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 County results Congressional district results
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The1992 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 3, 1992, as part of the1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose 8 representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
South Carolina was won by incumbent PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush (R-Texas) with 48.02% of the popular vote overGovernorBill Clinton (D-Arkansas) with 39.88%. BusinessmanRoss Perot (I-Texas) finished in third, with 11.55% of the popular vote.[1] Clinton ultimately won the national vote, defeating both incumbent President Bush and Perot.[2]
This election was an example of South Carolina's transformation from one of the strongest Democratic states in the country to a reliably Republican one. South Carolina had voted for the Democratic nominee in every election from 1880 (the first election after Reconstruction) through 1944, always by wide margins and usually giving the Democrat over 90% of the vote.[3] After it voted forStrom Thurmond in1948, it returned to the Democratic fold to vote forAdlai Stevenson twice and forKennedy in1960, albeit narrowly.
With the exception ofJimmy Carter in the1976 election South Carolina had not supported theDemocratic presidential nominee since the1960 presidential election.[4]Republicans accounted for around 75% of registered voters in the 1980s. Republican GovernorCarroll A. Campbell Jr. won reelection in the1990 election.[5]
Tom Harkin withdrew after the South Carolina primary.[6]
At the time of the election, Clinton was only the fifth Democrat to win without carrying South Carolina, afterAndrew Jackson,Martin van Buren,Harry S. Truman, andLyndon B. Johnson. As of the2020 presidential election[update], this is the last election in whichEdgefield County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[7] This is the first election in which any South Carolina county cast more than one hundred thousand votes, namelyGreenville andRichland.
44.4% of the voting age population participated in the election, an increase from 38.9% in 1988, which was the second-lowest in the nation only ahead ofHawaii.[8] With 48.02% of the popular vote, South Carolina would prove to be Bush's second strongest state in the 1992 election afterMississippi.[9] South Carolina was the best state forHoward Phillips in terms of his percentage of the total vote.[10]
60% of white voters supported Bush, 26% supported Clinton, and 14% supported Perot. 91% of black voters supported Clinton, 7% supported Bush, and 1% supported Perot. 44% of male voters supported Bush, 40% supported Clinton, and 16% supported Perot. Bush, contrary to national trends where Clinton did better among women, received the support of 52% of female voters while Clinton received 40% and Perot received 8%.[11]
The Republicans gained six seats in theSouth Carolina House of Representatives and four seats in theSouth Carolina Senate. The Republicans gained one seat in the state's U.S. House delegation. Incumbent Democratic U.S. SenatorFritz Hollings won reelection in aconcurrent election.[12]
| United States presidential election in South Carolina, 1992[1] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George H. W. Bush (incumbent) | 577,507 | 48.02% | 8 | |
| Democratic | Bill Clinton | 479,514 | 39.88% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ross Perot | 138,872 | 11.55% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Andre Marrou | 2,719 | 0.23% | 0 | |
| U.S. Taxpayers' | Howard Phillips | 2,680 | 0.22% | 0 | |
| New Alliance | Lenora Fulani | 1,235 | 0.10% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,202,527 | 100.0% | 8 | ||
| County | George H.W. Bush Republican | Bill Clinton Democratic | Ross Perot Independent | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Abbeville | 3,317 | 39.76% | 3,968 | 47.56% | 1,036 | 12.42% | 22 | 0.26% | -651 | -7.80% | 8,343 |
| Aiken | 25,731 | 55.01% | 14,802 | 31.64% | 6,056 | 12.95% | 189 | 0.40% | 10,929 | 23.37% | 46,778 |
| Allendale | 1,049 | 30.36% | 2,159 | 62.49% | 212 | 6.14% | 35 | 1.01% | -1,110 | -32.13% | 3,455 |
| Anderson | 24,793 | 51.68% | 16,072 | 33.50% | 6,966 | 14.52% | 140 | 0.29% | 8,721 | 18.18% | 47,971 |
| Bamberg | 1,906 | 33.28% | 3,426 | 59.82% | 360 | 6.29% | 35 | 0.61% | -1,520 | -26.54% | 5,727 |
| Barnwell | 4,026 | 49.24% | 3,344 | 40.90% | 752 | 9.20% | 55 | 0.67% | 682 | 8.34% | 8,177 |
| Beaufort | 14,735 | 47.10% | 11,466 | 36.65% | 4,966 | 15.87% | 120 | 0.38% | 3,269 | 10.45% | 31,287 |
| Berkeley | 18,048 | 50.87% | 12,533 | 35.33% | 4,632 | 13.06% | 266 | 0.75% | 5,515 | 15.54% | 35,479 |
| Calhoun | 2,418 | 41.85% | 2,770 | 47.94% | 564 | 9.76% | 26 | 0.45% | -352 | -6.09% | 5,778 |
| Charleston | 47,403 | 48.00% | 40,095 | 40.60% | 10,354 | 10.49% | 897 | 0.91% | 7,308 | 7.40% | 98,749 |
| Cherokee | 6,887 | 47.31% | 5,453 | 37.46% | 2,186 | 15.02% | 31 | 0.21% | 1,434 | 9.85% | 14,557 |
| Chester | 3,451 | 33.54% | 5,458 | 53.05% | 1,350 | 13.12% | 29 | 0.28% | -2,007 | -19.51% | 10,288 |
| Chesterfield | 4,183 | 37.31% | 5,691 | 50.76% | 1,315 | 11.73% | 23 | 0.21% | -1,508 | -13.45% | 11,212 |
| Clarendon | 4,147 | 37.89% | 6,033 | 55.12% | 744 | 6.80% | 21 | 0.19% | -1,886 | -17.23% | 10,945 |
| Colleton | 4,545 | 40.17% | 5,455 | 48.21% | 1,245 | 11.00% | 69 | 0.61% | -910 | -8.04% | 11,314 |
| Darlington | 8,912 | 44.00% | 9,090 | 44.88% | 1,863 | 9.20% | 388 | 1.92% | -178 | -0.88% | 20,253 |
| Dillon | 3,575 | 38.07% | 4,953 | 52.75% | 831 | 8.85% | 31 | 0.33% | -1,378 | -14.68% | 9,390 |
| Dorchester | 15,004 | 53.53% | 9,160 | 32.68% | 3,648 | 13.02% | 217 | 0.77% | 5,844 | 20.85% | 28,029 |
| Edgefield | 3,339 | 45.15% | 3,433 | 46.42% | 596 | 8.06% | 28 | 0.38% | -94 | -1.27% | 7,396 |
| Fairfield | 2,518 | 31.12% | 4,867 | 60.15% | 652 | 8.06% | 54 | 0.67% | -2,349 | -29.03% | 8,091 |
| Florence | 19,802 | 50.77% | 15,569 | 39.92% | 3,499 | 8.97% | 133 | 0.34% | 4,233 | 10.85% | 39,003 |
| Georgetown | 6,870 | 42.22% | 7,494 | 46.05% | 1,840 | 11.31% | 68 | 0.42% | -624 | -3.83% | 16,272 |
| Greenville | 65,066 | 57.12% | 34,651 | 30.42% | 13,699 | 12.03% | 491 | 0.43% | 30,415 | 26.70% | 113,907 |
| Greenwood | 9,079 | 47.98% | 7,621 | 40.27% | 2,101 | 11.10% | 122 | 0.64% | 1,458 | 7.71% | 18,923 |
| Hampton | 2,402 | 32.63% | 4,332 | 58.85% | 564 | 7.66% | 63 | 0.86% | -1,930 | -26.22% | 7,361 |
| Horry | 23,489 | 45.87% | 18,896 | 36.90% | 8,472 | 16.55% | 347 | 0.68% | 4,593 | 8.97% | 51,204 |
| Jasper | 1,725 | 29.93% | 3,453 | 59.92% | 549 | 9.53% | 36 | 0.62% | -1,728 | -29.99% | 5,763 |
| Kershaw | 8,499 | 49.12% | 6,585 | 38.06% | 2,150 | 12.43% | 67 | 0.39% | 1,914 | 11.06% | 17,301 |
| Lancaster | 7,757 | 41.58% | 8,307 | 44.53% | 2,563 | 13.74% | 28 | 0.15% | -550 | -2.95% | 18,655 |
| Laurens | 8,347 | 48.53% | 6,638 | 38.59% | 2,157 | 12.54% | 58 | 0.34% | 1,709 | 9.94% | 17,200 |
| Lee | 2,730 | 34.90% | 4,454 | 56.94% | 611 | 7.81% | 27 | 0.35% | -1,724 | -22.04% | 7,822 |
| Lexington | 41,759 | 60.50% | 18,312 | 26.53% | 8,652 | 12.54% | 299 | 0.43% | 23,447 | 33.97% | 69,022 |
| McCormick | 899 | 29.46% | 1,846 | 60.48% | 295 | 9.67% | 12 | 0.39% | -947 | -31.02% | 3,052 |
| Marion | 3,647 | 35.15% | 5,843 | 56.31% | 822 | 7.92% | 64 | 0.62% | -2,196 | -21.16% | 10,376 |
| Marlboro | 2,526 | 29.47% | 5,111 | 59.64% | 895 | 10.44% | 38 | 0.44% | -2,585 | -30.17% | 8,570 |
| Newberry | 5,980 | 48.50% | 4,896 | 39.71% | 1,393 | 11.30% | 60 | 0.49% | 1,084 | 8.79% | 12,329 |
| Oconee | 10,379 | 50.68% | 6,617 | 32.31% | 3,405 | 16.63% | 78 | 0.38% | 3,762 | 18.37% | 20,479 |
| Orangeburg | 11,328 | 35.14% | 18,440 | 57.21% | 2,383 | 7.39% | 83 | 0.26% | -7,112 | -22.07% | 32,234 |
| Pickens | 17,008 | 57.67% | 8,275 | 28.06% | 4,128 | 14.00% | 83 | 0.28% | 8,733 | 29.61% | 29,494 |
| Richland | 43,744 | 41.17% | 53,648 | 50.49% | 7,918 | 7.45% | 940 | 0.88% | -9,904 | -9.32% | 106,250 |
| Saluda | 2,968 | 47.80% | 2,393 | 38.54% | 833 | 13.42% | 15 | 0.24% | 575 | 9.26% | 6,209 |
| Spartanburg | 37,707 | 51.91% | 25,488 | 35.09% | 8,900 | 12.25% | 540 | 0.74% | 12,219 | 16.82% | 72,635 |
| Sumter | 12,576 | 47.29% | 11,852 | 44.56% | 2,062 | 7.75% | 106 | 0.40% | 724 | 2.73% | 26,596 |
| Union | 4,647 | 43.51% | 4,644 | 43.48% | 1,371 | 12.84% | 18 | 0.17% | 3 | 0.03% | 10,680 |
| Williamsburg | 5,289 | 37.05% | 8,077 | 56.57% | 864 | 6.05% | 47 | 0.33% | -2,788 | -19.52% | 14,277 |
| York | 21,297 | 48.74% | 15,844 | 36.26% | 6,418 | 14.69% | 135 | 0.31% | 5,453 | 12.48% | 43,694 |
| Totals | 577,507 | 48.02% | 479,514 | 39.88% | 138,872 | 11.55% | 6,634 | 0.55% | 97,993 | 8.14% | 1,202,527 |
Bush won 5 of South Carolina's 6 congressional districts, including two districts held by Democrats.
| District | Bush | Clinton | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 53% | 33% | Arthur Ravenel, Jr. |
| 2nd | 52% | 36% | Floyd Spence |
| 3rd | 51% | 35% | Butler Derrick |
| 4th | 54% | 33% | Bob Inglis |
| 5th | 45% | 42% | John Spratt |
| 6th | 31% | 62% | Jim Clyburn |
State and district results of the1992 U.S. presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
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