South Carolina was won by Republican nominee John McCain by an 8.97% margin. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise a red state. Despite the significant proportion of African Americans in the state, South Carolina still remains, like most other states throughout the South, a GOP stronghold at the state and federal levels. McCain kept South Carolina in the GOP column in 2008, clinching 53.87% of the vote. This is the first time a presidential candidate received more than 1,000,000 votes in the state. However, McCain's 9% margin was significantly less than Bush's 17% margin in 2004.
