2004 United States presidential election in South Carolina

The 2004 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 2, 2004, as part of the 2004 United States presidential election which took place throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose 8 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Main article: 2004 United States presidential election
2004 United States presidential election in South Carolina
November 2, 2004
 
Nominee George W. Bush John Kerry
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Texas Massachusetts
Running mate Dick Cheney John Edwards
Electoral vote 8 0
Popular vote 937,974 661,699
Percentage 57.98% 40.90%
County Results
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

 Elected President

George W. Bush
Republican

South Carolina was won by incumbent President George W. Bush by a 17.08% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 12 news organizations considered this a state Bush would win, or otherwise considered it as a safe red state. No Democrat had won this state since 1976. On election day, Bush won a majority of the counties and congressional districts in the state. The results were very similar to the state's results in 2000, although Democratic Senator John Edwards of the bordering state of North Carolina was chosen as the vice presidential nominee. Bush won the largest county Greenville County by a margin of 33.23%.

Primaries

For both parties in 2004, South Carolina's was the first primary in a Southern state and the first primary in a state in which African Americans make up a sizable percentage of the electorate.

South Carolina Democratic primary, 2004
February 3, 2004 (2004-02-03)
 
Nominee John Edwards John Kerry Al Sharpton
Home state North Carolina Massachusetts New York
Popular vote 131,174 88,508 28,201
Percentage 44.86% 30.27% 9.65%
Election results by county. Red denotes counties won by Edwards, and Blue denotes those won by Kerry.

The Democratic primary was held on February 3, with 45 delegates at stake.[1] It was held on the same day as six other primaries and caucuses.

South Carolina's 45 delegates to the 2004 Democratic National Convention were awarded proportionally based on the results of the primary. The state also sent ten superdelegates.

Candidates

Withdrawn

Results
Key:Withdrew
prior to contest
South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, 2004[1]
Candidate Votes Percentage National delegates[1]
John Edwards 131,174 44.86% 28
John Kerry 88,508 30.27% 17
Al Sharpton 28,201 9.65% 0
Wesley Clark 21,011 7.19% 0
Howard Dean 13,815 4.72% 0
Joe Lieberman 7,147 2.44% 0
Dennis Kucinich 1,319 0.45% 0
Dick Gephardt 631 0.22% 0
Carol Moseley-Braun 577 0.20% 0
Totals 292,383 100.00% 45

Campaign

Predictions
Elections in South Carolina
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State offices
General elections
Gubernatorial elections
State Senate elections
State House elections
Ballot measures

There were 12 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day.[2]

  1. D.C. Political Report: Solid Republican
  2. Associated Press: Solid Bush
  3. CNN: Bush
  4. Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
  5. Newsweek: Solid Bush
  6. New York Times: Solid Bush
  7. Rasmussen Reports: Bush
  8. Research 2000: Solid Bush
  9. Washington Post: Bush
  10. Washington Times: Solid Bush
  11. Zogby International: Bush
  12. Washington Dispatch: Bush

Polling

Bush won every pre-election poll, each with a double-digit margin (except for one) and with at least 49% of the vote. The final 3 poll average showed Bush leading 55% to 41%.[3]

Fundraising

Bush raised $3,113,641.[4] Kerry raised $533,966.[5]

Advertising and visits

Neither campaign advertised or visited this state during the fall election.[6][7]

Analysis

South Carolina, historically part of the Solid South, has become a Republican stronghold in the past few presidential elections. Since Barry Goldwater carried the state in 1964, the only Democratic presidential nominee to win it was Jimmy Carter of neighboring Georgia in 1976. Since then, the Palmetto State has been a safe bet for the Republicans. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Charleston County voted for the Republican candidate.

Results
United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2004[8]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican George W. Bush 937,974 57.98% 8
Democratic John Kerry 661,699 40.90% 0
Independent Ralph Nader 5,520 0.34% 0
Constitution Michael Peroutka 5,317 0.33% 0
Libertarian Michael Badnarik 3,608 0.22% 0
United Citizens Walt Brown 2,124 0.13% 0
Green David Cobb 1,488 0.09% 0
Totals 1,617,730 100.00% 8
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 51.8%

Results breakdown

By county
County Bush# Bush% Kerry# Kerry% Others# Others% Total#
Abbeville5,43554.77%4,38944.23%1001.01%9,924
Aiken38,91265.72%19,68733.25%6131.04%59,212
Allendale98427.42%2,56371.43%411.14%3,588
Anderson43,31366.99%20,67031.97%6701.04%64,653
Bamberg2,13535.41%3,83763.64%570.95%6,029
Barnwell4,60253.03%3,97945.85%971.12%8,678
Beaufort28,01860.58%17,88038.66%3480.75%46,246
Berkeley29,16560.64%18,28938.03%6411.33%48,095
Calhoun3,44749.85%3,39049.02%781.13%6,915
Charleston61,78751.25%56,63646.98%2,1291.77%120,552
Cherokee12,06464.63%6,44334.52%1580.85%18,665
Chester5,20549.43%5,20049.38%1261.20%10,531
Chesterfield7,17651.68%6,64247.84%670.48%13,885
Clarendon6,03545.94%7,05053.67%510.39%13,136
Colleton7,24251.52%6,67247.46%1441.02%14,058
Darlington13,40652.73%11,81146.45%2090.82%25,426
Dillon4,29346.53%4,83152.36%1021.11%9,226
Dorchester26,00662.94%14,73335.66%5781.40%41,317
Edgefield5,61157.57%4,05141.57%840.86%9,746
Fairfield3,17336.34%5,42362.11%1351.55%8,731
Florence27,48855.91%21,26743.25%4120.84%49,167
Georgetown12,42053.40%10,45644.96%3821.64%23,258
Greenville109,29266.02%54,28632.79%1,9611.18%165,539
Greenwood14,13660.89%8,85938.16%2210.95%23,216
Hampton2,79840.09%4,09658.69%851.22%6,979
Horry50,38262.03%29,48936.31%1,3461.66%81,217
Jasper2,92942.89%3,82856.06%721.05%6,829
Kershaw14,16061.53%8,51537.00%3401.48%23,015
Lancaster11,88361.96%7,04336.72%2531.32%19,179
Laurens14,36760.80%9,10938.55%1540.65%23,630
Lee2,61136.16%4,57763.39%320.44%7,220
Lexington66,99171.86%25,33427.18%8990.96%93,224
Marion5,58941.38%7,76757.50%1511.12%13,507
Marlboro3,42339.95%4,98458.17%1611.88%8,568
McCormick2,44347.82%2,64351.73%230.45%5,109
Newberry7,25761.54%4,27336.23%2632.23%11,793
Oconee18,71568.39%8,32630.43%3231.18%27,364
Orangeburg12,67633.80%24,65565.74%1710.46%37,502
Pickens29,70673.46%10,27225.40%4611.14%40,439
Richland47,39041.71%65,09857.30%1,1300.99%113,618
Saluda3,49661.41%2,18338.35%140.25%5,693
Spartanburg61,89264.10%33,54534.74%1,1211.16%96,558
Sumter17,90548.76%18,58250.60%2360.64%36,723
Union6,59256.18%5,03642.92%1060.90%11,734
Williamsburg4,79334.45%9,03964.98%790.57%13,911
York45,18064.45%24,20134.52%7201.03%70,101

By congressional district

Bush won 5 of 6 congressional districts including a district won by a Democratic representative

District Bush Kerry Representative
1st 61% 39% Henry E. Brown Jr.
2nd 60% 39% Joe Wilson
3rd 66% 34% Gresham Barrett
4th 65% 34% Jim DeMint
Bob Inglis
5th 57% 42% John Spratt
6th 39% 61% Jim Clyburn

Electors
Main article: List of 2004 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of South Carolina cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. South Carolina is allocated 8 electors because it has 6 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 8 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 8 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 13, 2004, to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.

The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 8 were pledged for Bush/Cheney.

  1. Katon Dawson
  2. Buddy Witherspoon
  3. Wayland Moody
  4. Thomas McLean
  5. Brenda Bedenbaugh
  6. Edwin Foulke
  7. Robert Reagan
  8. Drew McKissick

References
  1. "2004 Presidential Democratic Primary Election Results - South Carolina". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  2. http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/members/2004/Pred2.htm#NW%5B%5D
  3. http://uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/GENERAL/CAMPAIGN/2004/polls.php?fips=45
  4. http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/campaigns/george_w_bush.asp?cycle=04
  5. http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/campaigns/john_f_kerry.asp?cycle=04
  6. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/showdown/OH/
  7. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/campaign.ads/
  8. "Official General Election Results for US president (2004)" (PDF). p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
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