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2012 United States presidential election in South Carolina

Main article: 2012 United States presidential election

The 2012 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. South Carolina voters chose 9 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

2012 United States presidential election in South Carolina
← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
 
Nominee Mitt Romney Barack Obama
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Massachusetts Illinois
Running mate Paul Ryan Joe Biden
Electoral vote 9 0
Popular vote 1,071,645 865,941
Percentage 54.56% 44.09%
President before election

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Also on the ballot were Libertarian nominee, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and his running mate, jurist Jim Gray. The left-wing Green Party nominated activist and physician Jill Stein and her running mate, anti-poverty advocate Cheri Honkala. The conservative Constitution Party nominated former U.S. Representative from Virginia Virgil Goode for president, and former Chair of the Constitution Party Jim Clymer for vice president.

Romney defeated Obama in the state by 54.56% to 44.09%, a margin of 10.47%.[1] While the state is generally considered safe for the Republican Party, it remains somewhat competitive due to a high African-American population, the sixth-highest in the country.[2] The majority of the Democratic vote comes from the Black Belt, with areas such as Richland and Charleston counties, home to Columbia and Charleston respectively, providing high margins for the Democrats. However, this support is largely offset by suburban and rural white voters.[3] The state hasn't voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976.[4] Romney also improved on John McCain's 8.97% margin in 2008.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time where the counties of Barnwell, Calhoun, Chester, Colleton, Darlington, and McCormick voted for the Democratic candidate.

Primaries

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Democratic primary

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Incumbent President Barack Obama ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and easily won with more than 99% of the vote. The Democratic primary was held on January 28, 2012, one week after the Republican primary.

Republican primary

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South Carolina Republican presidential primary, 2012
 
← 2008 January 21, 2012 (2012-01-21) 2016 →
     
Candidate Newt Gingrich Mitt Romney
Home state Georgia Massachusetts
Delegate count 23 2
Popular vote 244,065 168,123
Percentage 40.42% 27.85%
     
Candidate Rick Santorum Ron Paul
Home state Pennsylvania Texas
Delegate count 0 0
Popular vote 102,475 78,360
Percentage 16.97% 12.98%
 
Main article: 2012 South Carolina Republican presidential primary

The Republican primary was held on January 21, 2012.

During the primary election campaign, the candidates ran on a platform of government reform in Washington. Domestic, foreign and economic policy emerged as the main themes in the election campaign following the onset of the 2008 economic crisis, as well as policies implemented by the Obama administration. This included the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, termed "Obamacare" by its opponents, as well as government spending as a whole.

The primary has become one of several key early state nominating contests in the process of choosing the nominee of the Republican Party for the election for President of the United States. It has historically been more important for the Republican Party than for the Democratic Party; from its inception in 1980, until the nomination of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in 2012, the winner of the Republican presidential primary had gone on to win the nomination.[5] As of 2012, the primary has cemented its place as the "First in the South" primary for both parties.[6] Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was declared the winner of the race as soon as polls closed, however, Mitt Romney went on to win the nomination.

Date

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The 2012 South Carolina Republican primary was tentatively scheduled to occur on February 28, 2012,[7] much later than the date in 2008, which almost immediately followed the beginning of the year in January 2008.[8] On September 29, 2011, the entire schedule of caucuses and primaries was disrupted, however, when it was announced that the Republican Party of Florida had decided to move up its primary to January 31, in an attempt to bring attention to its own primary contest, and attract the presidential candidates to visit the state.[9] Because of the move, the Republican National Committee decided to strip Florida of half of its delegates.[10] Also as a result, the South Carolina Republican Party, along with Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada then sought to move their primaries and caucuses back into early January.[10] All but Nevada, who agreed to follow Florida,[11] confirmed their caucus and primary dates to take place throughout January, with South Carolina deciding to hold their contest on January 21, 2012.[10] It is an open primary, meaning all registered voters can participate in the primary.[12]

Ballot access

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Nine candidates appeared on the presidential primary ballot.[13] South Carolina had only 25 delegates up for grabs because it moved its primary to January 21. Eleven delegates were awarded for the statewide winner, Newt Gingrich, and two additional delegates were awarded to the winner of each of the seven congressional districts. Six districts were won by Gingrich, and one by Romney, giving Gingrich twelve additional delegates and Romney two delegates.[14]

Polling

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Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the January 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries § South Carolina (January 21)

Results

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Main article: Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries

There were 2,804,231 registered voters, for a turnout of 21.60%.[15]

South Carolina Republican primary, 2012
Candidate Votes Percentage Estimated national delegates
Newt Gingrich 244,065 40.42% 23
Mitt Romney 168,123 27.85% 2
Rick Santorum 102,475 16.97% 0
Ron Paul 78,360 12.98% 0
Herman Cain 6,338 1.05% 0
Rick Perry 2,534 0.42% 0
Jon Huntsman 1,173 0.19% 0
Michele Bachmann 491 0.08% 0
Gary Johnson 211 0.03% 0
Totals 603,770 100.00% 25
Key: Withdrew
prior to contest

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Huffington Post[16] Safe R November 6, 2012
CNN[17] Safe R November 6, 2012
New York Times[18] Safe R November 6, 2012
Washington Post[19] Safe R November 6, 2012
RealClearPolitics[20] Solid R November 6, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[21] Solid R November 5, 2012
FiveThirtyEight[22] Solid R November 6, 2012

Results

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United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2012
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Mitt Romney Paul Ryan 1,071,645 54.56% 9
Democratic Barack Obama (incumbent) Joe Biden (incumbent) 865,941 44.09% 0
Libertarian Gary Johnson Jim Gray 16,321 0.83% 0
Green Jill Stein Cheri Honkala 5,446 0.28% 0
Constitution Virgil Goode Jim Clymer 4,765 0.22% 0
Totals 1,964,118 100.00% 9

By county

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County Mitt Romney
Republican 		Barack Obama
Democratic 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total
# % # % # % # %
Abbeville 5,981 56.05% 4,543 42.57% 147 1.38% 1,438 13.48% 10,671
Aiken 44,042 62.59% 25,322 35.99% 999 1.42% 18,720 26.60% 70,363
Allendale 838 20.13% 3,297 79.20% 28 0.67% -2,459 -59.07% 4,163
Anderson 48,709 67.45% 22,405 31.03% 1,098 1.52% 26,304 36.42% 72,212
Bamberg 2,194 31.88% 4,624 67.19% 64 0.93% -2,430 -35.31% 6,882
Barnwell 4,659 46.95% 5,188 52.28% 76 0.77% -529 -5.33% 9,923
Beaufort 42,687 58.24% 29,848 40.72% 762 1.04% 12,839 17.52% 73,297
Berkeley 38,475 56.42% 28,542 41.85% 1,178 1.73% 9,933 14.57% 68,195
Calhoun 3,707 47.32% 4,045 51.63% 82 1.05% -338 -4.31% 7,834
Charleston 77,629 48.01% 81,487 50.39% 2,591 1.60% -3,858 -2.38% 161,707
Cherokee 13,314 64.09% 7,231 34.81% 228 1.10% 6,083 29.28% 20,773
Chester 6,367 44.19% 7,891 54.77% 149 1.04% -1,524 -10.58% 14,407
Chesterfield 8,490 51.16% 7,958 47.96% 146 0.88% 532 3.20% 16,594
Clarendon 7,071 43.40% 9,091 55.80% 130 0.80% -2,020 -12.40% 16,292
Colleton 8,443 49.41% 8,475 49.60% 168 0.99% -32 -0.19% 17,086
Darlington 14,434 47.87% 15,457 51.27% 259 0.86% -1,023 -3.40% 30,150
Dillon 5,427 41.63% 7,523 57.71% 85 0.66% -2,096 -16.08% 13,035
Dorchester 32,531 57.22% 23,445 41.24% 879 1.54% 9,086 15.98% 56,855
Edgefield 6,512 56.21% 4,967 42.87% 107 0.92% 1,545 13.34% 11,586
Fairfield 3,999 33.62% 7,777 65.38% 119 1.00% -3,778 -31.76% 11,895
Florence 28,961 49.83% 28,614 49.23% 547 0.94% 347 0.60% 58,122
Georgetown 16,526 53.37% 14,163 45.74% 276 0.89% 2,363 7.63% 30,965
Greenville 121,685 62.99% 68,070 35.23% 3,434 1.78% 53,615 27.76% 193,189
Greenwood 16,348 57.02% 11,972 41.76% 352 1.22% 4,376 15.26% 28,672
Hampton 3,312 35.98% 5,834 63.37% 60 0.65% -2,522 -27.39% 9,206
Horry 72,127 64.17% 38,885 34.60% 1,381 1.23% 33,242 29.57% 112,393
Jasper 4,169 41.60% 5,757 57.45% 95 0.95% -1,588 -15.85% 10,021
Kershaw 16,324 58.41% 11,259 40.29% 363 1.30% 5,065 18.12% 27,946
Lancaster 19,333 58.33% 13,419 40.49% 392 1.18% 5,914 17.84% 33,144
Laurens 14,746 58.02% 10,318 40.60% 352 1.38% 4,428 17.42% 25,416
Lee 2,832 31.80% 5,977 67.10% 98 1.10% -3,145 -35.30% 8,907
Lexington 76,662 68.07% 34,148 30.32% 1,813 1.61% 42,514 37.75% 112,623
Marion 5,164 34.46% 9,688 64.65% 134 0.89% -4,524 -30.19% 14,986
Marlboro 3,676 37.31% 6,100 61.91% 77 0.78% -2,424 -24.60% 9,853
McCormick 2,467 47.81% 2,653 51.41% 40 0.78% -186 -3.60% 5,160
Newberry 9,260 56.63% 6,913 42.28% 178 1.09% 2,347 14.35% 16,351
Oconee 21,611 70.47% 8,550 27.88% 505 1.65% 13,061 42.59% 30,666
Orangeburg 12,022 27.93% 30,720 71.37% 299 0.70% -18,698 -43.44% 43,041
Pickens 33,474 73.49% 11,156 24.49% 919 2.02% 22,138 49.00% 45,549
Richland 53,105 33.37% 103,989 65.34% 2,060 1.29% -50,884 -31.97% 159,154
Saluda 5,135 59.96% 3,328 38.86% 101 1.18% 1,807 21.10% 8,564
Spartanburg 66,969 60.93% 41,461 37.72% 1,476 1.35% 25,508 23.21% 109,906
Sumter 19,274 40.74% 27,589 58.32% 446 0.94% -8,315 -17.58% 47,309
Union 6,584 52.50% 5,796 46.22% 161 1.28% 788 6.28% 12,541
Williamsburg 4,824 29.59% 11,335 69.52% 145 0.89% -6,511 -39.93% 16,304
York 59,546 59.42% 39,131 39.05% 1,533 1.53% 20,415 20.37% 100,210
Totals 1,071,645 54.56% 865,941 44.09% 26,532 1.35% 205,704 10.47% 1,964,118
 
County Flips:
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

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Romney won 6 of 7 congressional districts. [23]

District Romney Obama Representative
1st 58.25% 40.2% Tim Scott
2nd 59.14% 39.43% Joe Wilson
3rd 64.55% 33.95% Jeff Duncan
4th 62.17% 36.2% Trey Gowdy
5th 55.1% 43.62% Mick Mulvaney
6th 28.1% 70.9% Jim Clyburn
7th 54.55% 44.43% Tom Rice

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  2. ^ "Decennial Census by Decades". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Road to 270: South Carolina". 270toWin.com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "South Carolina Presidential Election Voting History". 270toWin.com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "GOP bellwether South Carolina shows a tangled race: Pg 1". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  6. ^ "First in the South". Fox News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  7. ^ Falcone, Michael (September 2, 2011). "South Carolina GOP Officials Hope To Strike Deal With Florida To 'Calm' 2012 Primary Waters". ABC News. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  8. ^ "South Carolina Primary Results". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  9. ^ Taylor, Steven (September 29, 2011). "Florida Moves its Primary". Outside the Beltway. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c Jacobs, Jennifer (October 25, 2011). "GOP chairman: Florida will be penalized, and 2012 race is now set". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  11. ^ Nir, David (October 24, 2011). "Nevada Republicans cave, move caucuses to Feb. 4". Daily Kos. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  12. ^ Richard E. Berg-Andersson. "South Carolina Republican". The Green Papers. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  13. ^ Whitmire, C. "2012 Republican Presidential Primary Candidates". South Carolina State Election Commission. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  14. ^ Kleefeld, Eric (January 4, 2012). "South Carolina GOP Chairman: 'Anyone Can Win' In Our Primary". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  15. ^ "South Carolina Primary". South Carolina State Election Commission. February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  16. ^ "Huffington Post Election Dashboard". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013.
  17. ^ "America's Choice 2012 Election Center: CNN Electoral Map". CNN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
  18. ^ "Election 2012 - The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012.
  19. ^ "2012 Presidential Election Results". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
  20. ^ "RealClearPolitics - 2012 Election Maps - Battle for White House". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
  21. ^ "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM".
  22. ^ "Nate Silver's political calculations predict 2012 election outcome".
  23. ^ "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
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