The 2000 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 7, 2000, and was part of the 2000 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
South Carolina was won by Governor George W. Bush by a 15.92% margin of victory. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which Sumter County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.
Primaries
Republican primary
The Republican primary was held on February 19, 2000, with 37 delegates at stake. South Carolina would prove to be a crucially important state for then-Texas Governor George W. Bush after losing to Arizona Senator John McCain in New Hampshire by 18 points. Bush won the South Carolina primary by an 11.5% margin, and took the lion's share of the delegates at stake.
Candidates
- Governor George W. Bush of Texas
- Former Ambassador Alan Keyes of Maryland
- Senator John McCain of Arizona
Withdrawn
- Former Undersecretary of Education Gary Bauer of Kentucky
- Businessman Steve Forbes of New Jersey
- Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah
Democratic caucuses
The Democratic caucuses were held on March 7, with 43 delegates at stake. As the only major candidate left in the race, Vice President Al Gore easily won all the delegates.
Candidates
- Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee
- William Kreml of South Carolina
Withdrawn
- U.S. Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey
General election
Results
Results by county
- Abbeville (largest city: Abbeville)
- Calhoun (largest city: St. Matthews)
- Chesterfield (largest city: Cheraw)
- Colleton (largest city: Walterboro)
- Darlington (largest city: Hartsville)
- Georgetown (largest city: Murrells Inlet)
- Lancaster (largest city: Lancaster)
- Sumter (largest city: Sumter)
- Union (largest city: Union)
Results by congressional district
Bush won five of six congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.
Electors
The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 18, 2000 to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead, the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.
The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All were pledged to and voted for George Bush and Dick Cheney:
- Cynthia F. Costa
- Danny R. Faulkner
- Thomas H. McLean
- William B. Prince
- Dan Richardson
- Douglas L. Wavle
- Cecil F. Windham Sr.
- Buddy Witherspoon