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| Elections in South Carolina |
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The 1946 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1946 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Strom Thurmond won the contested Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election becoming the 103rd governor of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor in the summer of 1946 and ten candidates entered the contest. The race featured Governor Ransome Judson Williams, who became governor in 1945 upon the resignation of Olin D. Johnston, but it mainly became a contest between Strom Thurmond and James McLeod. Strom Thurmond was a World War II veteran and advocated a progressive platform whereas, James McLeod, a physician from Florence County, had the support of the "Barnwell Ring" and sought to maintain the status quo. Race was not an issue in the campaign and Strom Thurmond emerged victorious with the support of the returning veterans of World War II who wanted to reform South Carolina.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Strom Thurmond | 96,691 | 33.4 |
| James C. McLeod | 83,464 | 28.9 |
| Ransome Judson Williams | 35,813 | 12.4 |
| John C. Taylor | 22,447 | 7.8 |
| Dell O'Neal | 16,574 | 5.7 |
| John D. Long | 16,503 | 5.7 |
| Carl B. Epps | 5,189 | 1.8 |
| Marcus A. Stone | 4,353 | 1.5 |
| A.L. Wood | 3,040 | 1.0 |
| Archie J. Beattie | 2,889 | 1.0 |
| Roger W. Scott | 2,251 | 0.8 |
| Democratic Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Strom Thurmond | 144,420 | 57.0 | +23.6 |
| James C. McLeod | 109,169 | 43.0 | +14.1 |
The general election was held on November 5, 1946 and Strom Thurmond was elected the next governor of South Carolina without opposition on account of South Carolina's effective status as a one-party state. Being a non-presidential election and with few contested races, turnout was much lower than in the Democratic primary election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Strom Thurmond | 26,520 | 100.0 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 26,520 | 100.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Turnout | 26,520 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition to the regular Democratic Party. After President Harry S. Truman, the leader of the Democratic Party, ordered integration of the military in 1948 and other actions to address civil rights of African Americans, including the first presidential proposal for comprehensive civil and voting rights, many Southern white politicians who objected to this course organized themselves as a breakaway faction. They wished to protect the ability of states to maintain racial segregation. Its members were referred to as "Dixiecrats", a portmanteau of "Dixie", referring to the Southern United States, and "Democrat".
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
The 1966 United States Senate elections were elections on November 8, 1966, for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats, thereby breaking Democrats' 2/3rds supermajority. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. Democrats were further reduced to 63–37, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and three special elections were held to fill vacancies. Although Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber unchanged.
The 1954 United States Senate elections was a midterm election in the first term of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. The 32 Senate seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections, and six special elections were held to fill vacancies. Eisenhower's Republican party lost a net of two seats to the Democratic opposition. This small change was just enough to give Democrats control of the chamber with the support of an Independent who agreed to caucus with them, he later officially joined the party in April 1955.
The 1922 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1922, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Thomas Gordon McLeod won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election becoming the 95th governor of South Carolina.
The 1924 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1924 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor Thomas Gordon McLeod won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election being reelected for a second two-year term.
Ransome Judson Williams was the 102nd governor of South Carolina from 1945 to 1947.
The 1954 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1954, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. George Bell Timmerman won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election becoming the 105th governor of South Carolina.
The 1954 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 2, 1954 to select the next U.S. senator from the state of South Carolina. Senator Burnet R. Maybank did not face a primary challenge in the summer and was therefore renominated as the Democratic Party's nominee for the election in the fall. However, his death on September 1 left the Democratic Party without a nominee and the executive committee decided to nominate state Senator Edgar A. Brown as their candidate for the election. Many South Carolinians were outraged by the party's decision to forgo a primary election and former Governor Strom Thurmond entered the race as a write-in candidate. He easily won the election and became the first U.S. senator to be elected by a write-in vote in an election where other candidates had ballot access. A Senate election where the victor won by a write-in campaign would not happen again until 2010.
The so-called "Barnwell Ring" was a grouping of influential Democratic South Carolina political leaders from Barnwell County. The group included state Senator Edgar A. Brown, state Representative Solomon Blatt, Sr., Governor Joseph Emile Harley, and state Representative Winchester Smith, Jr. Together, the four occupied the most powerful positions of South Carolina government in 1941.
The 1966 South Carolina United States Senate special election was held on November 8, 1966 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. The election resulted from the death of Senator Olin D. Johnston in 1965. Then Governor Donald S. Russell entered in a prearranged agreement with Lieutenant Governor Robert Evander McNair in which Russell would resign his post so that he could be appointed Senator. However, former Governor Fritz Hollings won the Democratic primary election and went on to beat Republican state senator Marshall Parker in the general election to win his right to fill the remaining two years of the unexpired term.
The 2002 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 5, 2002. Longtime Republican incumbent Strom Thurmond decided to retire at the age of 100, becoming the first centenarian to ever serve in Congress; he later died in June 2003. Thurmond's record as the longest-serving Senator in U.S. history was later surpassed by West Virginia's Robert Byrd.
The 1966 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 8, 1966 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina simultaneously with the special election to fill out the remainder of Olin D. Johnston's term.
The 1972 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1972 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Republican Senator Strom Thurmond easily defeated Democratic challenger Eugene N. Zeigler. This marked the first time that a Republican was re-elected Senator from the state, and the first time since 1872 when that person won consecutive elections.
The 1978 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1978, to select the U.S. senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Republican Senator Strom Thurmond defeated Democratic challenger Charles D. Ravenel.
The 1950 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1950, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Olin D. Johnston defeated Strom Thurmond in a bitterly contested Democratic primary on July 11 and was unopposed in the general election.
Electoral history of Strom Thurmond, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (1947–1951), United States Senator from South Carolina, 1948 States' Rights Democrats presidential nominee and President pro tempore of the United States Senate.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. This would be the last presidential election where Arkansas had nine electoral votes: the Great Migration would see the state lose three congressional districts in the next decade-and-a-half.
| Preceded by 1942 | South Carolina gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 1950 |
