akashic
1876–2024
Charleston County, South Carolina
Charleston County·South Carolina

Charleston County delivered a near-tie in 2024.

A onetime GOP stronghold now tilting Democratic by single digits

18762024·38 elections
Charleston County, South Carolina · Khanrak · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+6
in 2024
Archetype
Tossup
since the recent cycles
Population
420,264
2024 ACS
Most similar
Kane County
IL · similarity 0.99
182 precincts · 214,521 votes cast
Harris · D+6
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+5.7%
111,42799,265214,521
2020D
+12.9%
121,48593,297218,857
2016D
+7.9%
89,29975,443176,345
2012D
+2.4%
81,48777,629161,707
2008D
+8.3%
82,69869,822154,434
2004R
−4.8%
63,75870,297136,316
2000R
−7.8%
49,52058,229111,476
1996R
−5.3%
43,57148,67596,688
1992R
−7.4%
40,09547,40398,749
1988R
−19.5%
32,97749,14982,916
1984R
−28.8%
29,48153,77984,260
1980R
−14.2%
32,72744,11180,012
1976D
+0.5%
34,32834,01069,155
1972R
−39.7%
16,85539,86357,947
1968R
−10.6%
18,34324,28255,880
1964R
−38.1%
14,56432,50947,073
1960R
−27.7%
12,01021,22333,233
1956R
−13.8%
4,0287,48725,073
1952R
−33.7%
9,95920,08730,046
1948D
+15.1%
2,66056213,893
1944D
+59.2%
6,2601,1848,581
1940D
+71.2%
8,1451,3729,517
1936D
+95.1%
8,01508,432
1932D
+91.7%
5,35105,833
1928D
+41.8%
4,2981,7596,075
1924D
+72.5%
2,5543613,023
1920D
+77.1%
2,9293733,315
1916D
+87.4%
1,9291292,060
1912D
+90.3%
1,76001,948
1908D
+66.9%
1,8143472,194
1904D
+80.0%
1,7541951,949
1900D
+72.9%
1,7292712,000
1896D
+11.5%
1,6601,2623,471
1892D
+56.8%
1,5644301,995
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Polish
0.6%
African American
18.3%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
12.6%
Other Christian
11.9%
Methodist
9.7%
Baptist
8.6%
Mainline Protestant
5.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.4%
Non-Christian
1.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Charleston County's rapid in-migration of college-educated professionals has steadily narrowed Republican margins over the past decade, flipping the county to a modest D+5.7 in 2024 — a striking shift for a historically conservative coastal enclave.

The county's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached ninety-five points in 1936; the Republican margin reached forty points in 1972. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Charleston County's demographics — a population of 420,264, a 66% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $88,494 — situate the county close to national averages on several dimensions. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Kane County and DuPage County.