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.

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 Bush   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Kerry   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%

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

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

• General Wesley Clark of Arkansas
• Former Governor Howard Dean of Vermont
• Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
• Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
• Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio
• Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, 2000 Democratic Party vice-presidential candidate
• Reverend Al Sharpton of New York

Withdrawn

• Representative Dick Gephardt of Missouri, former House Minority Leader
• Former Senator and Ambassador Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois

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

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#
Abbeville	5,435	54.77%	4,389	44.23%	100	1.01%	9,924
Aiken	38,912	65.72%	19,687	33.25%	613	1.04%	59,212
Allendale	984	27.42%	2,563	71.43%	41	1.14%	3,588
Anderson	43,313	66.99%	20,670	31.97%	670	1.04%	64,653
Bamberg	2,135	35.41%	3,837	63.64%	57	0.95%	6,029
Barnwell	4,602	53.03%	3,979	45.85%	97	1.12%	8,678
Beaufort	28,018	60.58%	17,880	38.66%	348	0.75%	46,246
Berkeley	29,165	60.64%	18,289	38.03%	641	1.33%	48,095
Calhoun	3,447	49.85%	3,390	49.02%	78	1.13%	6,915
Charleston	61,787	51.25%	56,636	46.98%	2,129	1.77%	120,552
Cherokee	12,064	64.63%	6,443	34.52%	158	0.85%	18,665
Chester	5,205	49.43%	5,200	49.38%	126	1.20%	10,531
Chesterfield	7,176	51.68%	6,642	47.84%	67	0.48%	13,885
Clarendon	6,035	45.94%	7,050	53.67%	51	0.39%	13,136
Colleton	7,242	51.52%	6,672	47.46%	144	1.02%	14,058
Darlington	13,406	52.73%	11,811	46.45%	209	0.82%	25,426
Dillon	4,293	46.53%	4,831	52.36%	102	1.11%	9,226
Dorchester	26,006	62.94%	14,733	35.66%	578	1.40%	41,317
Edgefield	5,611	57.57%	4,051	41.57%	84	0.86%	9,746
Fairfield	3,173	36.34%	5,423	62.11%	135	1.55%	8,731
Florence	27,488	55.91%	21,267	43.25%	412	0.84%	49,167
Georgetown	12,420	53.40%	10,456	44.96%	382	1.64%	23,258
Greenville	109,292	66.02%	54,286	32.79%	1,961	1.18%	165,539
Greenwood	14,136	60.89%	8,859	38.16%	221	0.95%	23,216
Hampton	2,798	40.09%	4,096	58.69%	85	1.22%	6,979
Horry	50,382	62.03%	29,489	36.31%	1,346	1.66%	81,217
Jasper	2,929	42.89%	3,828	56.06%	72	1.05%	6,829
Kershaw	14,160	61.53%	8,515	37.00%	340	1.48%	23,015
Lancaster	11,883	61.96%	7,043	36.72%	253	1.32%	19,179
Laurens	14,367	60.80%	9,109	38.55%	154	0.65%	23,630
Lee	2,611	36.16%	4,577	63.39%	32	0.44%	7,220
Lexington	66,991	71.86%	25,334	27.18%	899	0.96%	93,224
Marion	5,589	41.38%	7,767	57.50%	151	1.12%	13,507
Marlboro	3,423	39.95%	4,984	58.17%	161	1.88%	8,568
McCormick	2,443	47.82%	2,643	51.73%	23	0.45%	5,109
Newberry	7,257	61.54%	4,273	36.23%	263	2.23%	11,793
Oconee	18,715	68.39%	8,326	30.43%	323	1.18%	27,364
Orangeburg	12,676	33.80%	24,655	65.74%	171	0.46%	37,502
Pickens	29,706	73.46%	10,272	25.40%	461	1.14%	40,439
Richland	47,390	41.71%	65,098	57.30%	1,130	0.99%	113,618
Saluda	3,496	61.41%	2,183	38.35%	14	0.25%	5,693
Spartanburg	61,892	64.10%	33,545	34.74%	1,121	1.16%	96,558
Sumter	17,905	48.76%	18,582	50.60%	236	0.64%	36,723
Union	6,592	56.18%	5,036	42.92%	106	0.90%	11,734
Williamsburg	4,793	34.45%	9,039	64.98%	79	0.57%	13,911
York	45,180	64.45%	24,201	34.52%	720	1.03%	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

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.