1860
South Carolina in 1860
The 1860 contest saw South Carolina line up behind Breckinridge, delivering 8 electoral votes to the Southern Democratic ticket. The presidency went elsewhere: Abraham Lincoln (Republican) won nationally, while South Carolina had backed a different ticket.
The result flipped South Carolina away from the Democratic ticket it had backed in each of the previous 5 cycles. South Carolina did not move alone — neighboring Georgia and North Carolina broke the same way in 1860. Over its 59 recorded presidential cycles, South Carolina has backed the Democratic party more than any other — 28 times in all. The vote fell within the Civil War — Lincoln, war, and Reconstruction begins.
Nationally, Abraham Lincoln finished with 180 of the 303 electoral votes to John C. Breckinridge's 72. Abraham Lincoln led the national popular vote with 39.65% of the ballots cast.
South Carolina in nearby cycles
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