2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election

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2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election
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  Nikki Haley official portrait.jpg Vincent Sheheen (cropped).jpg
Nominee Nikki Haley Vincent Sheheen
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote690,525630,535
Percentage51.37%46.91%
2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
2010 SC Gov.svg
Haley:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Sheheen:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Governor before election

Mark Sanford
Republican

Elected Governor

Nikki Haley
Republican

The 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Sanford was term limited and unable to seek re-election. Primary elections took place on June 8, 2010, and a runoff election, as was necessary on the Republican side, was held two weeks later on June 22.

Contents

Republican Nikki Haley defeated Democrat Vincent Sheheen in the general election by a margin of 4.5%. As of 2023, this is the closest that the Democrats have come to winning the governorship of South Carolina since their last victory in 1998. This is the first open-seat election since 1994. Haley was re-elected in 2014 in a rematch with Sheheen.

Republican primary

According to CNN , Haley initially entered the gubernatorial primary as a dark horse candidate. In an article covering her surge in the primary in the weeks prior to the election, it was noted that a "surprise" endorsement from former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin boosted Haley's candidacy. Haley's campaign was backed by TV ads run by ReformSC, an advocacy group funded by allies of outgoing governor Mark Sanford. [1]

Candidates

Endorsements

Nikki Haley

Gresham Barrett

Henry McMaster

André Bauer

  • Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), former presidential candidate for 2008 Republican nomination [12]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Henry
McMaster		Gresham
Barrett		André
Bauer		Nikki
Haley		OtherUndecided
Public Policy Polling (report) June 5–6, 2010998± 3.1%16%23%12%43%--7%
Public Policy Polling (report) May 22–23, 2010638± 3.9%18%16%13%39%--14%
Rasmussen Reports (report) May 17, 2010931± 4.5%19%17%12%30%3%13%
Rasmussen Reports (report)March 3, 2010500± 4.5%21%14%17%12%9%29%
InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research ()December 16, 2009371± 5.1%22%9%22%13%6%28%

Runoff

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Nikki
Haley		Gresham
Barrett		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (report)June 5–6, 2010998± 3.1%51%35%14%

Results

Primary results by county: Haley .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Haley--60-70% Haley--50-60% Haley--40-50% Haley--<40% Barrett Barrett--40-50% Barrett--50-60% 2010 SC GOP gubernatorial primary.svg
Primary results by county:
Haley
  •   Haley—60–70%
  •   Haley—50–60%
  •   Haley—40–50%
  •   Haley—<40%
Barrett
  •   Barrett—40–50%
  •   Barrett—50–60%
Republican primary results [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Nikki Haley206,32648.9
Republican Gresham Barrett91,82421.8
Republican Henry McMaster71,49416.9
Republican André Bauer52,60712.4
Total votes422,251 100
Primary runoff results by county: Haley Haley--80-90% Haley--70-80% Haley--60-70% Haley--50-60% Barrett Barrett--50-60% Barrett--60-70% 2010 SC gubernatorial Republican runoff.svg
Primary runoff results by county:
Haley
  •   Haley—80–90%
  •   Haley—70–80%
  •   Haley—60–70%
  •   Haley—50–60%
Barrett
  •   Barrett—50–60%
  •   Barrett—60–70%
Republican primary runoff results on June 22 [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Nikki Haley233,73365.1
Republican Gresham Barrett125,60134.9
Total votes359,334 100

Democratic primary

Candidates

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Jim
Rex		Vincent
Sheheen		Robert
Ford		Dwight
Drake*		OtherUndecided
Public Policy Polling (report)May 22–23, 2010410± 4.8%30%36%11%----23%
Rasmussen Reports (report [ permanent dead link ])May 17, 2010404± 5.0%22%30%4%--12%32%
Rasmussen Reports (report)March 3, 2010500± 4.5%16%16%12%5%15%37%

Results

Primary results by county: Sheheen Sheheen-->90% Sheheen--80-90% Sheheen--70-80% Sheheen--60-70% Sheheen--50-60% Sheheen--40-50% Sheheen--<40% 2010 SC gubernatorial Democratic primary.svg
Primary results by county:
Sheheen
  •   Sheheen—>90%
  •   Sheheen—80–90%
  •   Sheheen—70–80%
  •   Sheheen—60–70%
  •   Sheheen—50–60%
  •   Sheheen—40–50%
  •   Sheheen—<40%
Democratic primary results [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Vincent Sheheen111,63759.0
Democratic Jim Rex43,59023.0
Democratic Robert Ford34,12118.0
Total votes189,348 100

Other Parties

General election

Debates

Sponsored by the Republican Parties of Newberry and Laurens Counties
Aired on WIS-TV on September 22, 2009
Watch here

Sponsored by the SC Natural Resources Society
Aired on SCETV on November 3, 2009
(This debate marked the first time in state history that gubernatorial primary candidates from both parties participated in the same debate.) [22]
Watch here

Sponsored by the South Carolina Republican Party
Moderated by MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski
Aired on WCSC-TV on January 28, 2010
Watch here

Endorsements

Senator Vincent Sheheen -- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce [23]

Representative Nikki Haley-- National Rifle Association of America

Representative Nikki Haley-- South Citizens for Life

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Cook Political Report [24] Lean ROctober 14, 2010
Rothenberg [25] Safe ROctober 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics [26] Lean RNovember 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball [27] Likely ROctober 28, 2010
CQ Politics [28] Lean ROctober 28, 2010

Polling

Poll sourceDates administeredNikki Haley (R)Vincent Sheheen (D)
Crantford & Associates October 21, 201048%37%
Crantford & Associates October 18, 201043%41%
Winthrop University October 13, 201047%39%
Hamilton Campaigns October 5, 201049%44%
Hamilton Campaigns October 5, 201049%44%
Hamilton Campaigns October 4, 201051%41%
Crantford & Associates October 2, 201045%41%
Rasmussen Reports September 22, 201050%33%
Rasmussen Reports August 25, 201052%36%
Rasmussen Reports July 29, 201049%35%
Rasmussen Reports June 23, 201052%40%
Rasmussen Reports June 10, 201055%34%
Public Policy Polling May 22–23, 201044%34%

Results

South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2010 [29]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Nikki Haley 690,525 51.37% -3.75%
Democratic Vincent Sheheen 630,53446.91%+2.12%
United Citizens Morgan B. Reeves20,1141.50%N/A
Write-ins3,0250.23%N/A
Majority59,9914.46%-5.87%
Turnout 1,344,19850.92%+6.42%
Republican hold Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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References

  1. ↑ Hamby, Peter (May 20, 2010). "Haley has momentum in South Carolina race, rivals admit". CNN. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ↑ Barrett running for S.C. governor Archived 2009-03-05 at the Wayback Machine The State, Mar. 4, 2009
  3. ↑ Lt Gov Bauer makes run for governor official Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine WPDE, Oct. 29, 2009
  4. ↑ Haley announces run for governor Archived 2013-02-05 at archive.today The State, May 14, 2009
  5. ↑ Henry McMaster seeking S.C. Governor post Archived 2013-01-19 at archive.today WCBD, August 3, 2009
  6. ↑ "Governor Mitt Romney Endorses Nikki Haley for South Carolina Governor". Nikkihaley.com. March 16, 2010. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Sarah Palin to Endorse Nikki Haley". Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  8. ↑ O'Connor, John (November 12, 2009). "Jenny Sanford endorses Nikki Haley - Yahoo elections". TheState.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Vice President Cheney Endorses Gresham Barrett". GreshamBarrett.com. June 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  10. 1 2 ANDY BARR. "Rudy latest '08 vet to endorse in S.C. – Jessica Taylor". Politico.Com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Henry McMaster Endorsed by David Beasley wltx.com | Columbia, SC News, Weather and Sports |". Wltx.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  12. ↑ [ dead link ]
  13. 1 2 3 "South Carolina Primary Results". Politico. June 8, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  14. ↑ Ford to focus on return of video poker Post and Courier, Jan. 14, 2009
  15. ↑ Jim Rex announces campaign for governor Archived 2013-01-19 at archive.today WCBD, September 15, 2009
  16. ↑ Sheheen Announces Run for Governor WLTX, Oct. 28, 2009
  17. ↑ Dwight Drake Drops out of SC race Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine Drake for South Carolina, March 5, 2010
  18. ↑ Irmo man clears hurdle to run for governor [ permanent dead link ] WACH, March 1, 2010
  19. ↑ Green, Libertarian, Working Families, Labor, Constitution, United Citizens, Independence Archived 2010-06-08 at the Wayback Machine - List of candidates who have filed with these parties. Candidates are nominated by convention and do not appear on Primary ballots.
  20. ↑ "Rex counting on fusion voters in governor's race". GoUpstate.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  21. ↑ "ACLU to Argue in Appeals Court That South Carolina's Ballot Access Law Is Unconstitutional". CommonDreams.org. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  22. ↑ Ten Gubernatorial Candidates to Share Stage for Historic Debate on ETV Archived 2010-03-01 at the Wayback Machine SCETV Website, Oct. 23, 2009
  23. ↑ "WFAE 90.7 FM". Wfae.org. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  24. ↑ "2010 Governors Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Governor Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report . Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  26. ↑ "2010 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics . Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  27. ↑ "THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  28. ↑ "Race Ratings Chart: Governor". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  29. ↑ "SC - Election Results".
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