1888 South Carolina gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 related races 1888 United States gubernatorial elections 1888 South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial convention South Carolina presidential no 1886 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1886 November 6, 1888 1890 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1890 x150px John Peter Richardson III, Governor of South Carolina.jpg John Peter Richardson III Democratic Party (United States) 62.09% 190 Joseph Earle.jpg Joseph Haynsworth Earle Democratic Party (United States) 37.91% 116 Governor John Peter Richardson III Democratic Party (United States) John Peter Richardson III Democratic Party (United States) The 1888 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1888, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. John Peter Richardson III was renominated by the Democrats and was reelected for a second two-year term. Democratic Convention Democratic nomination for GovernorCandidateVotes% John Peter Richardson III 190 62.1 Joseph Haynsworth Earle 116 37.9 In 1886, an amendment was added to the constitution of the South Carolina Democratic Party that mandated candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor to have at least one meeting in every congressional district with the voters. Benjamin Tillman, an upstate demagogue, engaged Governor Richardson at the meetings in 1888 and soundly trounced him on the stump. Confident of his support in the state, Tillman sought to name the next governor of South Carolina and told his henchmen to nominate Joseph H. Earle at the Democratic convention. Earle refused the nomination, but Tillman's men nominated him nevertheless stating that "This is a case of the office seeking the man, and not the man seeking the office."Cooper, p184 A friend of Earle's from Sumter County rose to withdraw his name and Earle's brother declared that Earle would not serve if elected. However, many delegates still voted for Earle and Tillman's growing strength in the Democratic party became evident when his candidate for governor obtained almost 40% of the vote, despite publicly disavowing any candidacy. General election The general election was held on November 6, 1888, and John Peter Richardson III was reelected as governor of South Carolina without opposition. There were very few contested races and turnout increased for this election over the previous election solely because of a presidential election on the ballot. South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1888 Democratic Party (United States) John Peter Richardson III (inc.) 58,730 99.97 +0.1 No party Write-Ins 16 0.03 -0.1 58,714 99.95 +0.2 58,746 |- | Democratic Party (United States) | colspan=5 |Democratic hold |- See also Governor of South Carolina List of governors of South Carolina South Carolina gubernatorial elections Notes References William J. Jr. Cooper The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890 2005 University of South Carolina Press 1-57003-597-0 182–185 "Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, SC: James H. Woodrow, 1889, p. 569. External links SCIway Biography of Governor John Peter Richardson III 1886 South Carolina gubernatorial elections 1890 South Carolina 1888 1888 Gubernatorial Category:November 1888 in the United States