1882 South Carolina gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1882 South Carolina gubernatorial election South Carolina presidential no 1880 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1880 November 7, 1882 1884 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1884 x150px Hugh Smith Thompson Democratic Party (United States) - 67,158 79.00% x150px J. Hendrix McLane Greenback Party Republican 17,719 20.84% 1882 South Carolina gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 250px County results Thompson: #7996E2 50–60% #6674DE 60–70% #584CDE 70–80% #3933E5 80–90% #0D0596 90–100%McLane: #30A630 70–80% Governor Johnson Hagood Democratic Party (United States) Hugh Smith Thompson Democratic Party (United States) The 1882 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1882 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Hugh Smith Thompson was nominated by the Democrats and ran against J. Hendrix McLane, a Greenback-Labor candidate. Thompson easily won the general election and became the 81st governor of South Carolina. Democratic Convention Candidates John Bratton, Comptroller General John Kennedy, Lieutenant Governor Hugh Smith Thompson, Superintendent of Education Declined Johnson Hagood, incumbent Governor Wade Hampton, former Governor George D. Tillman, U.S. Representative Campaign Governor Johnson Hagood chose not to seek reelection in 1882 and two former generals in the Confederate Army emerged as the frontrunners, Lieutenant Governor John Kennedy and Comptroller General John Bratton. Both men were loyal followers of Wade Hampton, neither had supported Martin Witherspoon Gary, and both were dedicated Democrats. However, many in the state wanted a new direction and the candidacy of George D. Tillman quickly gained pace. Others feared that an intra-party fight over the nomination would bring back Radical Republican rule and only the return of Senator Hampton could save the party. Even so, both Tillman and Hampton declined and chose to continue their representation in the Congress. Hugh Smith Thompson, the state Superintendent of Education since 1876, had declined to be a candidate for governor and instead lobbied for the presidency of South Carolina College. However, with the opening of the state Democratic convention in August, Thompson was nominated for governor alongside Kennedy and Bratton. After the second ballot with momentum in Thompson's favor, both Kennedy and Bratton withdrew their names thus allowing Thompson to be the Democrats nominee for the general election. Results Democratic nomination for GovernorCandidate1st Ballot2nd Ballot Hugh Smith Thompson 112 147 John Doby Kennedy 107 90 John Bratton 95 75 Greenback-Labor Convention Following their disastrous defeat in the gubernatorial election of 1880, the Greenback-Labor party members met with state Republican leaders to fuse and offer a joint ticket for the general election. In a January interview with the News and Courier, McLane stated that the Greenbacks would get 150,000 votes in the general election and sweep the statewide offices. A convention for the Greenbacks was held in Columbia with over one hundred delegates from 22 counties, even including a Democratic state senator. McLane was nominated for the governorship and candidates were fielded for six of the seven congressional districts, the seventh district being a heavily black district held by the Republicans. The platform outlined by the Greenbacks for the election was: Congress to issue legal greenbacks. Condemning government bonds. Denouncing the lien law, stock law, and the election law. General election The general election was held on November 7, 1882 and Hugh Smith Thompson was elected as governor of South Carolina with nominal opposition. Turnout was less than the previous gubernatorial election because of the increasingly uncompetitive nature of the election in South Carolina. 1882 South Carolina Gubernatorial Election Democratic Party (United States) Hugh Smith Thompson 67,158 79.00% 17.4% Greenback Party J. Hendrix McLane 17,719 20.84% 17.3% No party Write-Ins 134 0.16% 0.1% 49,439 58.16% 34.7% 85,011 |- | Democratic Party (United States) | colspan=5 |Democratic hold |- See also Governor of South Carolina List of governors of South Carolina South Carolina gubernatorial elections References William Cooper The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877–1890 2005 University of South Carolina Press 1-57003-597-0 Election results The News and Courier 23 November 1882 1 "Election Returns." Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina: Charles A. Calvo, Jr., 1883, p. 1719. External links SCIway Biography of Governor Hugh Smith Thompson 1880 South Carolina gubernatorial elections 1884 Category:1882 United States gubernatorial elections 1882 Gubernatorial Category:November 1882 in the United States