A quick history: The S.C. GOP primary

The S.C. Republican presidential primary started as a party-building exercise in 1980.

To encourage conservative and disaffected Democrats to vote in the primary, the S.C. contest was established as an “open” primary, allowing any registered vote — Democrat, Republican or independent — to take part.

At the time, Republicans were a political minority in South Carolina. But the political tides of change already were shifting. While South Carolina voted for Jimmy Carter for president in 1976, the state never again has gone Democratic in a presidential election.

1980: S.C. breaks the tie

Former U.S. Rep. George H.W. Bush won Iowa, and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan won New Hampshire. In their first-ever primary, S.C. voters got to break the GOP’s tie — a role that came to define the Palmetto State’s "first-in-the-South" primary.

At first, it looked like S.C. voters would complicate things by picking Texas Gov. John Connally, who had been endorsed by legendary U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond. But Reagan had a wild card: Lee Atwater.

The notorious political consultant from Columbia leaked a story that Connally was "trying to buy the black vote." It helped secure Reagan’s win — and, eventually, the nomination.

Reagan: 78,854, 55 percent

Connally: 43,040, 30 percent

Bush: 21,458, 15 percent

Howard Baker: 753, 1 percent

1988: The first Bush victory

Same story: U.S. Sen. Bob Dole won Iowa, and then-Vice President George H.W. Bush won New Hampshire.

The S.C. race again pitted the state’s senior senator against Reagan — this time the president’s vice president, George H.W,. Bush. Thurmond endorsed Kansas Sen. Dole; Bush, aided by Atwater, enlisted 1964 Republican nominee Barry Goldwater, a senator from Arizona, to give him a boost.

Bush won, easily.

Bush: 99,237, 50 percent

Dole: 40,950, 21 percent

Pat Robertson: 37,050, 19 percent

Jack Kemp: 21,450, 11 percent

1996: S.C. turns back Pat Buchanan

It was U.S. Sen. Bob Dole’s turn to be the nominee — the GOP likes primogeniture — but he almost lost to conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, backed by Spartanburg manufacturing giant and billionaire Roger Milliken.

After Kansan Dole won the Iowa caucuses, Buchanan surprised everyone by winning the New Hampshire primary. Buchanan’s America-first rhetoric appeared tailor-made for S.C. voters and many predicted an upset. But Republican Gov. Carroll Campbell vowed to deliver South Carolina for Dole and did.

Dole: 124,658, 45 percent

Buchanan: 81,256, 33 percent

Lamar Alexander: 29,199, 12 percent

Alan Keyes: 5,787, 2 percent

Dick Lugar: 1,024

Phil Gramm: 466

2000: The dirty primary

The 2000 primary earned South Carolina its reputation for dirty politics.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush was the favorite, having won Iowa and much of the Republican establishment. However, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., won New Hampshire, and both campaigns hit South Carolina hard.

A rumor spread that McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child. In fact, McCain and his wife had adopted a child from Bangladesh. Bush’s ultimately successful campaign, led by Karl Rove, denied spreading the rumor or the equally specious ones that followed. Regardless, the damage was done.

Bush: 259,215, 54 percent

McCain: 198,643, 41 percent

Alan Keyes: 22,802, 5 percent

2008: Resurrecting John McCain

In 2008, S.C. GOP primary voters helped resurrect a candidate, one they had rejected just eight years earlier.

The presidential candidacy of U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona had been left for dead in mid-2007. Meanwhile, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won Iowa and made a big push for S.C. evangelical voters. McCain surged to win New Hampshire, again giving S.C. primary voters a clear choice between McCain, the establishment Republican, and Huckabee, the upstart.

S.C. voters, as they had every time since 1980, narrowly choosing the establishment candidate.

McCain: 143,224, 33 percent

Huckabee: 128,908, 30 percent

Fred Thompson: 67,897, 16 percent

Mitt Romney: 64,970, 15 percent

Ron Paul: 15,773, 4 percent

Rudy Giuliani: 9,112, 2 percent

Duncan Hunter: 1,035

Tom Tancredo: 162

2012: South Carolina goes rogue

This 2012 will be remembered as the primary that ended South Carolina’s streak of choosing the eventual GOP presidential nominee.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the favorite in the race, had a tough time catching on with S.C. voters despite the endorsement of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley.

Romney lost the Iowa caucus by 34 votes to former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. But Romney rebounded to win New Hampshire.

S.C. Republicans gravitated first to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. But when his campaign foundered, Perry quit the race and, just days before the S.C. primary, endorsed former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. Propelled by strong, energetic performances in two debates in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, Gingrich went on to capture the state.

Gingrich: 244,065, 40 percent

Romney: 168,123, 28 percent

Rick Santorum: 102,475, 17 percent

Ron Paul: 78,360, 13 percent

Herman Cain: 6,338, 1 percent

Rick Perry: 2,534

Jon Huntsman: 1,173

Michele Bachmann: 491

Gary Johnson: 211

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 9:54 PM with the headline "A quick history: The S.C. GOP primary."