The 1946 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1946 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 = ...

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...

won the contested Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election becoming the 103rd governor of South Carolina.

Democratic primary

The

South Carolina Democratic Party The South Carolina Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. History The Democratic Party thrived during the Second Party System between 183 ...

held their

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 * ...

for governor in the summer of 1946 and ten candidates entered the contest. The race featured Governor

Ransome Judson Williams Ransome Judson Williams (January 4, 1892January 7, 1970) was the 102nd governor of South Carolina from 1945 to 1947. Biography Born in Cope, South Carolina, he graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and became e ...

, who became governor in 1945 upon the resignation of Olin D. Johnston, but it mainly became a contest between

and James McLeod. Strom Thurmond was a World War II veteran and advocated a progressive platform whereas, James McLeod, a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

from

Florence County Florence County is the name of two counties in the United States: *Florence County, South Carolina *Florence County, Wisconsin Florence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,55 ...

, had the support of the "

Barnwell Ring The so-called "Barnwell Ring" was a grouping of influential Democratic South Carolina political leaders from Barnwell County. The group included state Senator Edgar A. Brown, state Representative Solomon Blatt, Sr., Governor Joseph Emile Harley ...

" and sought to maintain the status quo.

Race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

was not an issue in the campaign and Strom Thurmond emerged victorious with the support of the returning

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

of World War II who wanted to reform

General election

The general election was held on November 5, 1946 and Strom Thurmond was elected the next

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 ...

without opposition on account of South Carolina's effective status as a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

. Being a non-presidential election and with few contested races, turnout was much lower than in the Democratic primary election. , - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

References

* * *"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
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1946

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

1946 United States gubernatorial elections

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 ...

November 1946 events in the United States Strom Thurmond

Democratic primary

General election

See also

References

External links