# List of South Carolina gubernatorial elections

Elections in South Carolina :
Federal government
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
Rep
Dem
2004
Dem
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Rep
2016
Dem
2020
Dem
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate
1897
sp 1898
1902
1903
1907
1908
1909
1913
1914
1918
sp 1918
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1936
1938
sp 1941
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
sp 1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
sp 2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
2028
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
2006
Amendment 1
2008
2010
2012
2014 :
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 :
vte :
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.