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Article published Nov 3, 2004
Upstate, S.C. behind Bush

ALEXANDER MORRISON
Staff Writer

Upstate South Carolinians emphatically voted for a second term for President George W. Bush.President Bush trounced Democratic challenger John Kerry in South Carolina Tuesday, winning more than 58 percent of the votes, with 94 percent of precincts reporting.The Upstate counties led the way for the Republican incumbent."I want to keep Bush in office," said Katie Hadden, 23, of Duncan as she waited in a nearly two-hour-long voting line."I'm pretty much a Republican straight down the line."Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties all went heavily for Bush, to the surprise of few.Bush won 65 percent of the Spartanburg County vote against Kerry's 35 percent. Bush tallied 61,892 votes compared with Kerry's 33,545 votes.In Cherokee County, Bush won nearly 65 percent of the vote with 12,064 ballots. Kerry took most of the remaining 35 percent with 6,443 votes.In Union County, Bush totaled 6,592 votes, or 56 percent, to Kerry's 5,036, or 43 percent.Bush supporters at the polls often said the war on terrorism was the main reason they supported the incumbent."We need to have someone who will not wait for us to be attacked," said Danny Suttles, 39, of Spartanburg.Many Kerry supporters said they were worried about the war, but they also frequently expressed concern about the economy."We think he's the best candidate for what we need," said Latoshia McKinney, 29, of Boiling Springs. She called herself a Democrat-leaning independent."We feel that we need a change in office," she said, speaking for herself and her husband, Shawn.Spartanburg County Republican Party Chairman Rick Beltram said he had expected Bush to carry close to 65 percent of the county vote.Indeed, record turnout seemed to favor Bush in the traditionally Republican Upstate area.Spartanburg County Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Patterson, however, was not disheartened by the results. She said Democrats hoped Kerry would get 40 percent statewide -- a hope Kerry narrowly fulfilled."That's a good result for us," she said. "We're alive and well."In many ways, results were similar to the 2000 presidential contest in which Bush narrowly defeated his Democratic rival Al Gore nationally but swamped him in Upstate South Carolina.In that election, Bush tallied 66,772 votes in Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties or 61 percent. Only 40,359 people or 37 percent voted for Gore.Statewide the Bush-Gore contest was slightly closer, with Bush pulling 57 percent of voters and Gore getting 41 percent.With one exception, Republican presidential candidates have carried South Carolina in every election since 1972. Jimmy Carter, the then-Democratic governor of Georgia won South Carolina and the national election in 1976.The 2004 presidential race was the most expensive in history. Bush raised $360 million nationally against Kerry's $317 million.All told, fundraising was up nearly $150 million from the $529 million raised in the 2000 campaign.In South Carolina, Bush raised nearly $3 million dollars while Kerry raised $380,000, according to Dwight L. Morris and Associates' campaign finance Web site.Ralph Nader had fewer than 4,900 votes in South Carolina, with 90 percent of precincts reporting.Alexander Morrison can be reached at alex.morrison@shj.com or 562-7215.