The 1912 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1912, 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 = ...

. Governor

Coleman Livingston Blease Coleman Livingston Blease (October 8, 1868 – January 19, 1942) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 89th governor of South Carolina from 1911 to 1915, and as a United States senator from 1925 to 1931. Blease w ...

won the Democratic primary. As South Carolina was utterly dominated by the Democratic Party, he faced no significant opposition in the general election.

Democratic primary

Governor

ran for a second term, but he faced a credible challenge in the state Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

against

Ira B. Jones Ira B. Jones (December 29, 1851 - December 12, 1927) was a chief justice on the South Carolina Supreme Court and a candidate for governor in 1912. Life and career Jones was born in Newberry, South Carolina on December 29, 1851. Jones began co ...

. Senator Ben Tillman felt that Blease had greatly damaged the reputation of the state and was morally unfit to be governor, but because his re-election was on the same ballot he feared to openly oppose Blease so as to cause his own political downfall. Nevertheless, Tillman published a letter at the last minute stating his opposition to Blease. It was rather ironic because Tillman was essentially aiding the very people he had opposed in his 1890 gubernatorial contest. Despite Tillman's objection, Blease won the primary election on August 27 and avoided a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

by obtaining more than 50 percent of the vote.

General election

The general election was held on November 5, 1912, when Coleman Livingston Blease was officially re-elected

governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the '' ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

. Turnout increased over the previous gubernatorial election because there was also a

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

on the ballot. , - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

References

* * *"Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina. Part II." ''Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina''. Volume III. Columbia, South Carolina: 1913, pp. 422–423. *

External links

SCIway Biography of Coleman Livingston Blease
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1912

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

1912 United States gubernatorial elections November 1912 events in the United States

Democratic primary

General election

See also

References

External links