Factbox: A History of the South Carolina Primary (ContributorNetwork)
On Saturday South Carolinians will vote in their state's crucial primary to help decided who the Republican Party will nominate for the general election later this year. Let's take a look back at some of the key moments of this important early primary:
* Known as the "First in the South," the South Carolina primary began in 1980 thanks to the assistance of key Ronald Reagan aid and southerner Lee Atwater, who deployed a "Southern Strategy" to help Reagan achieve the Republican Party's nomination that year.
* Of the six contested Republican primaries since 1980 not a single G.O.P. candidate has won the nomination without first winning in the Palmetto State. Of those six who were nominated, three went on to win the general election and become president: Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.
* While its record of picking presidential winners might sound impressive, South Carolina is actually one of 20 states that have backed the eventual Republican nominee in every primary that they have held over the last three decades. Still, South Carolina's placement as one of the earlier primaries in the nominating process helps to make this fact more notable.
* South Carolina's role as a turning point for Republican candidates has been well established. In 1980, Reagan's victory in South Carolina caused one of his main challengers, Texas governor John Connelly, to drop out of the race and helped propel Reagan to the nomination. In 1988 George H.W. Bush's victory in the state helped him surge past his rival Bob Dole and gain the nomination. In 2000, with the biggest turnout in the state's history, George W. Bush turned around his fortunes by defeating John McCain and eventually winning the nomination. And it was McCain's 2008 victory in South Carolina that helped him overcome Mike Huckabee's earlier win in Iowa.
* For the Democratic Party the South Carolina primary has been notable for its landslides. In 1988 the Democrats held a caucus rather than a primary in South Carolina with Jesse Jackson, a native South Carolinian, winning three-times the vote count of his closest competitor. In 1992 Bill Clinton won 69 percent of the vote. And in 2000 Al Gore won a whopping 92 percent of the vote.
cliff harris josh turner bishop eddie long barnaby barnaby giuliana rancic giuliana rancic