 1,409 | 35.83% | 1,115 | 28.34% | 3,933 |
| Spartanburg | 18,411 | 47.89% | 20,034 | 52.11% | -1,623 | -4.22% | 38,445 |
| Sumter | 7,729 | 67.19% | 3,775 | 32.81% | 3,954 | 34.38% | 11,504 |
| Union | 3,815 | 49.50% | 3,892 | 50.50% | -77 | -1.00% | 7,707 |
| Williamsburg | 4,810 | 68.15% | 2,248 | 31.85% | 2,562 | 36.30% | 7,058 |
| York | 7,292 | 46.62% | 8,346 | 53.36% | -1,054 | -6.74% | 15,642 [lower-alpha 3] |
| Totals | 309,048 | 58.89% | 215,699 | 41.10% | 93,349 | 17.79% | 524,755 |
The swing away from Johnson was general except in a few areas of substantial black voter registration increases, and Goldwater's lowcountry dominance easily offset Johnson's narrow edge amongst the poor whites of the upcountry who, despite their hostility to Johnson's civil rights measures, saw Goldwater as a Dixiecrat-style conservative committed to privatization of services poor whites viewed essential. [17] After narrow losses in 1952 and 1960, Goldwater became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry South Carolina since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876.
Goldwater was the first Republican to ever carry Florence, Greenwood, Lee, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. [18] He was the first national GOP nominee to carry Horry, Marion, and Laurens Counties since Ulysses S. Grant in 1872; Darlington County since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876; and Berkeley County since Benjamin Harrison in 1892. [18]
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition to the regular Democratic Party. After President Harry S. Truman, the leader of the Democratic Party, ordered integration of the military in 1948 and other actions to address civil rights of African Americans, including the first presidential proposal for comprehensive civil and voting rights, many Southern white politicians who objected to this course organized themselves as a breakaway faction. They wished to protect the ability of states to maintain racial segregation. Its members were referred to as "Dixiecrats", a portmanteau of "Dixie", referring to the Southern United States, and "Democrat".
The Solid South or the Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During this period, the Democratic Party overwhelmingly controlled southern state legislatures, and most local, state and federal officeholders in the South were Democrats. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Southern Democrats disenfranchised blacks in all Southern states, along with a few non-Southern states doing the same as well. This resulted essentially 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 in primaries.
The politics of the Southern United States generally refers to the political landscape of the Southern United States. The institution of slavery had a profound impact on the politics of the Southern United States, causing the American Civil War and continued subjugation of African-Americans from the Reconstruction era to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Scholars have linked slavery to contemporary political attitudes, including racial resentment. From the Reconstruction era to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, pockets of the Southern United States were characterized as being "authoritarian enclaves".
The Mississippi Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Mississippi. The party headquarters is located in Jackson, Mississippi.
The 1964 United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 3, 1964. Alabama voters chose ten representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice-President. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate, as in the other states.
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 1948 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 2, 1948, 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 1948 United States presidential election in Texas was held on November 2, 1948. Texas voters chose 23 electors to represent the state in the Electoral College, which chose the president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 2, 1948, in Mississippi as part of the wider United States presidential election of 1948.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 2, 1948. Alabama voters sent eleven electors to the Electoral College who voted for President and Vice-President. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate.
The 1964 presidential election in Arkansas was held on November 3, 1964 as part of the 1964 United States presidential election. State voters chose six electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson won the state of Arkansas with 56.06% of the popular vote, which was a substantial increase upon John F. Kennedy's 50.19% from the preceding election, although the Republican vote remained virtually unchanged at 43.41%. Johnson won all but ten of Arkansas' seventy-five counties, and all four congressional districts. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Arkansas voted for a different candidate than neighboring Louisiana. Furthermore, with Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina voting for Goldwater, Arkansas became the last Southern state to have never voted for a Republican candidate since the end of Reconstruction.
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.
The 1956 United States presidential election in Mississippi was held on November 6, 1956. Mississippi voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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 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 Alabama took place on November 4, 1952, as part of the 1952 United States presidential election. Alabama voters chose eleven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate, as in the other states.
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 1948 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. This would be the last presidential election where Arkansas had nine electoral votes: the Great Migration would see the state lose three congressional districts in the next decade-and-a-half.
