 Prior to 1948, Barnwell County was a Democratic Party stronghold similar to the rest of the Solid South, with Democratic presidential candidates receiving near-unanimous margins of victory in most years.The twenty years from 1948 to 1968 were a highly transitional time for the politics of South Carolina & Barnwell County, largely in part due to the Democratic Party's increasing support for African-American civil rights & enfranchisement.Segregationist candidates Strom Thurmond & George Wallace won the county in those aforementioned years, bookended by Democratic wins in 1952 & 1956 & Republican wins in 1960 & 1964.