COLUMBIA, S.C. — Publication deadlines led a South Carolina newspaper to go to print showing the wrong winner for what turned out to be the state’s most significant call in this year’s midterm elections.
The State newspaper in Columbia printed its Wednesday edition with the headline, “Arrington goes to Washington.”
The Associated Press called the race for Democrat Joe Cunningham at 2 a.m. Wednesday. He defeated Republican Katie Arrington by about 4,000 votes.
Some on social media called the paper’s front a “Dewey Defeats Truman” moment, referencing the Chicago Daily Tribune’s headline naming the wrong winner of the 1948 presidential election. The Arrington headline, near the top-left corner, was not nearly as large as the 1948 headline, which stretched across the page.
Cunningham is the first new Democrat to join South Carolina’s delegation in more than 25 years.
