The 1894 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1894 to select the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the state of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

John Gary Evans John Gary Evans (October 15, 1863June 26, 1942) was the 85th governor of South Carolina from 1894 to 1897. Early life Evans was born in Cokesbury, South Carolina to an aristocratic and well-connected family. His father was Nathan George E ...

was nominated by the Democrats and became the 85th governor of South Carolina.

Democratic campaign

The conservatives had been so thoroughly defeated by Ben Tillman in 1890 and

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

that they did not offer a candidate for the gubernatorial election. Instead, it became a contest between four Tillmanites: William Ellerbe,

, Dr. Sampson Pope and J.E. Tindal. All four claimed to be ''the'' candidate favored by Tillman, but an embarrassed Tillman responded, "They ought to be spanked for quarrelling about who is the closest friend of Tillman." Initially, Tillman privately supported Ellerbe because he was a farmer, but Tillman became more attracted to Evans as he proved to be a better orator during the campaign. Evans also was able to woo Senator

Irby Irby may refer to: * Irby (surname), a list of people * Irby, Merseyside, England, a village * Irby, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Irby, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community * Irby in the Marsh, Lincol ...

to his side, who placed the Tillman machine squarely behind his candidacy. Ellerbe, Pope and Tindall sensed that they would be unable to win any of the delegates for their candidacy at the Democratic convention and therefore requested a primary election to select the statewide ticket. Tillman refused this request and Evans was unanimously selected as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate at the Democratic convention in Columbia on September 1.

General election

Sampson Pope denounced the selection of Evans as the Democratic candidate by declaring it ring rule because the state Democratic party was completely run by Tillman and his cronies. He entered the general election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate, but the Tillmanites used the quote uttered by

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People * Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman *Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 * ...

that "an independent was worse than a Radical"Ball, p. 239 to great effect and Pope's campaign was nothing more than a

protest vote A protest vote (also called a blank, null, spoiled, or "none of the above" vote) is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system. Protest voting takes a variety of forms a ...

. The general election was held on November 6, 1894 and John Gary Evans was easily elected as governor of South Carolina against Sampson Pope. Turnout increased for this election over the previous election because it was a contested election, but only by just over 100 votes. , - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

Notes

References

* * * * *"Election Returns." ''Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina at the Regular Session Commencing Nov. 27th, 1894''. Volume I. Columbia, SC: Charles A. Calvo, Jr., 1894, p. 470.

External links

SCIway Biography of Governor John Gary Evans
{{South Carolina elections

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

November 1894 events

Democratic campaign

General election

See also

Notes

References

External links