South Carolina — 2008 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate2008 presidential electionSouth Carolina · PresidentMcCainR+9.0
How it voted
Share of the 2008 vote
| John McCain ✓Republican | 53.9% | 1,034,896 |
|---|---|---|
| Barack ObamaDemocratic | 44.9% | 862,449 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.2% | 23,624 |
2008presidential margin
D+60R+60
46 counties, each filled by 2008 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
South Carolina cast 8 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (46 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County, SC | Republican | R+15.2 |
| Aiken County, SC | Republican | R+24.0 |
| Allendale County, SC | Democratic | D+51.7 |
| Anderson County, SC | Republican | R+33.3 |
| Bamberg County, SC | Democratic | D+31.1 |
| Barnwell County, SC | Democratic | D+1.7 |
| Beaufort County, SC | Republican | R+10.8 |
| Berkeley County, SC | Republican | R+13.0 |
| Calhoun County, SC | Democratic | D+3.6 |
| Charleston County, SC | Democratic | D+8.3 |
| Cherokee County, SC | Republican | R+29.3 |
| Chester County, SC | Democratic | D+8.3 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | Republican | R+3.0 |
| Clarendon County, SC | Democratic | D+12.3 |
| Colleton County, SC | Democratic | D+0.5 |
| Darlington County, SC | Republican | R+0.1 |
| Dillon County, SC | Democratic | D+11.4 |
| Dorchester County, SC | Republican | R+15.5 |
| Edgefield County, SC | Republican | R+10.9 |
| Fairfield County, SC | Democratic | D+31.7 |
| Florence County, SC | Republican | R+3.2 |
| Georgetown County, SC | Republican | R+5.3 |
| Greenville County, SC | Republican | R+23.9 |
| Greenwood County, SC | Republican | R+15.7 |
| Hampton County, SC | Democratic | D+25.4 |
| Horry County, SC | Republican | R+24.6 |
| Jasper County, SC | Democratic | D+22.9 |
| Kershaw County, SC | Republican | R+18.7 |
| Lancaster County, SC | Republican | R+14.9 |
| Laurens County, SC | Republican | R+18.1 |
| Lee County, SC | Democratic | D+31.5 |
| Lexington County, SC | Republican | R+38.0 |
| Marion County, SC | Democratic | D+27.6 |
| Marlboro County, SC | Democratic | D+25.7 |
| McCormick County, SC | Democratic | D+6.1 |
| Newberry County, SC | Republican | R+17.6 |
| Oconee County, SC | Republican | R+37.5 |
| Orangeburg County, SC | Democratic | D+38.1 |
| Pickens County, SC | Republican | R+46.2 |
| Richland County, SC | Democratic | D+28.9 |
| Saluda County, SC | Republican | R+21.7 |
| Spartanburg County, SC | Republican | R+21.6 |
| Sumter County, SC | Democratic | D+15.4 |
| Union County, SC | Republican | R+11.2 |
| Williamsburg County, SC | Democratic | D+38.2 |
| York County, SC | Republican | R+17.7 |
South Carolina results by county
46 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | Mccain, John+1,671 | 6,26456.9% | 4,59341.8% | 1441.3% | 11,001 |
| Aiken County | Mccain, John+16,748 | 42,84961.4% | 26,10137.4% | 8201.2% | 69,770 |
| Allendale County | Obama, Barack H.+2,082 | 94723.5% | 3,02975.3% | 481.2% | 4,024 |
| Anderson County | Mccain, John+24,558 | 48,69066.0% | 24,13232.7% | 9651.3% | 73,787 |
| Bamberg County | Obama, Barack H.+2,117 | 2,30933.9% | 4,42665.0% | 791.2% | 6,814 |
| Barnwell County | Obama, Barack H.+162 | 4,76948.7% | 4,93150.3% | 981.0% | 9,798 |
| Beaufort County | Mccain, John+7,425 | 37,82154.9% | 30,39644.1% | 6530.9% | 68,870 |
| Berkeley County | Mccain, John+8,450 | 36,20555.9% | 27,75542.8% | 8211.3% | 64,781 |
| Calhoun County | Obama, Barack H.+275 | 3,69547.8% | 3,97051.3% | 730.9% | 7,738 |
| Charleston County | Obama, Barack H.+12,876 | 69,82245.2% | 82,69853.5% | 1,9141.2% | 154,434 |
| Cherokee County | Mccain, John+6,090 | 13,30564.1% | 7,21534.7% | 2461.2% | 20,766 |
| Chester County | Obama, Barack H.+1,160 | 6,31845.2% | 7,47853.5% | 1851.3% | 13,981 |
| Chesterfield County | Mccain, John+483 | 8,32550.9% | 7,84247.9% | 1921.2% | 16,359 |
| Clarendon County | Obama, Barack H.+1,915 | 6,75843.5% | 8,67355.8% | 1210.8% | 15,552 |
| Colleton County | Obama, Barack H.+91 | 8,52549.2% | 8,61649.7% | 1801.0% | 17,321 |
| Darlington County | Mccain, John+39 | 14,54449.6% | 14,50549.4% | 2851.0% | 29,334 |
| Dillon County | Obama, Barack H.+1,534 | 5,87443.8% | 7,40855.2% | 1351.0% | 13,417 |
| Dorchester County | Mccain, John+8,123 | 29,92957.1% | 21,80641.6% | 6701.3% | 52,405 |
| Edgefield County | Mccain, John+1,259 | 6,33455.0% | 5,07544.1% | 1111.0% | 11,520 |
| Fairfield County | Obama, Barack H.+3,679 | 3,91233.7% | 7,59165.3% | 1161.0% | 11,619 |
| Florence County | Mccain, John+1,849 | 29,86151.2% | 28,01248.0% | 5000.9% | 58,373 |
| Georgetown County | Mccain, John+1,591 | 15,79052.1% | 14,19946.9% | 3011.0% | 30,290 |
| Greenville County | Mccain, John+45,477 | 116,36361.0% | 70,88637.2% | 3,4081.8% | 190,657 |
| Greenwood County | Mccain, John+4,647 | 16,99557.3% | 12,34841.6% | 3241.1% | 29,667 |
| Hampton County | Obama, Barack H.+2,377 | 3,43936.8% | 5,81662.2% | 951.0% | 9,350 |
| Horry County | Mccain, John+25,730 | 64,60961.7% | 38,87937.1% | 1,3101.3% | 104,798 |
| Jasper County | Obama, Barack H.+2,024 | 3,36538.0% | 5,38960.9% | 1001.1% | 8,854 |
| Kershaw County | Mccain, John+5,240 | 16,46658.8% | 11,22640.1% | 2931.0% | 27,985 |
| Lancaster County | Mccain, John+4,302 | 16,44156.8% | 12,13942.0% | 3411.2% | 28,921 |
| Laurens County | Mccain, John+4,756 | 15,33458.3% | 10,57840.2% | 3701.4% | 26,282 |
| Lee County | Obama, Barack H.+2,886 | 3,07433.6% | 5,96065.1% | 1191.3% | 9,153 |
| Lexington County | Mccain, John+41,657 | 74,96068.4% | 33,30330.4% | 1,2491.1% | 109,512 |
| Marion County | Obama, Barack H.+4,192 | 5,41635.7% | 9,60863.3% | 1501.0% | 15,174 |
| Marlboro County | Obama, Barack H.+2,798 | 3,99636.7% | 6,79462.5% | 860.8% | 10,876 |
| McCormick County | Obama, Barack H.+318 | 2,43746.6% | 2,75552.7% | 400.8% | 5,232 |
| Newberry County | Mccain, John+2,908 | 9,61658.2% | 6,70840.6% | 2001.2% | 16,524 |
| Oconee County | Mccain, John+11,683 | 21,16468.0% | 9,48130.5% | 4871.6% | 31,132 |
| Orangeburg County | Obama, Barack H.+15,148 | 12,11530.5% | 27,26368.6% | 3760.9% | 39,754 |
| Pickens County | Mccain, John+20,861 | 32,55272.1% | 11,69125.9% | 8852.0% | 45,128 |
| Richland County | Obama, Barack H.+47,715 | 57,94135.1% | 105,65664.0% | 1,4400.9% | 165,037 |
| Saluda County | Mccain, John+1,868 | 5,19160.3% | 3,32338.6% | 891.0% | 8,603 |
| Spartanburg County | Mccain, John+23,410 | 65,04260.0% | 41,63238.4% | 1,6541.5% | 108,328 |
| Sumter County | Obama, Barack H.+6,850 | 18,58141.9% | 25,43157.3% | 3460.8% | 44,358 |
| Union County | Mccain, John+1,514 | 7,44955.0% | 5,93543.8% | 1671.2% | 13,551 |
| Williamsburg County | Obama, Barack H.+6,275 | 5,00430.4% | 11,27968.6% | 1601.0% | 16,443 |
| York County | Mccain, John+16,582 | 54,50058.2% | 37,91840.5% | 1,2781.4% | 93,696 |
complete certified result
South Carolina candidate results
Top three shown first · expand for every reported candidate and write-in category
Source: MIT Election Data + Science Lab — U.S. President 1976–2024 state candidate returns
Nominees: Barack Obama (D) · John McCain (R)
South Carolina's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 2008 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +58.6% |
| 1896 | +71.8% |
| 1900 | +86.0% |
| 1904 | +90.8% |
| 1908 | +87.8% |
| 1912 | +95.9% |
| 1916 | +94.3% |
| 1920 | +92.1% |
| 1924 | +94.3% |
| 1928 | +82.9% |
| 1932 | +98.0% |
| 1936 | +98.6% |
| 1940 | +91.3% |
| 1944 | +83.2% |
| 1948 | +20.4% |
| 1952 | +1.4% |
| 1956 | +20.2% |
| 1960 | +2.5% |
| 1964 | −17.8% |
| 1968 | −8.5% |
| 1972 | −42.7% |
| 1976 | +13.1% |
| 1980 | −1.5% |
| 1984 | −28.0% |
| 1988 | −23.9% |
| 1992 | −8.1% |
| 1996 | −6.0% |
| 2000 | −15.9% |
| 2004 | −17.1% |
| 2008 | −9.0% |
| 2012 | −10.5% |
| 2016 | −14.3% |
| 2020 | −11.7% |
| 2024 | −17.9% |
Same ballot, 2008SC
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 2008 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.