1960 United States presidential election in South Carolina

Both candidates toured the state in October, when [[James F. Byrnes]], former governor, criticized severely the Kennedy platform as economically unaffordable and injurious to the states’ independence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1960 |title=I'll Win with You, Dick Telles Dixie |pages=35 |work=[[Miami Herald]]}}</ref> In September and October polls, the state was considered likely to go for Nixon,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hoffman|first=Fred S.|date=October 18, 1960|title=A.P. Poll Shows Jack Nears Nixon|page=3|work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]}}</ref> and even on election night Nixon was leading until quite late when Kennedy overtook him.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wins in South Carolina|work=[[The Paducah Sun]]|date=November 9, 1960|page=7}}</ref> Kennedy ultimately won the state by 2.48 percentage points,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?f=0&fips=45&year=1960|title=1960 Presidential General Election Results – South Carolina|access-date=June 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1960|title=The American Presidency Project – Election of 1960|access-date=June 8, 2017}}</ref> being aided by an exceptional turnout for him amongst the state’s seventy-five thousand or so black voters,<ref>Mickey. ''Paths out of Dixie'', p. 233</ref> and by the loyalty of the pro-Stevenson upcountry despite its distaste for his Catholicism.<ref>Phillips. ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', p. 263</ref> Nixon won a narrow majority of the state’s white voters, and a strong majority amongst the wealthier whites of the growing [[Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Area|Columbia]] and [[Charleston, South Carolina metropolitan area|Charleston metropolitan areas]]. South Carolina was one of six states that swung toward Republicans compared to 1956, alongside Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.<ref>Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; [https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?ev=1&rnk=1&mar=1&per=1&vot=1&swg=1&tnd=1&sort=100*(tbl_v.vote1-tbl_v.vote2)%2Ftbl_v.totalvote%3APercent+Margin&fips=0&search=&search_name=&datatype=national&f=0&off=0&year=1960&sort_dir=desc&submit=Submit 1960 Presidential General Election Data -- National]</ref>

Both candidates toured the state in October, when [[James F. Byrnes]], former governor, criticized severely the Kennedy platform as economically unaffordable and injurious to the states’ independence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1960 |title=I'll Win with You, Dick Telles Dixie |pages=35 |work=[[Miami Herald]]}}</ref> In September and October polls, the state was considered likely to go for Nixon,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hoffman|first=Fred S.|date=October 18, 1960|title=A.P. Poll Shows Jack Nears Nixon|page=3|work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]}}</ref> and even on election night Nixon was leading until quite late when Kennedy overtook him.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wins in South Carolina|work=[[The Paducah Sun]]|date=November 9, 1960|page=7}}</ref> Kennedy ultimately won the state by 2.48 percentage points,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?f=0&fips=45&year=1960|title=1960 Presidential General Election Results – South Carolina|access-date=June 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1960|title=The American Presidency Project – Election of 1960|access-date=June 8, 2017}}</ref> being aided by an exceptional turnout for him amongst the state’s seventy-five thousand or so black voters,<ref>Mickey. ''Paths out of Dixie'', p. 233</ref> and by the loyalty of the pro-Stevenson upcountry despite its distaste for his Catholicism.<ref>Phillips. ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', p. 263</ref> Nixon won a narrow majority of the state’s white voters, and a strong majority amongst the wealthier whites of the growing [[Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Area|Columbia]] and [[Charleston, South Carolina metropolitan area|Charleston metropolitan areas]]. South Carolina was one of six states that swung toward Republicans compared to 1956, alongside Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.<ref>Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; [https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?ev=1&rnk=1&mar=1&per=1&vot=1&swg=1&tnd=1&sort=100*(tbl_v.vote1-tbl_v.vote2)%2Ftbl_v.totalvote%3APercent+Margin&fips=0&search=&search_name=&datatype=national&f=0&off=0&year=1960&sort_dir=desc&submit=Submit 1960 Presidential General Election Data -- National]</ref>

This was the second to last time South Carolina voted Democratic. (If [[Gerald Ford]] had won the state in [[1976 United States presidential election in South Carolina|1976]], South Carolina would share the nation's longest Republican streak with nine other states.)

This was the second to last time South Carolina voted Democratic. (If [[Gerald Ford]] had won the state in [[1976 United States presidential election in South Carolina|1976]], South Carolina would share the nation's longest Republican streak with nine other states. The same can be said of Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas.)

==Results==

==Results==