South Carolina Democratic primary, 2016

South Carolina Democratic primary, 2016

February 27, 2016

Candidate Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Home state New York Vermont Delegate count 39 14 Popular vote 271,367 95,840 Percentage 73.5% 26.0%

Election results by county.   Hillary Clinton   Bernie Sanders

The 2016 South Carolina Democratic primary took place on February 27 in the U.S. state of South Carolina, marking the Democratic Party's fourth nominating contest in their series of presidential primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

With the Republican Party having already held its South Carolina primary a week earlier on February 20, the Democratic primary in South Carolina was the only presidential primary on that day.

Debates and forums

November 2015 forum in Rock Hill

Rachel Maddow was selected to moderate the First in the South Candidates Forum with Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley, which was held at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on November 6, co-sponsored by the Democratic Parties of 13 southern states.^[1] The forum was not in debate format; instead, each candidate was interviewed individually and sequentially.^[2] Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb were also invited, but their campaigns never responded to the invitations,^[3] and both have since withdrawn from the race. A Public Policy Poll of South Carolina Democratic voters conducted from November 7–8, after the forum, discovered that 67% of viewers thought Clinton won the forum, 16% thought Sanders won, and 6% thought O'Malley won, with 11% unsure.^[4]

January 2016 debate in Charleston, South Carolina

On January 17, 2016, the Democratic Party held a fourth debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Hosted by Lester Holt and Andrea Mitchell, the debate aired on NBC News and was streamed on YouTube. It was also sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. It was notable as being the final debate before the start of precinct caucuses and primary voting. Participants were Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley. It was the final debate appearance of O'Malley, who suspended his campaign on February 1.

Both before and after the debate, commentators said the debate was focused on Sanders and his voting record on gun control and slights against President Obama, among other issues. During the debate, O'Malley interrupted to take 30 seconds to talk about "homeland security and preparedness".^[5] Also during the debate, Clinton and Sanders had some back-and-forth exchanges to define themselves on Wall Street, foreign policy, and gun control.^[5]

Opinion polling

Delegate count: 53 Pledged, 6 Unpledged

Winner

Hillary Clinton

Primary date

27 February 2016

Poll source	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	Other
Primary Results	February 27, 2016	Hillary Clinton 73.5%	Bernie Sanders 26.0%		Other 0.6%
Clemson[6] Margin of error: 3.0% Sample size: 650	February 20–25, 2016	Hillary Clinton 64%	Bernie Sanders 14%		Others / Undecided 22%
Emerson College[7] Margin of error: 6.0% Sample size: 266	February 22–24, 2016	Hillary Clinton 60%	Bernie Sanders 37%		Others / Undecided 3%
NBC/WSJ/Marist[8] Margin of error: 4.8% Sample size: 425	February 15–17, 2016	Hillary Clinton 60%	Bernie Sanders 32%		Other 8%
Bloomberg Politics[9] Margin of error: 4.9% Sample size: 403	February 13–17, 2016	Hillary Clinton 53%	Bernie Sanders 31%		Not sure 16%
ARG[10] Margin of error: 5% Sample size: 400	February 14–16, 2016	Hillary Clinton 61%	Bernie Sanders 31%	Someone else 1%	No opinion 7%
Public Policy Polling[11] Margin of error: ± 4% Sample size: 525	February 14–15, 2016	Hillary Clinton 55%	Bernie Sanders 34%		Undecided 12%
CNN/ORC[12] Margin of error: 6% Sample size: 289	February 10–15, 2016	Hillary Clinton 56%	Bernie Sanders 38%	Someone else 3%	No opinion 4%
ARG[13] Margin of error: ± 5.0% Sample size: 400	February 12–13, 2016	Hillary Clinton 65%	Bernie Sanders 27%		Other 1%, Undecided 7%
One America News Network/Gravis Marketing[14] Margin of error: ± 4% Sample size: 507	February 11–13, 2016	Hillary Clinton 59%	Bernie Sanders 41%
YouGov/CBS News[15] Margin of error: ± 8.7% Sample size: 404	February 10–12, 2016	Hillary Clinton 59%	Bernie Sanders 40%		No Preference 1%
NBC/WSJ/Marist[16] Margin of error: ± 4.6% Sample size: 446	January 17–23, 2016	Hillary Clinton 64%	Bernie Sanders 27%	Martin O'Malley 2%	Undecided 7%
YouGov/CBS News[17] Margin of error: ± 9.4% Sample size: 388	January 17–21, 2016	Hillary Clinton 60%	Bernie Sanders 38%	Martin O'Malley 0%	Undecided 2%
SC New Democrats Margin of error: ± ?% Sample size: 583	January 12–15, 2016	Hillary Clinton 47%	Bernie Sanders 28%	Martin O'Malley 2%	Undecided 22%

Polls in 2015 

Poll source	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	Other
YouGov/CBS News[18] Margin of error: ± 5.0% Sample size: 420	December 13–17, 2015	Hillary Clinton 67%	Bernie Sanders 31%	Martin O'Malley 2%	No Preference 0%
Fox News Margin of error: ± 5.0% Sample size: 364	December 5–8, 2015	Hillary Clinton 65%	Bernie Sanders 21%	Martin O'Malley 3%	Other 1%, None of the Above 7%, DK 3%
YouGov/CBS News[19] Margin of error: ± 6.0% Sample size: 420	November 15–19, 2015	Hillary Clinton 72%	Bernie Sanders 25%	Martin O'Malley 2%	Undecided 1%
Public Policy Polling[20] Margin of error: ± 4.9% Sample size: 400	November 7–8, 2015	Hillary Clinton 72%	Bernie Sanders 18%	Martin O'Malley 5%	Unsure 5%
Monmouth University[21] Margin of error: ± 4.9% Sample size: 400	November 5–8, 2015	Hillary Clinton 69%	Bernie Sanders 21%	Martin O'Malley 1%	Other 1% No Preference 8%
Winthrop University[22] Margin of error: ± 3.4% Sample size: 832	October 24 – November 1, 2015	Hillary Clinton 71%	Bernie Sanders 15%	Martin O'Malley 2%	Refused 2% Undecided 9% Wouldn't Vote 1%
YouGov/CBS News[23] Margin of error: ± 8.2% Sample size: 427	October 15–22, 2015	Hillary Clinton 68%	Bernie Sanders 25%	Martin O'Malley 1%	Jim Webb 1%, Lincoln Chafee 0%, Lawrence Lessig 0%, No preference 4%
Clemson Palmetto[24] Margin of error: 4.0% Sample size: 600	October 13–23, 2015	Hillary Clinton 43%	Bernie Sanders 6%	Martin O'Malley 1%	Undecided 50%
CNN/ORC[25] Margin of error: 5.5% Sample size: 301	October 3–10, 2015	Hillary Clinton 49%	Joe Biden 24%	Bernie Sanders 18%	Martin O'Malley 3%, Someone else 1%, None/No one 1%, No opinion 4%
Gravis Marketing[26] Margin of error: ± ?% Sample size: ?	September 25–27, 2015	Hillary Clinton 50%	Joe Biden 19%	Bernie Sanders 13%	Lincoln Chafee 1%, Jim Webb <1%, Martin O'Malley <1%, Unsure 17%
YouGov/CBS News[27] Margin of error: ± 6.8% Sample size: 528	Sep. 3–10, 2015	Hillary Clinton 46%	Bernie Sanders 23%	Joe Biden 22%	No preference 8%, Jim Webb 1%, Lincoln Chafee 0%, Martin O'Malley 0%
Public Policy Polling[28] Margin of error: ± 5.6% Sample size: 302	Sep. 3–6, 2015	Hillary Clinton 54%	Joe Biden 24%	Bernie Sanders 9%	Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb 2%; Lincoln Chafee 1%
Gravis Marketing[29] Margin of error: ± 4.0% Sample size: 209	July 29–30, 2015	Hillary Clinton 78%	Bernie Sanders 8%	Elizabeth Warren 6%	Joe Biden 6%, Jim Webb 1%, Martin O'Malley 1%, Lincoln Chafee 1%
Morning Consult[30] Margin of error: ? Sample size: 309	May 31 – June 8, 2015	Hillary Clinton 56%	Joe Biden 15%	Bernie Sanders 10%	Martin O'Malley 3%, Jim Webb 2%, Lincoln Chafee 1%, Someone else 2% Undecided 11%
Public Policy Polling Margin of error: ± 6.2% Sample size: 252	February 12–15, 2015	Hillary Clinton 59%	Joe Biden 18%	Elizabeth Warren 10%	Martin O'Malley 3%, Bernie Sanders 1%, Jim Webb 1%, Other/Undecided 8%
NBC News/Marist Margin of error: ± 5.2% Sample size: 352	February 3–10, 2015	Hillary Clinton 65%	Joe Biden 20%	Bernie Sanders 3%	Martin O'Malley 2%, Jim Webb 2%, Undecided 8%

Polls in 2014 

Poll source	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	Other
Clemson University Margin of error: ±6% Sample size: 400	May 26 – June 2, 2014	Hillary Clinton 50%	Joe Biden 12%	Andrew Cuomo 2%	Martin O'Malley 1%, Deval Patrick 0%, Brian Schweitzer 0%, Undecided/Don't know 35%

Results

South Carolina Democratic primary, February 27, 2016
Candidate	Popular vote		Estimated delegates
	Count	Percentage	Pledged	Unpledged	Total
Hillary Clinton	272,379	73.44%	39	5	44
Bernie Sanders	96,498	26.02%	14	0	14
Willie Wilson	1,314	0.35%
Martin O'Malley (withdrawn)	713	0.19%
Uncommitted			0	1	1
Total Votes	370904	100%	53	6	59
Void?	2,159	0.58%
Total Ballots	373,063	100.58%
Sources: The Green Papers, South Carolina State Election Commission

Delegates: The South Carolina Democratic Party - State Election Results

References

1. "MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow to moderate 2016 Democratic forum at Winthrop". The State. October 7, 2015.
2. "MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow will bring Southern focus to forum". Charlotte Observer. November 4, 2015.
3. "S.C. Democrats to host three presidential candidates in Rock Hill". Greenvilleonline.com. 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
4. "Three Republican candidates speak at anti-gay pastor's rally". MSNBC. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
5. Fix, Team (2016-01-17). "The 4th Democratic debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
6. "Clemson University Palmetto Poll Democratic primary summary". Retrieved 2016-02-26.
7. "EMERSON POLL: CLINTON LEADS SANDERS BY A WIDE MARGIN IN SOUTH CAROLINA, WITH STRONG SUPPORT FROM AFRICAN AMERICANS" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-02-26.
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11. http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article60547281.html
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13. http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/polls/arg-23748
14. "OANN/Gravis South Carolina Polling Results February 2016". OANN. February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
15. "CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker South Carolina" (PDF). CBS News. February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
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18. "CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker South Carolina" (PDF).
19. "CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker Iowa" (PDF).
20. "Trump Still Leads But Declining in SC; Clinton Dominant" (PDF). Public Policy Polling. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
21. "South Carolina: Clinton with Big Lead" (PDF). Monmouth University Poll. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
22. "Winthrop University: Winthrop Poll – Current Findings". winthrop.edu.
23. "PDF file" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-10-12.
24. "SC Poll". Retrieved 2015-11-05.
25. "CNN SC poll". Retrieved 2015-11-05.
26. "The Buzz". Retrieved 2015-10-01.
27. Will Jordan. "Sanders up big in New Hampshire and Iowa; Carson trails Trump". YouGov.
28. "The Buzz". Retrieved 2015-09-09.
29. "SC polling" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-08-04.
30. "Morning Consult SC" (PDF). morningconsult.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.