South Carolina — 1948 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1948 presidential electionSouth Carolina · PresidentThurmond72.1%
How it voted
Share of the 1948 vote
| Strom Thurmond + others ✓States' Rights Democratic | 72.1% | 102,762 |
|---|---|---|
| Harry S. TrumanDemocratic | 24.1% | 34,423 |
| Thomas E. DeweyRepublican | 3.8% | 5,386 |
1948presidential margin
D+60R+60
46 counties, each filled by 1948 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Gold marks a county an independent or third-party candidate carried.
South Carolina cast 8 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (46 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County, SC | Other / independent | D+21.7 |
| Aiken County, SC | Other / independent | D+8.6 |
| Allendale County, SC | Other / independent | D+3.7 |
| Anderson County, SC | Democratic | D+61.5 |
| Bamberg County, SC | Other / independent | D+4.8 |
| Barnwell County, SC | Other / independent | D+4.2 |
| Beaufort County, SC | Other / independent | D+8.2 |
| Berkeley County, SC | Other / independent | D+13.8 |
| Calhoun County, SC | Other / independent | D+3.6 |
| Charleston County, SC | Other / independent | D+15.1 |
| Cherokee County, SC | Other / independent | D+30.0 |
| Chester County, SC | Other / independent | D+19.3 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | Other / independent | D+35.3 |
| Clarendon County, SC | Other / independent | D+5.7 |
| Colleton County, SC | Other / independent | D+7.1 |
| Darlington County, SC | Other / independent | D+22.5 |
| Dillon County, SC | Other / independent | D+43.6 |
| Dorchester County, SC | Other / independent | D+2.0 |
| Edgefield County, SC | Other / independent | D+1.1 |
| Fairfield County, SC | Other / independent | D+11.0 |
| Florence County, SC | Other / independent | D+19.5 |
| Georgetown County, SC | Other / independent | D+13.8 |
| Greenville County, SC | Other / independent | D+20.6 |
| Greenwood County, SC | Other / independent | D+12.5 |
| Hampton County, SC | Other / independent | D+4.4 |
| Horry County, SC | Other / independent | D+9.8 |
| Jasper County, SC | Other / independent | D+12.4 |
| Kershaw County, SC | Other / independent | D+12.9 |
| Lancaster County, SC | Other / independent | D+32.6 |
| Laurens County, SC | Other / independent | D+16.9 |
| Lee County, SC | Other / independent | D+8.0 |
| Lexington County, SC | Other / independent | D+17.8 |
| Marion County, SC | Other / independent | D+18.7 |
| Marlboro County, SC | Other / independent | D+21.2 |
| McCormick County, SC | Other / independent | D+4.0 |
| Newberry County, SC | Other / independent | D+9.6 |
| Oconee County, SC | Other / independent | D+27.1 |
| Orangeburg County, SC | Other / independent | D+7.2 |
| Pickens County, SC | Other / independent | D+13.9 |
| Richland County, SC | Other / independent | D+19.0 |
| Saluda County, SC | Other / independent | D+9.0 |
| Spartanburg County, SC | Democratic | D+50.8 |
| Sumter County, SC | Other / independent | D+13.0 |
| Union County, SC | Other / independent | D+36.2 |
| Williamsburg County, SC | Other / independent | D+5.2 |
| York County, SC | Other / independent | D+35.0 |
South Carolina results by county
46 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | Strom Thurmond + others+533 | 78774.0% | 25423.9% | 232.2% | 1,064 |
| Aiken County | Strom Thurmond + others+4,040 | 4,61287.0% | 57210.8% | 1152.2% | 5,299 |
| Allendale County | Strom Thurmond + others+986 | 1,04193.8% | 555.0% | 141.3% | 1,110 |
| Anderson County | Harry S. Truman+1,239 | 1,34233.3% | 2,58164.1% | 1052.6% | 4,028 |
| Bamberg County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,591 | 1,71591.6% | 1246.6% | 341.8% | 1,873 |
| Barnwell County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,806 | 1,92193.1% | 1155.6% | 281.4% | 2,064 |
| Beaufort County | Strom Thurmond + others+601 | 85467.9% | 25320.1% | 15011.9% | 1,257 |
| Berkeley County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,215 | 1,53880.1% | 32316.8% | 583.0% | 1,919 |
| Calhoun County | Strom Thurmond + others+805 | 84195.5% | 364.1% | 40.5% | 881 |
| Charleston County | Strom Thurmond + others+8,011 | 10,67176.8% | 2,66019.1% | 5624.0% | 13,893 |
| Cherokee County | Strom Thurmond + others+471 | 1,07661.2% | 60534.4% | 774.4% | 1,758 |
| Chester County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,092 | 1,52875.9% | 43621.7% | 482.4% | 2,012 |
| Chesterfield County | Strom Thurmond + others+643 | 1,55562.2% | 91236.5% | 311.2% | 2,498 |
| Clarendon County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,360 | 1,46792.3% | 1076.7% | 161.0% | 1,590 |
| Colleton County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,114 | 2,33789.9% | 2238.6% | 391.5% | 2,599 |
| Darlington County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,204 | 1,93069.9% | 72626.3% | 1043.8% | 2,760 |
| Dillon County | Strom Thurmond + others+160 | 96853.8% | 80844.9% | 241.3% | 1,800 |
| Dorchester County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,579 | 2,72292.3% | 1434.8% | 852.9% | 2,950 |
| Edgefield County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,770 | 1,79798.2% | 271.5% | 60.3% | 1,830 |
| Fairfield County | Strom Thurmond + others+864 | 1,07579.7% | 21115.6% | 634.7% | 1,349 |
| Florence County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,540 | 3,72973.0% | 1,18923.3% | 1923.8% | 5,110 |
| Georgetown County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,514 | 1,94678.8% | 43217.5% | 923.7% | 2,470 |
| Greenville County | Strom Thurmond + others+3,195 | 5,94062.7% | 2,74529.0% | 7898.3% | 9,474 |
| Greenwood County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,071 | 2,51183.3% | 44014.6% | 632.1% | 3,014 |
| Hampton County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,450 | 1,53194.4% | 815.0% | 100.6% | 1,622 |
| Horry County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,842 | 3,34584.4% | 50312.7% | 1132.9% | 3,961 |
| Jasper County | Strom Thurmond + others+574 | 71580.6% | 14115.9% | 313.5% | 887 |
| Kershaw County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,313 | 1,61582.1% | 30215.4% | 492.5% | 1,966 |
| Lancaster County | Strom Thurmond + others+794 | 1,64965.1% | 85533.7% | 301.2% | 2,534 |
| Laurens County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,534 | 2,04777.9% | 51319.5% | 692.6% | 2,629 |
| Lee County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,013 | 1,15586.6% | 14210.7% | 362.7% | 1,333 |
| Lexington County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,671 | 2,23778.2% | 56619.8% | 582.0% | 2,861 |
| Marion County | Strom Thurmond + others+918 | 1,21979.5% | 30119.6% | 140.9% | 1,534 |
| Marlboro County | Strom Thurmond + others+730 | 1,08473.3% | 35423.9% | 412.8% | 1,479 |
| McCormick County | Strom Thurmond + others+683 | 71396.0% | 304.0% | 00.0% | 743 |
| Newberry County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,416 | 2,76587.5% | 34911.0% | 471.5% | 3,161 |
| Oconee County | Strom Thurmond + others+490 | 1,15659.1% | 66634.0% | 1356.9% | 1,957 |
| Orangeburg County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,729 | 3,16484.1% | 43511.6% | 1644.4% | 3,763 |
| Pickens County | Strom Thurmond + others+909 | 1,34469.1% | 43522.4% | 1658.5% | 1,944 |
| Richland County | Strom Thurmond + others+3,685 | 6,10466.4% | 2,41926.3% | 6707.3% | 9,193 |
| Saluda County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,525 | 1,71289.4% | 1879.8% | 150.8% | 1,914 |
| Spartanburg County | Harry S. Truman+2,068 | 4,67338.8% | 6,74156.0% | 6275.2% | 12,041 |
| Sumter County | Strom Thurmond + others+2,113 | 2,71878.2% | 60517.4% | 1544.4% | 3,477 |
| Union County | Strom Thurmond + others+807 | 2,09061.1% | 1,28337.5% | 461.3% | 3,419 |
| Williamsburg County | Strom Thurmond + others+1,714 | 1,84092.5% | 1266.3% | 231.2% | 1,989 |
| York County | Strom Thurmond + others+571 | 1,98355.7% | 1,41239.6% | 1674.7% | 3,562 |
Nominees: Harry S. Truman (D) · Thomas E. Dewey (R) · Strom Thurmond (States' Rights Democratic)
South Carolina's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1948 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +58.6% |
| 1896 | +71.8% |
| 1900 | +86.0% |
| 1904 | +90.8% |
| 1908 | +87.8% |
| 1912 | +95.9% |
| 1916 | +94.3% |
| 1920 | +92.1% |
| 1924 | +94.3% |
| 1928 | +82.9% |
| 1932 | +98.0% |
| 1936 | +98.6% |
| 1940 | +91.3% |
| 1944 | +83.2% |
| 1948 | +20.4% |
| 1952 | +1.4% |
| 1956 | +20.2% |
| 1960 | +2.5% |
| 1964 | −17.8% |
| 1968 | −8.5% |
| 1972 | −42.7% |
| 1976 | +13.1% |
| 1980 | −1.5% |
| 1984 | −28.0% |
| 1988 | −23.9% |
| 1992 | −8.1% |
| 1996 | −6.0% |
| 2000 | −15.9% |
| 2004 | −17.1% |
| 2008 | −9.0% |
| 2012 | −10.5% |
| 2016 | −14.3% |
| 2020 | −11.7% |
| 2024 | −17.9% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1948 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.