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 County Results Ellerbe: 50-60% 70-80% 80-90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in South Carolina |
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The 1896 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1896 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. William Haselden Ellerbe won the Democratic primary and easily won the general election to become the 86th governor of South Carolina.
| Elections in South Carolina |
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A new South Carolina Constitution was promulgated in 1895 under the direction of Pitchfork Ben Tillman and it disenfranchised the remaining blacks who were eligible to vote. With the removal of blacks from the electorate, the South Carolina Democratic Party felt safe to have its statewide ticket selected from a primary election. Thus, the 1896 election in South Carolina was the first that featured the use of a primary election by a party to select its nominees of statewide office for the general election.
Governor John Gary Evans declined to seek a second term and instead sought election to the U.S. Senate. Three candidates entered the Democratic primary and William Haselden Ellerbe from the start was the heavy favorite to win. He had been a candidate in the previous gubernatorial election, but lost to Evans after Tillman shifted his support from Ellerbe to Evans. This time Tillman fully backed Ellerbe and the other candidates never generated any traction with the voters of the state. The primary was held on August 26 and Ellerbe coasted to victory while the voters were chiefly interested in the battle between Evans and Joseph H. Earle for the open Senate seat.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| William Haselden Ellerbe | 55,313 | 77.1 |
| John R. Harrison | 14,278 | 19.9 |
| G. Walton Whitman | 2,186 | 3.0 |
Sampson Pope had been an independent candidate in the previous gubernatorial election and gained an impressive 30% of the vote in a state completely run by the Democratic party machine. Upset at the new state constitution promulgated in 1895 and the lack of opposition by the state Republicans, Pope established a new party called the "Reorganized Republicans". It was composed chiefly of white men and requested recognition as the official South Carolina Republican Party from the Republican National Committee. Pope was considered to be a lily-white Republican. [1]
However, the official state party did not want to lose its official status because of the potential spoils system to be gained by the election of William McKinley for president in 1896. They called for a state convention on September 17 in Columbia to nominate a statewide ticket. Sampson Pope likewise called for a convention of his Reorganized Republicans at the same time hoping that the two factions would merge or fuse for the general election. The old guard Republicans refused any merger and would only accept complete subordination forcing the Reorganized Republicans to also nominate a slate of statewide candidates.
The general election was held on November 3, 1896 and William Haselden Ellerbe was easily elected as governor of South Carolina against the two Republican candidates. Turnout increased for this election over the previous election because it was a contested election and there also was a presidential election on the ballot.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William Haselden Ellerbe (incumbent) | 59,424 | 89.1 | +19.5 | |
| Reorganized Republican | Sampson Pope | 4,432 | 6.6 | -23.8 | |
| Republican | R.M. Wallace | 2,780 | 4.2 | +4.2 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 41 | 0.1 | +0.1 | |
| Majority | 54,992 | 82.5 | +43.3 | ||
| Turnout | 66,677 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
The 1878 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1878 to select the governor of South Carolina. Wade Hampton III was renominated by the Democrats and ran against no organized opposition in the general election to win reelection for a second two-year term.
The 1868 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held for two days from June 2 to June 3, 1868, to elect the governor of South Carolina; elections for statewide offices were held following the ratification of the South Carolina Constitution of 1868 on April 16. Republican Robert Kingston Scott won the election largely with the support of the newly enfranchised black vote and became the state's 74th governor.
The 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Mark Sanford, the Republican nominee, defeated incumbent Democratic governor Jim Hodges to become the 115th governor of South Carolina. Hodges became only the third incumbent governor and the first Democratic governor in South Carolina history to lose reelection.
William Haselden Ellerbe was the 86th governor of South Carolina from 1897 to 1899.
The 1880 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1880 to s elect the governor of South Carolina. Johnson Hagood was nominated by the Democrats and ran against L. W. R. Blair, a Greenback-Labor candidate. Hagood easily won the general election and became the 80th governor of South Carolina.
The 1882 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1882 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Hugh Smith Thompson was nominated by the Democrats and ran against J. Hendrix McLane, a Greenback-Labor candidate. Thompson easily won the general election and became the 81st governor of South Carolina.
The 1890 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday November 4, to elect the governor of South Carolina. Ben Tillman was nominated by the Democrats and easily won the general election against A.C. Haskell to become the 84th governor of South Carolina.
The 1892 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1892, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor Ben Tillman was renominated by the Democrats and was elected in the general election to a second two-year term.
The 1894 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1894 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. John Gary Evans was nominated by the Democrats and became the 85th governor of South Carolina.
Miles Benjamin McSweeney was the 87th governor of South Carolina from June 2, 1899, to January 20, 1903.
The 1898 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1898, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor William Haselden Ellerbe won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election to win a second term as governor.
The 1912 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1912, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor Coleman Livingston Blease won the Democratic primary. As South Carolina was utterly dominated by the Democratic Party, he faced no significant opposition in the general election.
The 1904 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 8, 1904, to elect seven representatives Representatives for one two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. All five incumbents who ran were re-elected and the open seats in the 2nd congressional district and 6th congressional district were retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation thus remained solely Democratic.
The 1898 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 8, 1898, to select seven Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. Six Democratic incumbents were re-elected and the open seat was retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the election was solely Democratic.
The 1897 South Carolina United States Senate election was a unanimous election of the Democratic nominee on January 26, 1897, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. The Democratic primary election was held on August 26, 1896, and September 9. Prior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S. Senators were elected by the state legislature and not through the direct election by the people of the state. However, the Democratic Party of South Carolina organized primary elections for the U.S. Senate beginning in 1896 and the General Assembly would confirm the choice of the Democratic voters. Conservative Democratic Joseph H. Earle won the Democratic primary and was elected by the General Assembly for a six-year term.
The 1903 South Carolina United States Senate election, held January 27, 1903 to select the U.S. senator from the state of South Carolina, was predetermined by the Democratic Party primary election held on August 26, 1902, and September 9. Democrats were so overwhelmingly dominant that their nomination was tantamount to the general election.
The 1909 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on January 26, 1909. Its outcome was determined by a Democratic Party primary election held on August 25 and September 8, 1908. Interim Senator Frank B. Gary, who had been elected to complete the unfinished term of the late Senator Asbury Latimer, did not run for re-election. Democrat Ellison D. Smith won the Democratic primary and was elected by the General Assembly for a six-year term.
Elections in Alabama are authorized under the Alabama State Constitution, which establishes elections for the state level officers, cabinet, and legislature, and the election of county-level officers, including members of school boards.
The 1896 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 3, 1896, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1900 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 6, 1900. All contemporary 45 states were part of the 1900 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
| Preceded by 1894 | South Carolina gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 1898 |
