The 1976 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Despite fluctuating polls, Carter would carry South Carolina by a margin of 13.04 points over Ford.
Ford managed to carry just three of South Carolina's counties, whereas Richard Nixon had carried all 46 counties four years earlier. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that the Democratic nominee carried South Carolina, the last time a Democrat won Horry, Spartanburg, Berkeley, Beaufort, Dorchester, Florence, Pickens, Kershaw, and Newberry counties, and the last time a Democrat swept every congressional district in the state.
Campaign
Both major party nominees, Democrat former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, with running mate Walter Mondale, and Republican President Gerald Ford with running mate Senator Bob Dole, campaigned in the state during the fall campaign. Ford did not target the state in late September at the beginning of his re-election campaign, but did visit Columbia in late October as polling day approached, when he was joined by Carter two days subsequently. After Ford’s visit, it was said he was not a factor in South Carolina and that the election hinged on approval or disapproval of Carter. Carter himself campaigned more extensively with his eldest son Jack working in the Sixth Congressional District, and other members of his “Peanut Brigade” touring most major population centers.
Among white voters, 55% supported Ford while 44% supported Carter.
Results
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Allendale
- Beaufort
- Berkeley
- Charleston
- Clarendon
- Dorchester
- Edgefield
- Fairfield
- Florence
- Hampton
- Jasper
- Horry
- Kershaw
- Lee
- McCormick
- Marion
- Marlboro
- Orangeburg
- Newberry
- Pickens
- Richland
- Spartanburg
- Sumter
- Williamsburg
- Abbeville
- Anderson
- Bamberg
- Barnwell
- Calhoun
- Cherokee
- Chester
- Chesterfield
- Colleton
- Darlington
- Dillon
- Georgetown
- Greenwood
- Lancaster
- Laurens
- Oconee
- Saluda
- Union
- York
Results by congressional district
Carter won all six congressional districts, including one that elected a republican.