South Carolina gubernatorial elections
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 | First | Second | 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 D. Porter Democrat 23,057 24.9% | |
| 1870 | Robert Kingston Scott Republican 85,071 62.3% | Richard B. Carpenter Union Reform 51,537 37.7% | |
| 1872 | Franklin J. Moses, Jr. Republican 69,838 65.4% | Reuben Tomlinson Independent Republican 36,533 34.3% | |
| 1874 | Daniel Henry Chamberlain Republican 80,403 53.9% | John T. Green Independent Republican 68,818 46.1% | |
| 1876 | Wade Hampton III Democrat 92,261 50.3% | Daniel Henry Chamberlain Republican 91,127 49.7% | |
| 1878 | Wade Hampton III Democrat 119,550 99.8% | Unopposed | |
| 1880 | Johnson Hagood Democrat 117,432 96.4% | L.W.R. Blair Greenback-Labor 4,277 3.5% | |
| 1882 | Hugh Smith Thompson Democrat 67,158 79.0% | J. Hendrix McLane Greenback-Labor 17,719 20.8% | |
| 1884 | Hugh Smith Thompson Democrat 67,895 100% | Unopposed | |
| 1886 | John Peter Richardson III Democrat 33,114 99.9% | Unopposed | |
| 1888 | John Peter Richardson III Democrat 58,730 100% | Unopposed | |
| 1890 | Ben Tillman Democrat 59,159 79.8% | Alexander Cheves Haskell Straightout Democrat 14,828 20.0% | |
| 1892 | Ben Tillman Democrat 56,673 99.9% | Unopposed | |
| 1894 | John Gary Evans Democrat 39,507 69.6% | Sampson Pope Independent 17,278 30.4% | |
| 1896 | William Haselden Ellerbe Democrat 59,424 89.1% | Sampson Pope Reorganized Republican 4,432 6.6% | |
| 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 | |
| 1906 | Martin Frederick Ansel Democrat 30,251 100% | Unopposed | |
| 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% | |
| 1970 | John Carl West Democrat 251,151 52.1% | Albert Watson Republican 221,236 45.9% | |
| 1974 | James Burrows Edwards Republican 266,338 50.3% | W.J. Bryan Dorn Democrat 248,861 47.0% | |
| 1978 | Richard Riley Democrat 384,898 61.3% | Edward Lunn Young Republican 236,946 37.7% | |
| 1982 | Richard Riley Democrat 468,787 69.8% | W. D. Workman, Jr. Republican 202,806 30.2% | |
| 1986 | Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. Republican 384,565 51.0% | Michael R. Daniel Democrat 361,328 47.9% | |
| 1990 | Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. Republican 528,831 69.5% | Theo Mitchell Democrat 212,048 27.8% | |
| 1994 | David Beasley Republican 470,756 50.4% | Nick Theodore Democrat 447,002 47.9% | |
| 1998 | Jim Hodges Democrat 570,070 53.3% | David Beasley Republican 484,088 45.3% | |
| 2002 | Mark Sanford Republican 585,422 52.9% | Jim Hodges Democrat 521,140 47.0% | |
| 2006 | Mark Sanford Republican 601,868 55.1% | Tommy Moore Democrat 489,076 44.8% | |
| 2010 | Nikki Haley Republican 674,103 51.4% | Vincent Sheheen Democrat 617,427 47.1% | |
| 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% |
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 elections that they nominated a candidate.
- Republicans have won 10 of the 18 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 : 1906, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1916, 1922, 1934 and 1938. He was successful in 1910 and 1912.