Kivus

The Republican presidential candidates rolled through the heart of South Carolina in the year 2000, I was right in the middle of the action. I remember both John McCain & George W. Bush coming to the Clemson campus, and the feud among the guys on my hall about which one should carry the Republican mantle in that year’s presidential election. Though Senator McCain arrived in the Palmetto state with momentum from Iowa and New Hampshire, President Bush’s win in the state was what sent him on the path to eventual Republican nomination and ultimately the presidency. South Carolina was the first state to get the Republican nomination right and I cast a ballot in that very primary, South Carolina and I were king makers.

This year, however, I was not part of the South Carolina primary. I moved across the South Carolinian border to North Carolina a few years back and am no longer registered to vote in the state to my south. I am no longer a king maker. Nevertheless, looking at the results of this year’s South Carolina primary, I have to wonder if South Carolina is no longer a king maker either.

The final tally in the South Carolina showed Senator McCain coming in at 33% of the vote, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee coming in at 29% of the vote and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney coming in at 15% of the vote. Former Senator Fred Thompson finished in a virtual tie with Governor Romney at 4th place. In a state that is normally associated with a strong conservative element, I have to say that I’m disappointed in my former home state.

There are a number of theories associated with why Senator McCain did well in South Carolina, with the idea that he had some remaining infrastructure from 2000 seeming the most credible. I am hopeful that the notion that South Carolinians voted for Senator McCain because they thought he would have a stronger chance in the general election is not something that actually floated through voter’s minds, as it seems to be a weak standard by which to pick the man that will represent your party.

Looking to tonight’s race in Florida, odds seems to be much higher that those in the Sunshine State are now holding the crown that will be placed on the eventual nominee’s head. This is a year, however, when the nomination might not come down to who wins the big battles but who wins the most small skirmishes and that means that people will not be looking back at the South Carolina primary and saying it was the the key to the Republican nomination. This time around, South Carolina, a king maker, you are not.