List of South Carolina gubernatorial elections

(Redirected from South Carolina gubernatorial elections)

U.S. President
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U.S. Senate
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U.S. House of Representatives
1788 1790 1793 1794 1796 1798 1800 1803 1804 1806 1808 1810 1812 1814 1816 1818 1820 1823 1824 1826 1828 1830 1833 1834 1836 1838 1840 1843 1844 1846 1848 1850 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 7th 1901 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 4th 1915 1916 1918 6th 1919 7th 1919 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 4th 1953 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1st 1971 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2nd 2001 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 1st 2013 2014 2016 5th 2017 2018 2020 2022 2024 List of specials

State offices

General elections
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Gubernatorial elections
1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
State Senate elections
2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
State House elections
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024

Ballot measures

Charleston

Mayoral elections
2007 2011 2015 2019 2023

Columbia

Mayoral elections
2005 2009 2010 2013 2017 2021

Rock Hill

Mayoral elections
2007 2011 2015 2019 2023

Greenville

Mayoral elections
2007 2011 2015 2019 2023

Prior to 1865, the Governor of South Carolina was chosen by the General Assembly. The Constitution of South Carolina provided for the voters of South Carolina to choose the governor; James Lawrence Orr was the first elected governor of South Carolina. The following is a list of gubernatorial election results for the state of South Carolina:

Results

Year	Winner	Minority	County Map
1865	James Lawrence Orr No party 9,928 51.9%	Wade Hampton III No party 9,186 48.1%
1868	Robert Kingston Scott Republican 69,693 75.1%	William Dennison Porter Democrat 23,057 24.9%
1870	Robert Kingston Scott Republican 85,071 62.3%	Richard B. Carpenter Union Reform 51,537 37.7%	Red counties were won by Scott and magenta counties were won by Carpenter
1872	Franklin J. Moses, Jr. Republican 69,838 65.4%	Reuben Tomlinson Independent Republican 36,533 34.3%	Red counties were won by Moses and magenta counties were won by Tomlinson
1874	Daniel Henry Chamberlain Republican 80,403 53.9%	John T. Green Independent Republican 68,818 46.1%	Red counties were won by Chamberlain and magenta counties were won by Green
1876	Wade Hampton III Democrat 92,261 50.3%	Daniel Henry Chamberlain Republican 91,127 49.7%	Blue counties were won by Hampton and red counties were won by Chamberlain
1878	Wade Hampton III Democrat 119,550 99.8%	Unopposed	Blue counties were won by Hampton
1880	Johnson Hagood Democrat 117,432 96.4%	L.W.R. Blair Greenback-Labor 4,277 3.5%	Blue counties were won by Hagood
1882	Hugh Smith Thompson Democrat 67,158 79.0%	J. Hendrix McLane Greenback-Labor 17,719 20.8%	Blue counties were won by Thompson and green counties were won by McLane
1884	Hugh Smith Thompson Democrat 67,895 100%	Unopposed	Blue counties were won by Thompson
1886	John Peter Richardson III Democrat 33,114 99.9%	Unopposed	Blue counties were won by Richardson
1888	John Peter Richardson III Democrat 58,730 100%	Unopposed	Blue counties were won by Richardson
1890	Ben Tillman Democrat 59,159 79.8%	Alexander Cheves Haskell Straightout Democrat 14,828 20.0%	Blue counties were won by Tillman and cyan counties were won by Haskell
1892	Ben Tillman Democrat 56,673 99.9%	Unopposed	Blue counties were won by Tillman
1894	John Gary Evans Democrat 39,507 69.6%	Sampson Pope Independent 17,278 30.4%	Blue counties were won by Evans and magenta counties were won by Pope
1896	William Haselden Ellerbe Democrat 59,424 89.1%	Sampson Pope Reorganized Republican 4,432 6.6%	Blue counties were won by Ellerbe
1898	William Haselden Ellerbe Democrat 28,225 100%	Unopposed
1900	Miles Benjamin McSweeney Democrat 46,457 100%	Unopposed
1902	Duncan Clinch Heyward Democrat 31,817 100%	Unopposed
1904	Duncan Clinch Heyward Democrat 51,917 100%	Unopposed	Blue counties were won by Heyward
1906	Martin Frederick Ansel Democrat 30,251 100%	Unopposed	Blue counties were won by Ansel
1908	Martin Frederick Ansel Democrat 61,060 100%	Unopposed
1910	Coleman Livingston Blease Democrat 30,739 100%	Unopposed
1912	Coleman Livingston Blease Democrat 44,122 99.5%	R.B. Britton Socialist 208 0.5%
1914	Richard Irvine Manning III Democrat 34,606 99.8%	R.B. Britton Socialist 83 0.2%
1916	Richard Irvine Manning III Democrat 60,405 97.9%	Coleman Livingston Blease Independent 1,089 1.8%
1918	Robert Archer Cooper Democrat 25,267 100%	Unopposed
1920	Robert Archer Cooper Democrat 58,050 100%	Unopposed
1922	Thomas Gordon McLeod Democrat 34,065 100%	Unopposed
1924	Thomas Gordon McLeod Democrat 53,545 100%	Unopposed
1926	John Gardiner Richards, Jr. Democrat 16,589 100%	Unopposed
1930	Ibra Charles Blackwood Democrat 17,790 100%	Unopposed
1934	Olin D. Johnston Democrat 22,873 100%	Unopposed
1938	Burnet Rhett Maybank Democrat 49,009 99.4%	Joseph Augustis Tolbert Republican 283 0.6%
1942	Olin D. Johnston Democrat 23,859 100%	Unopposed
1946	Strom Thurmond Democrat 26,520 100%	Unopposed
1950	James F. Byrnes Democrat 50,633 100%	Unopposed
1954	George Bell Timmerman, Jr. Democrat 214,204 100%	Unopposed
1958	Ernest Hollings Democrat 77,714 100%	Unopposed
1962	Donald Stuart Russell Democrat 253,704 100%	Unopposed
1966	Robert Evander McNair Democrat 255,854 58.2%	Joseph O. Rogers, Jr. Republican 184,088 41.8%	Blue counties were won by McNair and red counties were won by Rogers
1970	John Carl West Democrat 251,151 52.1%	Albert Watson Republican 221,236 45.9%	Blue counties were won by West and red counties were won by Watson
1974	James Burrows Edwards Republican 266,338 50.3%	W.J. Bryan Dorn Democrat 248,861 47.0%	Red counties were won by Edwards and blue counties were won by Dorn
1978	Richard Riley Democrat 384,898 61.3%	Edward Lunn Young Republican 236,946 37.7%	Blue counties were won by Riley and red counties were won by Young
1982	Richard Riley Democrat 468,787 69.8%	W. D. Workman, Jr. Republican 202,806 30.2%	Blue counties were won by Riley
1986	Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. Republican 384,565 51.0%	Michael R. Daniel Democrat 361,328 47.9%	Red counties were won by Campbell and blue counties were won by Daniel
1990	Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. Republican 528,831 69.5%	Theo Mitchell Democrat 212,048 27.8%	Red counties were won by Campbell and blue counties were won by Mitchell
1994	David Beasley Republican 470,756 50.4%	Nick Theodore Democrat 447,002 47.9%	Red counties were won by Beasley and blue counties were won by Theodore
1998	Jim Hodges Democrat 570,070 53.3%	David Beasley Republican 484,088 45.3%	Blue counties were won by Hodges and red counties were won by Beasley
2002	Mark Sanford Republican 585,422 52.9%	Jim Hodges Democrat 521,140 47.0%	Red counties were won by Sanford and blue counties were won by Hodges
2006	Mark Sanford Republican 601,868 55.1%	Tommy Moore Democrat 489,076 44.8%	Red counties were won by Sanford and blue counties were won by Moore
2010	Nikki Haley Republican 674,103 51.4%	Vincent Sheheen Democrat 617,427 47.1%	Red counties were won by Haley and blue counties were won by Sheheen
2014	Nikki Haley Republican 696,645 55.9%	Vincent Sheheen Democrat 516,166 41.4%
2018	Henry McMaster Republican 921,324 54.0%	James Smith Democrat 784,182 45.9%
2022	Henry McMaster Republican 988,501 58.1%	Joe Cunningham Democrat 692,691 40.7%

Statistics

Firsts

The gubernatorial election of 1865 was the first gubernatorial election of South Carolina.
The gubernatorial election of 1896 was the first gubernatorial election that featured the use of a primary election.
The gubernatorial election of 1898 was the first gubernatorial election that featured the use of a runoff election.

Votes

There have been 51 gubernatorial elections in South Carolina.
Democrats have won 40 of the 47 (85%) elections that they nominated a candidate.
Republicans have won 10 of the 18 (56%) elections that they nominated a candidate.
James Lawrence Orr won with the smallest margin of victory in the gubernatorial election of 1865: 743.
The gubernatorial election of 1926 had the lowest vote: 16,589.
The gubernatorial election of 2018 had the largest vote: 1,705,506.

Unique politicians

Only three governors have been defeated for reelection: Daniel Henry Chamberlain in 1876, David Beasley in 1998 and Jim Hodges in 2002.
Coleman Livingston Blease has made the most attempts for governor (8): 1906, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1916, 1922, 1934 and 1938. He was successful in 1910 and 1912.

External links

SCIway List of South Carolina Governors in Chronological Order

v t e Elections in South Carolina
General	1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State Senate	2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
State House	2018 2020 2022
Governor	1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1788-89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1789 1793 1796 (special) 1798 (special) 1799 1801 (special) 1810 (special) 1810 1816 (special) 1822 1828 1832 (special) 1834 1840 1845 (special) 1846 1850 (special) 1852 1858 (special) 1868 1870 1876 1882 1888 1894 1900 1906 1912 1918 (special) 1918 1924 1930 1936 1941 (special) 1942 1948 1954 1956 (special) 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1789 1794/95 1800 1802 (special) 1804 (special) 1806 1812 1818 1824 1826 (special) 1830 1833 (special) 1837 1842 (special) 1848 1854 1857 (special) 1868 (special) 1872 1878 1884 1890 1897 1898 (special) 1903 1909 1914 1920 1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1966 (special) 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2014 (special) 2016 2022
U.S. House	1788 1790 1793 1794 5th sp 1795 2nd sp 1796 1797 1st sp 1798 1800 1802 4th sp 1803 1804 1805 8th sp 1806 1807 6th sp 1808 1810 1st sp 1810 1812 1814 1816 9th sp 1818 6th sp 1820 1821 9th sp 1822 2nd sp 4th sp 9th sp 1823 1824 1825 1st sp 1826 1828 1830 1833 1834 8th sp 1836 4th sp 8th sp 1838 1840 1843 1844 1846 1848 1st sp 1850 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1st sp 1872 1874 1876 2nd sp 1878 1880 1882 1884 7th sp 1886 1888 1890 1892 6th sp 1894 1st sp 4th sp 1896 7th sp 1897 6th sp 1898 1900 1901 7th sp 1902 1904 2nd sp 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 1st sp 1914 1915 4th sp 1916 1917 5th sp 1918 1919 6th sp 7th sp 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 6th sp 1940 1942 1944 2nd sp 1946 1948 1950 1952 1953 4th sp 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 2nd sp 1964 1965 2nd sp 1966 1968 1970 1971 1st sp 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2nd sp 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 1st sp 2014 2016 2017 5th sp 2018 2020 2022 Special
See also: Political party strength in South Carolina

v t e Governors of South Carolina
J. Rutledge Lowndes J. Rutledge Mathews Guerard Moultrie T. Pinckney C. Pinckney Moultrie Vanderhorst C. Pinckney E. Rutledge Drayton J. Richardson P. Hamilton C. Pinckney Drayton Middleton Alston D. Williams A. Pickens Geddes Bennett Wilson Manning I Taylor Miller J. Hamilton Hayne McDuffie Butler Noble Henagan Richardson II Hammond Aiken Johnson Seabrook Means J. Manning Adams Allston Gist F. Pickens Bonham Magrath Perry Orr Scott Moses Chamberlain Hampton Simpson Jeter Hagood Thompson Sheppard Richardson III Tillman Evans Ellerbe McSweeney Heyward Ansel Blease Smith Manning III Cooper Harvey McLeod Richards Blackwood Johnston Maybank Harley Jefferies Johnston R. Williams Thurmond Byrnes Timmerman Hollings Russell McNair West Edwards Riley Campbell Beasley Hodges Sanford Haley McMaster

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