South Carolina primary

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The South Carolina primary has become one of several key, "early-state" presidential primaries in the process of the Democratic and Republican Parties choosing their respective general election nominees for President of the United States.

Historically, this primary election has been much more important in the Republican Party's nomination process, considered a "firewall" that could permanently eliminate any/all serious rivals to the winner.[1][2] It is meant to force the various factions of the party to decide quickly on and unite behind a single candidate and avoid wasting precious time and resources on a drawn-out battle between their own candidates, that would divert the party's focus from working to defeat the Democrats' likely nominee.

Since its 1980 inception, the winner of the Republican South Carolina primary has always become the eventual Republican National Convention nominee for that fall's general election,[3] with one exception, the 2012 primary, in which eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney finished second, behind winner Newt Gingrich (who would go on to suspend his campaign before that summer's convention began).

South Carolina has cemented its place as the "First in the South" primary for both parties. For the Democrats, the 2008 primary took on added significance because it was the first nominating contest in that cycle in which a large percentage (55 percent, according to an exit poll[4]) of primary voters were African Americans.[5]

The 2012 South Carolina primary was held on January 21 for Republicans,[6] and on January 28 for Democrats. The 2016 primary was held on February 20 for Republicans, and will be held on February 27 for Democrats.[7]

Republican results[edit]

Democratic results[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Jump up ^ "South Carolina Primary Results". www.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-16. 
  2. Jump up ^ Scherer, Michael (2008-01-09). "Huckabee Looks to South Carolina". TIME. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  3. Jump up ^ Rudin, Ken (2008-01-16). "South Carolina's Role as GOP Kingmaker". NPR. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  4. Jump up ^ "Election Center 2008: Primary Exit Polls - Elections & Politics news from". CNN.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  5. Jump up ^ "January 7, 2008". The Nation. 2008-01-07. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  6. Jump up ^ "GOP Primary Case Before High Court". The Post and Courier. 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  7. Jump up ^ "2016 Primary Results and Calendar". New York Times. 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2016-02-09. 
  8. Jump up ^ , "[1]". The Atlantic.
  9. Jump up ^ "Jackson's Triumph in South Carolina Illustrates Dramatic Change Since Vote in '84". New York Times. 1988-03-14. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  10. Jump up ^ "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: South Carolina; Bush and Clinton Score Big Victories". New York Times. 1992-03-08. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  11. Jump up ^ "2000 Democratic Presidential Caucus Results - South Carolina". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  12. Jump up ^ "Primary Results by State - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
  13. Jump up ^ "South Carolina Primary Election Results - Election Guide 2008 - Results - The New York Times". Politics.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05. 

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