The 2024 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. South Carolina voters choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of South Carolina has nine electoral votes in the Electoral College.
Prior to the election, almost all major news organizations considered South Carolina a safe red state; the state has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980, including by double-digit margins since 2012.
South Carolina voted for Trump by a comfortable margin in the election, with him winning the state by 17.9%. Trump received more than 1.48 million votes, which was a record for votes cast for any candidate in the history of South Carolina. This was the largest Republican win in the state since 1988.
Primary elections
Democratic primary
On February 4, 2023, the Democratic National Committee approved a new 2024 primary calendar, moving South Carolina to hold its race first on February 3, 2024. Due to protests of the change, the New Hampshire primary was scheduled for January 23, maintaining its traditional "first-in-the-nation" status. However, the primary was deemed non-binding, so the South Carolina primary was the first contest in which candidates could earn delegates. President Biden won the primary in a landslide, winning all 55 of the state's unbound delegates. The Democratic primary recorded low voter turnout among registered voters, with only 4% participating.
The South Carolina Democratic primary was held on February 3, 2024.
Republican primary
The South Carolina Republican primary was held on February 24, 2024, the fifth contest in the nationwide Republican primaries. Nikki Haley, who served as the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, lost her home state to former president Donald Trump by 20 points. Trump won six congressional districts, earning a total of 47 delegates. Haley won the 1st district, earning three delegates. The Republican primary recorded a voter turnout of 23% among its registered voters, passing its 2016 turnout record.
General election
Polling
Donald J. Trump vs. Kamala Harris
Donald J. Trump vs. Kamala Harris vs. Cornel West vs. Jill Stein vs. Chase Oliver
Ballot changes after the primaries
On July 21, 2024, Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris. Harris and running mate Tim Walz replaced Biden on the South Carolina ballot.
On August 23, 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Donald J. Trump. The Alliance Party of South Carolina removed Kennedy's name from the ballot, fielding no presidential candidate on their ticket for the year.
South Carolina political parties had until September 3 to make final changes and certify their presidential and vice presidential candidates for the state ballot.
Results
By county
County that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Jasper (largest city: Hardeeville)
By congressional district
Trump won six of seven congressional districts.
Analysis
South Carolina handed Republican Donald Trump a comfortable victory, doing so by a margin of 455,295 votes. Notably, Trump improved his margins in every county and gained significant support across all demographics, performing better in suburban, rural, and urban areas. He flipped Jasper County in the southwest of the state, becoming the first Republican to win it since Richard Nixon in 1972.