1918 United States Senate election in South Carolina

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1918 Democratic Senate primary in South Carolina
Flag of South Carolina.svg
  1913 August 27, 1918 1924  
  Nathaniel B. Dial.jpg Coleman L Blease (cropped).jpg
Nominee Nathaniel Dial Cole Blease
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote65,06440,456
Percentage58.70%36.50%

United States Senator before election

Christie Benet
Democratic

Elected United States Senator

Nathaniel B. Dial
Democratic

The 1918 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on Tuesday, November 5, simultaneously with the special senate election to elect the United States Senator for a six-year term from South Carolina. Nathaniel B. Dial won the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election to win the six-year term to the Senate.

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

The primary election in 1918 for Senate was shaping up to be a contentious affair between Ben Tillman and Cole Blease, two of the state's most notorious demagogues. Blease had performed surprisingly well in the 1916 gubernatorial election where he had almost knocked off incumbent Governor Richard Irvine Manning III. The death of Tillman in July ended all prospects of an epic battle and the race became a contest between Blease and Nathaniel B. Dial. The South Carolina Democratic Party held the primary on August 27 and Dial garnered over 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff election. Blease suffered the worst loss of his political career mainly because of his vitriolic opposition to World War I which made him appear as a traitor. There was no opposition to the Democratic candidate in the general election so Dial was elected to a six-year term in the Senate.

Results

Democratic Primary
CandidateVotes%
Nathaniel B. Dial 65,064 58.7
Coleman Livingston Blease 40,456 36.5
James F. Rice 5,317 4.8

General election results

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1918
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Nathaniel B. Dial 25,792 100.0 0.0
Majority25,792100.00.0
Turnout 25,792
Democratic hold

See also

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References