1946 South Carolina gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1946 South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff South Carolina presidential no 1942 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1942 1950 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1950 September 3, 1946 x120px Strom Thurmond 1948 (cropped).jpg Strom Thurmond Democratic Party (United States) 144,420 56.95% File:3x4.svg James C. McLeod Democratic Party (United States) 109,169 43.05% 1946 South Carolina gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg 250px County resultsThurmond: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%McLeod: #d3bc5f 50–60% #c8ab37 60–70% #a0892c 70–80% Governor Ransome Williams Democratic Party (United States) Strom Thurmond Democratic Party (United States) 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. Democratic primary Candidates Archie J. Beattie Carl B. Epps John D. Long James C. McLeod, Florence County physician Dell O'Neal Roger W. Scott Marcus A. Stone John C. Taylor, former U.S. Representative from Anderson Strom Thurmond, World War II veteran and former State Senator from Edgefield Ransome Judson Williams, incumbent Governor A.L. Wood 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 PrimaryCandidateVotes% 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 RunoffCandidateVotes%±% Strom Thurmond 144,420 57.0 +23.6 James C. McLeod 109,169 43.0 +14.1 General election 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. South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1946 Democratic Party (United States) Strom Thurmond 26,520 100.00 0.0 26,520 100.00 0.0 26,520 |- | Democratic Party (United States) | colspan=5 |Democratic hold |- #00f 65+% won by Thurmond See also Governor of South Carolina List of governors of South Carolina South Carolina gubernatorial elections References Walter Edgar South Carolina A History 1998 University of South Carolina Press 1-57003-255-6 Jordan Frank E The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876–1962 44–46 "Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, South Carolina: 1947, p. 10. External links SCIway Biography of Governor James Strom Thurmond 1942 South Carolina gubernatorial elections 1950 1946 1946 Category:1946 United States gubernatorial elections Gubernatorial Category:November 1946 in the United States Category:Strom Thurmond