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 County Results
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The1988 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states andthe District of Columbia, were part of the1988 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose eight electors to theElectoral College, which selected thepresident andvice president.
South Carolina was won by incumbent United StatesVice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush ofTexas, who was running againstMassachusetts GovernorMichael Dukakis. Bush ran withIndiana SenatorDan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran withTexas SenatorLloyd Bentsen.
South Carolina weighed in for this election as 16% moreRepublican than the national average, and was the fourth most Republican state in the nation behindUtah,New Hampshire andIdaho.[1] The presidential election of 1988 was a verypartisan election for South Carolina, with more than 99 percent of the electorate voting for either theDemocratic orRepublican parties, and only four candidates appearing on the ballot.[2]
As of the2020 presidential election[update], this is the last election in whichRichland County voted for a Republican Presidential candidate, whileDillon County would not vote Republican again until 2020.[3] Bush won the election in South Carolina by a landslide 23.9% margin. Bush scored particularly strong wins in the population centers ofGreenville andLexington Counties, winning over 70% of the vote in both. He also powerfully wonSpartanburg County, the largest county in the state that had remained a Democratic stronghold into the 1960s and 1970s, with over 60% of the vote.
With the exception ofJimmy Carter in the1976 election South Carolina had not supported the Democratic presidential nominee since the1960 presidential election.[4] Democratic U.S. SenatorFritz Hollings won reelection in1986, butCarroll A. Campbell Jr.'s victory in that year'sgubernatorial election made him the second Republican governor in South Carolina in the 20th century.[5]
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South Carolina was the only southern state to not hold its primary onSuper Tuesday.[6]
George H. W. Bush won South Carolina in the Republican primary and placed first in all six congressional districts. Campbell was the chair of Bush's campaign in the southern region andThomas F. Hartnett chaired the Bush campaign in South Carolina. Campbell proposed the selection ofJack Kemp orBob Dole as Bush's vice-presidential running mate.[7]
Dan Quayle was the only major party presidential or vice-presidential candidate to visit the state following the primaries with his tour ofDarlington, on September 4.[8]
While 72% of registered voters participated in the election, South Carolina had the second-lowest voter-age population turnout in the country at 38.9%, only ahead of Georgia's 38.8%. South Carolina gave Bush the highest-percentage amount of support in the South. Eleven of the twelve counties that Dukakis won had majority black populations while the remaining one,Marlboro County, had a black population of 40%.[9] Among white voters, 79% supported Bush while 20% supported Dukakis.[10][11]
The state's entire delegation to theU.S. House of Representatives, four Democratic and two Republican, was reelected[12] and the Democrats retained control over theSouth Carolina General Assembly.[13]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | George Bush Republican | Michael Dukakis Democratic | Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The State[4] | Late May 1988 | 53% | 43% | 4% | ||
| The State[14] | Early September 1988 | 58.6% | 35.8% | 5.6% |
| 1988 United States presidential election in South Carolina | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 606,443 | 61.50% | 8 | |
| Democratic | Michael Dukakis | 370,554 | 37.58% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Paul | 4,935 | 0.50% | 0 | |
| United Citizens Party | Lenora Fulani | 4,077 | 0.41% | 0 | |
| Totals | 986,009 | 100.0% | 8 | ||
| County[15] | George H.W. Bush Republican | Michael Dukakis Democratic | Ron Paul Libertarian | Leonora Fulani United Citizens | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Abbeville | 3,738 | 50.51% | 3,629 | 49.03% | 19 | 0.26% | 15 | 0.20% | 109 | 1.48% | 7,401 |
| Aiken | 27,665 | 71.84% | 10,598 | 27.52% | 142 | 0.37% | 102 | 0.26% | 17,067 | 44.32% | 38,507 |
| Allendale | 1,295 | 41.59% | 1,796 | 57.68% | 9 | 0.29% | 14 | 0.45% | -501 | -16.09% | 3,114 |
| Anderson | 25,939 | 67.58% | 12,281 | 32.00% | 88 | 0.23% | 75 | 0.20% | 13,658 | 35.58% | 38,383 |
| Bamberg | 2,403 | 45.73% | 2,830 | 53.85% | 5 | 0.10% | 17 | 0.32% | -427 | -8.12% | 5,255 |
| Barnwell | 4,467 | 63.14% | 2,564 | 36.24% | 16 | 0.23% | 28 | 0.40% | 1,903 | 26.90% | 7,075 |
| Beaufort | 16,184 | 64.68% | 8,691 | 34.73% | 86 | 0.34% | 60 | 0.24% | 7,493 | 29.95% | 25,021 |
| Berkeley | 16,779 | 63.81% | 9,312 | 35.41% | 66 | 0.25% | 140 | 0.53% | 7,467 | 28.40% | 26,297 |
| Calhoun | 2,585 | 54.00% | 2,175 | 45.44% | 16 | 0.33% | 11 | 0.23% | 410 | 8.56% | 4,787 |
| Charleston | 49,149 | 59.28% | 32,977 | 39.77% | 373 | 0.45% | 417 | 0.50% | 16,172 | 19.51% | 82,916 |
| Cherokee | 7,763 | 63.89% | 4,322 | 35.57% | 34 | 0.28% | 32 | 0.26% | 3,441 | 28.32% | 12,151 |
| Chester | 3,968 | 51.21% | 3,737 | 48.23% | 25 | 0.32% | 18 | 0.23% | 231 | 2.98% | 7,748 |
| Chesterfield | 4,999 | 51.35% | 4,699 | 48.27% | 21 | 0.22% | 16 | 0.16% | 300 | 3.08% | 9,735 |
| Clarendon | 4,337 | 46.15% | 5,030 | 53.53% | 12 | 0.13% | 18 | 0.19% | -693 | -7.38% | 9,397 |
| Colleton | 4,962 | 51.97% | 4,508 | 47.22% | 26 | 0.27% | 51 | 0.53% | 454 | 4.75% | 9,547 |
| Darlington | 9,854 | 55.23% | 7,625 | 42.73% | 202 | 1.13% | 162 | 0.91% | 2,229 | 12.50% | 17,843 |
| Dillon | 3,793 | 53.66% | 3,251 | 45.99% | 11 | 0.16% | 14 | 0.20% | 542 | 7.67% | 7,069 |
| Dorchester | 14,756 | 66.37% | 7,371 | 33.15% | 51 | 0.23% | 54 | 0.24% | 7,385 | 33.22% | 22,232 |
| Edgefield | 3,814 | 55.57% | 3,020 | 44.00% | 14 | 0.20% | 15 | 0.22% | 794 | 11.57% | 6,863 |
| Fairfield | 2,714 | 41.23% | 3,827 | 58.13% | 15 | 0.23% | 27 | 0.41% | -1,113 | -16.90% | 6,583 |
| Florence | 19,490 | 60.50% | 12,531 | 38.90% | 106 | 0.33% | 87 | 0.27% | 6,959 | 21.60% | 32,214 |
| Georgetown | 7,032 | 56.23% | 5,402 | 43.20% | 26 | 0.21% | 46 | 0.37% | 1,630 | 13.03% | 12,506 |
| Greenville | 67,371 | 70.82% | 27,188 | 28.58% | 404 | 0.42% | 163 | 0.17% | 40,183 | 42.24% | 95,126 |
| Greenwood | 9,096 | 57.92% | 6,511 | 41.46% | 44 | 0.28% | 53 | 0.34% | 2,585 | 16.46% | 15,704 |
| Hampton | 2,826 | 44.81% | 3,435 | 54.47% | 14 | 0.22% | 31 | 0.49% | -609 | -9.66% | 6,306 |
| Horry | 24,843 | 64.68% | 13,316 | 34.67% | 148 | 0.39% | 102 | 0.27% | 11,527 | 30.01% | 38,409 |
| Jasper | 2,004 | 40.66% | 2,894 | 58.71% | 10 | 0.20% | 21 | 0.43% | -890 | -18.05% | 4,929 |
| Kershaw | 8,877 | 65.89% | 4,494 | 33.36% | 61 | 0.45% | 41 | 0.30% | 4,383 | 32.53% | 13,473 |
| Lancaster | 9,152 | 59.46% | 6,181 | 40.15% | 34 | 0.22% | 26 | 0.17% | 2,971 | 19.31% | 15,393 |
| Laurens | 9,731 | 61.97% | 5,930 | 37.77% | 28 | 0.18% | 13 | 0.08% | 3,801 | 24.20% | 15,702 |
| Lee | 2,936 | 46.17% | 3,423 | 53.83% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -487 | -7.66% | 6,359 |
| Lexington | 41,467 | 77.89% | 11,366 | 21.35% | 286 | 0.54% | 119 | 0.22% | 30,101 | 56.54% | 53,238 |
| McCormick | 1,172 | 40.22% | 1,722 | 59.09% | 16 | 0.17% | 59 | 0.62% | -550 | -18.87% | 2,914 |
| Marion | 4,403 | 46.42% | 5,008 | 52.79% | 5 | 0.07% | 7 | 0.10% | -605 | -6.37% | 9,486 |
| Marlboro | 2,921 | 42.52% | 3,937 | 57.31% | 3 | 0.10% | 17 | 0.58% | -1,016 | -14.79% | 6,870 |
| Newberry | 6,427 | 62.37% | 3,825 | 37.12% | 23 | 0.22% | 30 | 0.29% | 2,602 | 25.25% | 10,305 |
| Oconee | 10,184 | 69.83% | 4,299 | 29.48% | 75 | 0.51% | 27 | 0.19% | 5,885 | 40.35% | 14,585 |
| Orangeburg | 13,281 | 47.35% | 14,655 | 52.25% | 64 | 0.23% | 49 | 0.17% | -1,374 | -4.90% | 28,049 |
| Pickens | 17,448 | 73.63% | 6,103 | 25.76% | 110 | 0.46% | 35 | 0.15% | 11,345 | 47.87% | 23,696 |
| Richland | 43,841 | 52.74% | 36,420 | 43.81% | 1,617 | 1.95% | 1,245 | 1.50% | 7,421 | 8.93% | 83,123 |
| Saluda | 3,225 | 61.64% | 1,984 | 37.92% | 15 | 0.29% | 8 | 0.15% | 1,241 | 23.72% | 5,232 |
| Spartanburg | 40,801 | 63.19% | 22,964 | 35.57% | 397 | 0.61% | 406 | 0.63% | 17,837 | 27.62% | 64,568 |
| Sumter | 13,161 | 57.72% | 9,502 | 41.67% | 53 | 0.23% | 85 | 0.37% | 3,659 | 16.05% | 22,801 |
| Union | 6,019 | 57.52% | 4,420 | 42.24% | 20 | 0.19% | 6 | 0.06% | 1,599 | 15.28% | 10,465 |
| Williamsburg | 5,914 | 44.39% | 7,343 | 55.11% | 22 | 0.17% | 45 | 0.34% | -1,429 | -10.72% | 13,324 |
| York | 21,657 | 65.02% | 11,458 | 34.40% | 123 | 0.37% | 70 | 0.21% | 10,199 | 30.62% | 33,308 |
| Totals | 606,443 | 61.50% | 370,554 | 37.58% | 4,935 | 0.50% | 4,077 | 0.41% | 235,889 | 23.92% | 986,009 |
State and district results of the1988 U.S. presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
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