1996 United States presidential election in South Carolina
1996 United States presidential election in South Carolina Turnout 42% (VAP)[ 1]
County Results
Dole
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
Clinton
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
The 1996 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 7, 1996, as part of the 1996 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 Senator Bob Dole (R -KS ), with Dole winning 49.89% to 43.85% over President Bill Clinton (D ) by a margin of 6.04%.[ 2] Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Reform -TX ) finished in third, with 5.6% of the popular vote.
This marked the first time that a Democratic nominee was elected twice without winning South Carolina either time. Once a Democratic bastion with a tiny all-white electorate, the state has moved towards the Republicans after their party was taken over by conservatives and Southerners in the 1980s and 1990s. No Democrat has won the state since 1976 , and it is now considered one of the safest red states .
As of the 2020 presidential election [update] , this is the last election in which the following counties voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Chesterfield , Georgetown , Abbeville , Lancaster , and Union .[ 3]
Results
Results by county
County
Bob Dole Republican
Bill Clinton Democratic
Ross Perot Reform
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Abbeville
3,054
43.01%
3,493
49.20%
537
7.56%
16
0.23%
-439
-6.19%
7,100
Aiken
26,539
61.61%
14,314
33.23%
1,984
4.61%
237
0.55%
12,225
28.38%
43,074
Allendale
941
28.75%
2,222
67.89%
87
2.66%
23
0.70%
-1,281
-39.14%
3,273
Anderson
24,137
52.74%
17,460
38.15%
3,896
8.51%
276
0.60%
6,677
14.59%
45,769
Bamberg
1,715
32.29%
3,380
63.63%
192
3.61%
25
0.47%
-1,665
-31.34%
5,312
Barnwell
3,808
48.98%
3,620
46.57%
310
3.99%
36
0.46%
188
2.41%
7,774
Beaufort
17,575
53.00%
13,532
40.81%
1,838
5.54%
217
0.65%
4,043
12.19%
33,162
Berkeley
17,691
53.22%
13,358
40.18%
1,922
5.78%
271
0.82%
4,333
13.04%
33,242
Calhoun
2,520
45.02%
2,716
48.52%
316
5.64%
46
0.82%
-196
-3.50%
5,598
Charleston
48,675
50.34%
43,571
45.06%
3,514
3.63%
928
0.96%
5,104
5.28%
96,688
Cherokee
6,689
49.04%
5,821
42.68%
1,064
7.80%
65
0.48%
868
6.36%
13,639
Chester
3,157
34.80%
5,108
56.31%
758
8.36%
49
0.54%
-1,951
-21.51%
9,072
Chesterfield
4,028
38.11%
5,734
54.25%
768
7.27%
39
0.37%
-1,706
-16.14%
10,569
Clarendon
3,841
37.66%
5,930
58.15%
395
3.87%
32
0.31%
-2,089
-20.49%
10,198
Colleton
4,462
42.90%
5,329
51.24%
550
5.29%
60
0.58%
-867
-8.34%
10,401
Darlington
8,220
45.18%
8,943
49.15%
898
4.94%
133
0.73%
-723
-3.97%
18,194
Dillon
2,774
39.29%
3,992
56.54%
275
3.89%
20
0.28%
-1,218
-17.25%
7,061
Dorchester
15,283
56.63%
9,931
36.80%
1,591
5.90%
182
0.67%
5,352
19.83%
26,987
Edgefield
3,640
48.62%
3,576
47.77%
244
3.26%
26
0.35%
64
0.85%
7,486
Fairfield
2,414
32.29%
4,719
63.12%
284
3.80%
59
0.79%
-2,305
-30.83%
7,476
Florence
18,490
51.26%
15,804
43.81%
1,563
4.33%
213
0.59%
2,686
7.45%
36,070
Georgetown
7,023
42.95%
8,298
50.75%
950
5.81%
81
0.50%
-1,275
-7.80%
16,352
Greenville
71,210
59.13%
41,605
34.55%
6,761
5.61%
844
0.70%
29,605
24.58%
120,420
Greenwood
8,865
48.81%
8,193
45.11%
985
5.42%
120
0.66%
672
3.70%
18,163
Hampton
2,111
28.85%
4,828
65.98%
344
4.70%
34
0.46%
-2,717
-37.13%
7,317
Horry
26,159
47.86%
23,722
43.40%
4,446
8.13%
326
0.60%
2,437
4.46%
54,653
Jasper
2,024
31.29%
4,053
62.66%
348
5.38%
43
0.66%
-2,029
-31.37%
6,468
Kershaw
8,513
52.05%
6,764
41.36%
996
6.09%
81
0.50%
1,749
10.69%
16,354
Lancaster
7,544
42.01%
8,752
48.74%
1,598
8.90%
63
0.35%
-1,208
-6.73%
17,957
Laurens
8,057
48.69%
7,055
42.64%
1,341
8.10%
94
0.57%
1,002
6.05%
16,547
Lee
1,973
33.40%
3,588
60.73%
320
5.42%
27
0.46%
-1,615
-27.33%
5,908
Lexington
39,658
63.23%
18,907
30.15%
3,703
5.90%
452
0.72%
20,751
33.08%
62,720
McCormick
1,104
35.35%
1,858
59.49%
148
4.74%
13
0.42%
-754
-24.14%
3,123
Marion
3,595
34.40%
6,359
60.85%
356
3.41%
141
1.35%
-2,764
-26.45%
10,451
Marlboro
2,148
26.76%
5,348
66.63%
494
6.15%
37
0.46%
-3,200
-39.87%
8,027
Newberry
5,670
50.48%
4,804
42.77%
682
6.07%
76
0.68%
866
7.71%
11,232
Oconee
10,503
52.64%
7,398
37.08%
1,961
9.83%
90
0.45%
3,105
15.56%
19,952
Orangeburg
10,494
34.62%
18,610
61.39%
1,112
3.67%
99
0.33%
-8,116
-26.77%
30,315
Pickens
17,151
61.47%
8,369
30.00%
2,211
7.92%
169
0.61%
8,782
31.47%
27,900
Richland
39,092
41.05%
52,222
54.84%
3,158
3.32%
758
0.80%
-13,130
-13.79%
95,230
Saluda
2,825
49.56%
2,486
43.61%
371
6.51%
18
0.32%
339
5.95%
5,700
Spartanburg
35,972
53.53%
26,814
39.90%
3,885
5.78%
525
0.78%
9,158
13.63%
67,196
Sumter
12,080
47.57%
12,198
48.04%
933
3.67%
181
0.71%
-118
-0.47%
25,392
Union
3,855
38.34%
5,407
53.77%
749
7.45%
44
0.44%
-1,552
-15.43%
10,055
Williamsburg
3,957
34.84%
6,987
61.52%
375
3.30%
38
0.33%
-3,030
-26.68%
11,357
York
22,222
52.26%
16,873
39.68%
3,173
7.46%
255
0.60%
5,349
12.58%
42,523
Totals
573,458
49.89%
504,051
43.85%
64,386
5.60%
7,562
0.66%
69,407
6.04%
1,149,457
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Notes
References