United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2008

United States presidential election in South Carolina, 2008

← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
Nominee John McCain Barack Obama Party Republican Democratic Home state Arizona Illinois Running mate Sarah Palin Joe Biden Electoral vote 8 0 Popular vote 1,034,896 862,449 Percentage 53.87% 44.90%
County Results   Obama—70-80%   Obama—60-70%   Obama—50-60%   Obama—<50%   McCain—<50%   McCain—50-60%   McCain—60-70%   McCain—70-80%
President before election George W. Bush Republican Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008

← 2004 January 26, 2008 (2008-01-26) 2012 →
Nominee Barack Obama Hillary Clinton John Edwards Party Democratic Democratic Democratic Home state Illinois New York North Carolina Popular vote 295,214 141,217 93,576 Percentage 55.44% 26.52% 17.57%
Election results by county. Light Blue denotes counties won by Obama, Dodger Blue denotes those won by Clinton, and Dark Blue denotes those won by Edwards.

South Carolina Republican primary, 2008

← 2000 January 19, 2008 (2008-01-19) 2012 →
Nominee John McCain Mike Huckabee Fred Thompson Party Republican Republican Republican Home state Arizona Arkansas Tennessee Popular vote 147,733 132,990 69,681 Percentage 33.15% 29.84% 15.63%
Election results by county. Red denotes counties won by McCain, and Pink denotes those won by Huckabee.

George W. Bush
Republican

Barack Obama
Democratic

The 2008 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 2008 throughout all 50 states and D.C., which was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 8 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.

South Carolina was won by Republican nominee John McCain by a 9.0% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. Despite the significant proportion of African Americans in the state, South Carolina still remains, like most other states throughout the South, a GOP stronghold at the state and federal levels. Republican John McCain kept South Carolina in the GOP column in 2008, clinching 53.87% of the vote.

For both parties in 2008, 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. For Democrats, it was also the last primary before 22 states hosted their primaries or caucuses on February 5, 2008 (Super Tuesday).

The 2008 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on January 26, 2008. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won the primary's popular vote by a 28.9% margin.