Not only does Richland County contain the state Capitol, it also includes the state *capital* city of Columbia. : )
Romney only did well in “Yankeefied” areas such as Charleston, Hilton Head and Columbia.
“Romney only did well in “Yankeefied” areas such as Charleston, Hilton Head and Columbia.”
Well-stated. I might add that there are a number of such places in Florida, which will be ground zero once again. If Gingrich wins Florida, I don’t see how Romney recovers.
Columbia’s Richland has been moving away from the GOP rapidly over the past quarter-century, so it isn’t particularly important which candidate carried it for the nomination (though it is telling that Willard would win it). Once the GOP became competitive in the state in the modern era, Richland could be considered reliably GOP up until 1990 (when it voted handily for both Strom Thurmond and Carroll Campbell).
From 1992 onwards, it voted solidly Democrat from President to Governor and Senator. GHW Bush was the last to carry it for President in 1988 when he got 53%. Unusually, Jim DeMint actually carried Richland for Senator in 2010, but with a 44% plurality (Lindsay Graham got 45%, but lost, in 2008). It was because Alvin Greene received just 34% (probably almost exclusively from Black voters in the county), while it was clear White Democrats supported the Green Party candidate Tom Clements, who got over 18% (twice as high as his statewide %). In the same election, Nikki Haley performed worse than Alvin Greene in Richland, getting only 31%(!)
These are the numbers for the Presidential races since 1960, so you can follow the decline in GOP performance in the county:
McCain - 35% (lost) (’08)
GW Bush - 42% (lost) (’04)
GW Bush - 43% (lost) (’00)
Dole - 41% (lost) (’96)
GHW Bush - 41% (lost) (’92)
GHW Bush - 53% (won) (’88)
Reagan - 57% (won) (’84)
Reagan - 49.9% (won) (’80)
Ford - 47% (lost) (’76)
Nixon - 64% (won) (’72)
Nixon - 51% (won) (’68)
Goldwater - 60% (won) (’64)
Nixon - 64% (won) (’60)