Trump again carries South Carolina in presidential election

Posted: Nov 3, 2020 / 08:00 PM EST / Updated: Nov 3, 2020 / 08:13 PM EST

CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 21: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives two thumbs up to the crowd during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party’s nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump has won again in South Carolina, a state where his support has remained solid during his first term.

Trump defeated Democratic nominee Joe Biden to win the state’s nine electoral votes.

South Carolina, which Trump won handily in 2016, had been assumed to be safely in his 2020 win column.

Its early primary status makes the state a must-stop destination for both Republicans and Democrats.

But South Carolina has rarely seen recent general election campaigning.

South Carolina hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter’s 1976 campaign.