South Carolina primary

The South Carolina presidential primary has become one of several key early state nominating contests in the process of choosing nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties for the following election for President of the United States. It has historically been more important for the Republican Party. From its inception in 1980 through the election of 2008, the winner of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary has gone on to win the nomination.

As of 2008, the primary has cemented its place as the "First in the South" primary for both parties. The most recent Republican presidential primary was held on January 19, 2008, with the Democratic primary following on January 26, 2008. For the Democrats, the primary took on added significance because it was the first nominating contest in 2008 in which a large percentage (55 percent, according to an exit poll [ [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/index.html#SCDEM Election Center 2008: Primary Exit Polls - Elections & Politics news from CNN.com ] ] ) of primary voters were African Americans. [ [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080107/moser The Nation] ] Opening hours for the polls are 7 am to 7 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Republican Results

*1980: Ronald Reagan won with 55%, defeating runner-up John Connally.
*1984: Uncontested (Reagan was the incumbent president and was re-nominated).
*1988: George H. W. Bush won with 49%, defeating runner-up Bob Dole.
*1992: George H. W. Bush won with 67%, defeating runner-up Pat Buchanan.
*1996: Bob Dole won with 45%, defeating runner-up Pat Buchanan.
*2000: George W. Bush won with 53%, defeating runner-up John McCain.
*2004: Uncontested (Bush was the incumbent president and was re-nominated).
*2008: John McCain won with 33%, defeating runner-up Mike Huckabee.

Democratic Results

*1988: In 1988, South Carolina Democrats held a caucus rather than a primary. Jesse Jackson won, defeating Al Gore with approximately 55% of the vote. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEED7103DF937A25750C0A96E948260 Jackson's Triumph in South Carolina Illustrates Dramatic Change Since Vote in '84 - New York Times ] ]
*1992: Bill Clinton won with approximately 69% of the vote, defeating Paul Tsongas. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D6163DF93BA35750C0A964958260 New York Times] ]
*1996: Uncontested (Clinton was the incumbent president and was renominated).
*2000: Al Gore won with 92% of the vote, defeating Bill Bradley. [ [http://uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/PRIMARY/PE2000/primD2000SC.html 2000 Democratic Presidential Caucus Results - South Carolina ] ]
*2004: John Edwards won with 45% of the vote, defeating John Kerry. [ [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stateprim.php?fips=45&year=2004&elect=1 Primary Results by State - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections ] ]
*2008: Barack Obama won, defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards, with approximately 55% of the vote. [ [http://blog.washingtonpost.com/livecoverage/2008/01/democrats_face_off_in_south_ca.html Obama Wins in South Carolina With Swell of Black Support - Live Coverage ] ]

ee also

*South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008
*South Carolina Republican primary, 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.scfrw.org/presidential_primary_task_force.htm SC GOP Presidential Primary Task Force]
* [http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/scprim08.html 2008 SC Primary]