1876 United States presidential election in South Carolina
November 7, 1876
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| Turnout | 101.3% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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County Results
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| Elections in South Carolina |
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The 1876 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 7, 1876, as part of the 1876 United States presidential election. Voters chose 7 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
South Carolina voted for the Republican nominee, Rutherford B. Hayes, over the Democratic nominee, Samuel J. Tilden. Hayes won the state by a very narrow margin of 0.53%, only 964 votes. Events such as the Hamburg massacre served to dissuade many Republican voters.[1] This would be the last time a Republican presidential candidate would win South Carolina until Barry Goldwater carried the state in 1964.
The results here, along with Florida and Louisiana, were strongly disputed due to the suppression of African-American voters in the state. The results in this state were determined through the Compromise of 1877, which awarded Hayes South Carolina and the election. Had Tilden won South Carolina, he would have won the election.
Due to Jim Crow laws disenfranchising many Black voters as well as some poor white voters, the total vote count of 182,776 votes cast in this election would not be surpassed until 1952, 76 years later, after the poll tax had been repealed. In fact, between 1884 and 1928, the total vote did not even pass 100,000.
The election in South Carolina was the oddest of the ones in Louisiana, Florida, and the other disputed state Oregon because the results showed over 101% of all registered voters turned out to vote for President.
Results
| Party | Pledged to | Elector | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | John Winsmith | 91,870 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | T. B. Johnston | 91,852 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | W. F. Myers | 91,830 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | W. B. Nash | 91,804 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | C. C. Bowen | 91,786 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | Wilson Cook | 91,432 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | Timothy Hurley | 91,136 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | John B. Erwin | 90,906 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | William Wallace | 90,905 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | T. G. Barker | 90,896 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | J. W. Harrington | 90,895 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | Robert Aldrich | 90,860 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | John I. Ingram | 90,768 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | Samuel McGowan | 90,737 | |
| Votes cast[a] | 182,776 | |||
Results by county
| County | Rutherford B. Hayes Republican |
Samuel J. Tilden Democratic |
Margin | Total votes cast[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Abbeville | 3,718 | 49.43% | 3,803 | 50.57% | -85 | -1.13% | 7,521 |
| Aiken | 2,218 | 43.31% | 2,903 | 56.69% | -685 | -13.38% | 5,121 |
| Anderson | 1,209 | 23.20% | 4,003 | 76.80% | -2,794 | -53.61% | 5,212 |
| Barnwell | 2,835 | 42.13% | 3,894 | 57.87% | -1,059 | -15.74% | 6,729 |
| Beaufort | 7,570 | 77.08% | 2,251 | 22.92% | 5,319 | 54.16% | 9,821 |
| Charleston | 15,103 | 63.24% | 8,780 | 36.76% | 6,323 | 26.47% | 23,883 |
| Chester | 2,440 | 55.29% | 1,973 | 44.71% | 467 | 10.58% | 4,413 |
| Chesterfield | 988 | 37.80% | 1,626 | 62.20% | -638 | -24.41% | 2,614 |
| Clarendon | 1,896 | 57.11% | 1,424 | 42.89% | 472 | 14.22% | 3,320 |
| Colleton | 4,233 | 59.16% | 2,922 | 40.84% | 1,311 | 18.32% | 7,155 |
| Darlington | 3,521 | 56.26% | 2,737 | 43.74% | 784 | 12.53% | 6,258 |
| Edgefield | 3,124 | 33.30% | 6,257 | 66.70% | -3,133 | -33.40% | 9,381 |
| Fairfield | 2,930 | 59.00% | 2,036 | 41.00% | 894 | 18.00% | 4,966 |
| Georgetown | 2,791 | 72.53% | 1,057 | 27.47% | 1,734 | 45.06% | 3,848 |
| Greenville | 1,775 | 30.05% | 4,132 | 69.95% | -2,357 | -39.90% | 5,907 |
| Horry | 597 | 23.59% | 1,934 | 76.41% | -1,337 | -52.82% | 2,531 |
| Kershaw | 2,070 | 54.16% | 1,752 | 45.84% | 318 | 8.32% | 3,822 |
| Lancaster | 1,259 | 45.32% | 1,519 | 54.68% | -260 | -9.36% | 2,778 |
| Laurens | 1,814 | 38.42% | 2,908 | 61.58% | -1,094 | -23.17% | 4,722 |
| Lexington | 1,295 | 38.19% | 2,096 | 61.81% | -801 | -23.62% | 3,391 |
| Marion | 2,502 | 44.30% | 3,146 | 55.70% | -644 | -11.40% | 5,648 |
| Marlboro | 1,617 | 45.43% | 1,942 | 54.57% | -325 | -9.13% | 3,559 |
| Newberry | 2,844 | 57.29% | 2,120 | 42.71% | 724 | 14.59% | 4,964 |
| Oconee | 537 | 20.38% | 2,098 | 79.62% | -1,561 | -59.24% | 2,635 |
| Orangeburg | 4,486 | 61.28% | 2,835 | 38.72% | 1,651 | 22.55% | 7,321 |
| Pickens | 423 | 17.49% | 1,995 | 82.51% | -1,572 | -65.01% | 2,418 |
| Richland | 3,904 | 62.08% | 2,385 | 37.92% | 1,519 | 24.15% | 6,289 |
| Spartanburg | 1,545 | 25.14% | 4,601 | 74.86% | -3,056 | -49.72% | 6,146 |
| Sumter | 3,896 | 62.38% | 2,350 | 37.62% | 1,546 | 24.75% | 6,246 |
| Union | 1,809 | 42.37% | 2,461 | 57.63% | -652 | -15.27% | 4,270 |
| Williamsburg | 2,455 | 58.40% | 1,749 | 41.60% | 706 | 16.79% | 4,204 |
| York | 2,466 | 43.39% | 3,217 | 56.61% | -751 | -13.21% | 5,683 |
| Totals | 91,870 | 50.26% | 90,906 | 49.74% | 964 | 0.53% | 182,776 |
Notes
- ^ Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
References
- ^ Ehren K. Foley, "Sites of Violence: Cainhoy Riot," Citations: "Plan of the Campaign of 1876" Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, Papers of Martin Witherspoon Gary, South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, South Carolina, accessed 26 October 2014
- ^ a b "Journal of the Senate and House of Representatives together with Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, Regular Session 1876-77". Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina: 210–212 – via HathiTrust.