South Carolina Primary Winners and Losers

January 20, 2012 -- intro:

It is the state that's never been wrong. Since its inception in 1980, the South Carolina primary has chosen the eventual Republican nominee every year.

And based on the millions of ad dollars that the four remaining GOP candidates and their supporting Super PACs poured into the Palmetto state, they were extremely aware of how important it was to win in Saturday's South Carolina primary.

If history is any indication, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum should have had a leg up in the Palmetto state. No presidential candidate has ever won the South Carolina GOP primary without already having won in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Meaning Gingrich's upset victory was unprecedented in the state primary's 22-year history.

Despite historical precedence, Gingrich - who came in fourth in both Iowa and New Hampshire - took the top spot in South Carolina with 41 percent of the vote, beating Romney by 13 percentage points. Santorum finished third with 17 percent and Ron Paul came in fourth with 13 percent of the vote.

Here's a look back at the past winners and losers of the South Carolina Primary:

quicklist: 1title: 2008: John McCain and Barack Obamatext:

In the hotly contested 2008 GOP primary race, John McCain squeaked by with a narrow win in South Carolina, so narrow, in fact, that he set a record for amassing the lowest percentage of votes out of any South Carolina primary winner. Only 33.2 percent of Republican voters cast their ballot for McCain. Mike Huckabee, who took first place in the Iowa caucus, came in a close second with 29.8 percent.

Leading up to the South Carolina primary on the Democratic side, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were neck-and-neck, with Obama having won in Iowa and Nevada, and Clinton riding her victory in New Hampshire. As the first state with a large African-American population to vote in the 2008 primary, South Carolina was vital to Obama, who ended up winning with 55 percent of the votes.

quicklist:2title: 2004: John Edwardstext:

Sen. John Edwards achieved an upset win in South Carolina during the state's 2004 Democratic primary, breaking rival Sen. John Kerry's two-win streak in Iowa and New Hampshire. South Carolina would be one of only two states Edwards won before conceding the nomination to Kerry.

Kerry lost the close general election to incumbent Republican president George W. Bush.

quicklist: 3title: 2000: George W. Bush and Al Goretext:

The 2000 GOP primary in South Carolina had the highest turnout in history, with more than half a million Republican voters casting a ballot.

After losing badly to John McCain in New Hampshire, Texas Gov. George W. Bush desperately needed a win in South Carolina, something the Texan achieved mightily. Bush beat McCain by 12 percentage points and went on to win both the GOP nomination and the general election.

The Democratic contest was a knockout as well. With wins in Iowa and New Hampshire already under his belt, Vice President Al Gore crushed his opponent Bill Bradley, receiving 92 percent of the vote. Gore is the only non-incumbent presidential candidate in South Carolina primary history to have won in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

quicklist: 4title: 1996: Bob Dole text:

Kansas Sen. Bob Dole was the early favorite in the 1996 GOP primary, but after a narrow win in Iowa, Dole's momentum evaporated and he lost to political commentator Pat Buchanan in New Hampshire.

Two more losses in Arizona and Delaware made a win in South Carolina pivotal to the Dole campaign. His 15-point victory over Buchanan put Dole back on track to win the nomination. Dole lost the general election to incumbent President Bill Clinton.

quicklist:5title: 1992: Bill Clintontext:

The early stages of the 1992 Democratic primary were almost as volatile as this year's GOP race. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin took an easy victory in his home state. Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas secured the top spot in New Hampshire, but only narrow edged Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.

Clinton's second-place win was a major momentum-getter and propelled him on to a big victory in South Carolina, where he won 69 percent of the votes.

Clinton wrapped up the nomination on Super Tuesday and defeated incumbent president George H.W. Bush in the general election.

quicklist: 6title: 1988: George Bush Sr. and Jesse Jacksontext:

The second time was the charm for Vice President George Bush Sr., who won South Carolina's primary in 1988 after losing the same contest to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Bush promised to carry on the legacy of a very popular outgoing President Reagan if elected, and he defeated Michael Dukakis in the general election.

While Bush locked up the Republican primary early, the Democratic race drew out long past Super Tuesday. The Rev. Jesse Jackson triumphed in South Carolina but had a tough time expanding his support out of the South. He eventually lost the nomination to Dukakis.

quicklist:7title:1984: Jesse Jacksontext:

In his first bid for the White House, the Rev. Jesse Jackson won only two states: South Carolina and Louisiana. Jackson was the second African-American to run for president, and the first to win a state primary.

As a civil rights leader, Jackson capitalized on South Carolina's large African-American population and conservative Christian roots to secure a win, but eventually lost the nomination to former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Mondale was defeated in the general election by incumbent Ronald Reagan.

quicklist: 8title: 1980: Ronald Reagantext:

Ronald Reagan emerged on the Republican presidential scene with all the fanfare expected of a former Hollywood actor. As the early favorite to win the GOP nomination, Reagan all but skipped the Iowa caucus, where he lost to George Bush Sr.

With Bush and former Texas Gov. John Connolly engaged in a nasty battle of leaked memos and vote-buying accusations, Reagan won an easy victory in South Carolina's first primary. Reagan went on to handily beat the unpopular incumbent President Jimmy Carter.