The 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 ...

Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019, and also as the ...

was

term limited A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potent ...

and unable to seek re-election.

Primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s took place on June 8, 2010, and 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 ...

, as was necessary on the Republican side, was held two weeks later on June 22. Republican

Nikki Haley Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...

defeated Democrat

Vincent Sheheen Vincent Austin Sheheen (born April 29, 1971) is an American attorney and politician. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 2004 to 2020, representing the 27th District, which comprises Chesterfield, Kershaw, and Lancaster counti ...

in the general election by a margin of 4.5%. As of 2022, this is the closest that the Democrats have come to winning the governorship of South Carolina since their last victory in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. This is the first open-seat election since

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Republican primary

Candidates

* Gresham Barrett,

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

* André Bauer,

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, State Representative *

Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since January 24, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. McMaster worked for U.S. senator Strom Thurmond, in ...

State Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney genera ...

Endorsements

Nikki Haley

* Former Governor

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

(R-MA), former presidential candidate for 2008 Republican nomination * Former Governor

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

(R-AK), former Republican vice presidential candidate * Former First Lady of South Carolina

Jenny Sanford Jennifer Sullivan Sanford (born September 11, 1962) is the former First Lady of South Carolina and a former investment banker. She was married to Governor Mark Sanford. Early life and education Sanford was born and raised in Winnetka, Illinoi ...

Republican Liberty Caucus The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of Individual freedom, individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party (United States), Republi ...

Gresham Barrett

* Former U.S. Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

Henry McMaster

* Former Mayor of New York

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

(R-NY), former presidential candidate for 2008 Republican Nomination * Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

(R-AZ), former candidate for 2008 Presidential Election * Former Governor

David Beasley David Muldrow Beasley (born February 26, 1957) is an American politician and the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term as the 113th Governor of South Carolina from 199 ...

(R-SC)

André Bauer

* Former Governor

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...

(R-AR), former presidential candidate for 2008 Republican nomination

Polling

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - valign=top ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:150px;", Date(s)
administered ! Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:60px;", Henry
McMaster ! style="width:60px;", Gresham
Barrett ! style="width:60px;", André
Bauer ! style="width:60px;", Nikki
Haley ! style="width:60px;", Other ! style="width:60px;", Undecided , - , align=left, Public Policy Polling
report)
, align=center, June 5–6, 2010 , 998 , ± 3.1% , align=center, 16% , align=center, 23% , align=center, 12% , align=center, 43% , align=center, -- , align=center, 7% , - , align=left, Public Policy Polling
report)
, align=center, May 22–23, 2010 , 638 , ± 3.9% , align=center, 18% , align=center, 16% , align=center, 13% , align=center, 39% , align=center, -- , align=center, 14% , - , align=left,

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

report)
, align=center, May 17, 2010 , 931 , ± 4.5% , align=center, 19% , align=center, 17% , align=center, 12% , align=center, 30% , align=center, 3% , align=center, 13% , - , align=left,

report
, align=center, March 3, 2010 , 500 , ± 4.5% , align=center, 21% , {align=center, 14% , align=center, 17% , align=center, 12% , align=center, 9% , align=center, 29% , - , align=left, InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research

, align=center, December 16, 2009 , 371 , ± 5.1% , align=center, 22% , align=center, 9% , align=center, 22% , align=center, 13% , align=center, 6% , align=center, 28%

Runoff

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - valign=top ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:145px;", Date(s)
administered ! Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", Nikki
Haley ! style="width:100px;", Gresham
Barrett ! style="width:100px;", Undecided , - , align=left, Public Policy Polling
report
, align=center, June 5–6, 2010 , 998 , ± 3.1% , align=center , 51% , align=center, 35% , 14%

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Robert Ford, State Senator from Charleston *

Jim Rex Jim Rex (born November 21, 1941 in Toledo, Ohio) was the 16th South Carolina Superintendent of Education. He ran for the position in 2006 as a South Carolina Democratic Party, Democrat, against Karen Floyd, a South Carolina Republican Party, Repu ...

, State Superintendent of Education from

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...

, State Senator from Camden

Polling

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - valign=top ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:150px;", Date(s)
administered ! Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:60px;", Jim
Rex ! style="width:60px;", Vincent
Sheheen ! style="width:60px;", Robert
Ford ! style="width:60px;", Dwight
Drake* ! style="width:60px;", Other ! style="width:60px;", Undecided , - , align=left, Public Policy Polling
report
, align=center, May 22–23, 2010 , 410 , ± 4.8% , align=center, 30% , align=center, 36% , align=center, 11% , align=center, -- , align=center, -- , align=center, 23% , - , align=left, Rasmussen Reports
report
, align=center, May 17, 2010 , 404 , ± 5.0% , align=center, 22% , align=center, 30% , align=center, 4% , align=center, -- , align=center, 12% , align=center, 32% , - , align=left, Rasmussen Reports
report
, align=center, March 3, 2010 , 500 , ± 4.5% , align=center, 16% , align=center, 16% , align=center, 12% , align=center, 5% , align=center, 15% , align=center, 37% , - *as of March 5, 2010 Dwight Drake withdrew from the race for Governor.

Results

2010 SC gubernatorial Democratic primary

Other Parties

*Morgan Reeves, Businessman, Minister, and retired

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

player from Irmo ** Dr. Reeves was nominated on March 30 by the United Citizens Party and South Carolina Green Party on April 7 (see SC Election Commission website). Reeves appeared on the November 2nd general election ballot for both parties. An Independent, Dr. Reeves collected enough voter petition signatures to qualify by the July 15th deadline onto a 3rd ballot line. *

, State Superintendent of Education from

**Rex was nominated by the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Nev ...

prior to losing the Democratic primary. Rex did not appear on the Working Families ballot line in November due to South Carolina's "sore loser" law that requires candidates not to seek nominations from multiple parties from appearing on the ballot after they lose any one party's nomination (see candidate party pledge forms). Several election law issues are before US appellate court in Richmond, Virginia regarding conformity to the 1965 Voting Rights Act and US Constitutional provisions, see ACLU/Platt v SC

General election

Debates

*"First in the State" Republican Gubernatorial Primary Debate Sponsored by the Republican Parties of

Newberry Newberry is a surname, a variant of Newbury. Notable people with the surname include: * Booker Newberry III (born 1956), American singer and keyboardist * Brennan Newberry (born, 1990), American professional stock car racing driver * Brian Newb ...

and Laurens Counties
Aired on

WIS-TV WIS (channel 10) is a television station in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios on Bull and Gervais Streets ( US 1/US 378) in downtown Columbia ...

on September 22, 2009

Watch here
*"Spotlight on the Candidates" Joint Gubernatorial Primary Debate Sponsored by the SC Natural Resources Society
Aired on

SCETV South Carolina Educational Television (branded as South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is owned and operated b ...

on November 3, 2009
(This debate marked the first time in state history that gubernatorial primary candidates from both parties participated in the same debate.)
Watch here
*SCGOP Gubernatorial Debate Sponsored by the

South Carolina Republican Party The South Carolina Republican Party (SCGOP) is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in South Carolina. It is one of two major political parties in the state, along with the South Carolina Democratic Party, and is the dominant pa ...

Moderated by

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

hosts

Joe Scarborough Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host, attorney, political commentator, and former politician who is the co-host of '' Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski. He previously hosted ''Scarbo ...

and

Mika Brzezinski Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski Scarborough (; pl, Brzezińska; born May 2, 1967) is an American talk show host, liberal political commentator, and author who currently co-hosts MSNBC's weekday morning broadcast show ''Morning Joe''. She was forme ...

Aired on

WCSC-TV WCSC-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located in the West Ashley section of Charleston, and its transmitter is loca ...

on January 28, 2010

Watch hereRepublican Candidates For South Carolina Governor April Debate: Watch here

Endorsements

Senator Vincent Sheheen -- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Representative Nikki Haley--

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Representative Nikki Haley-- South Citizens for Life

Predictions

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - ! Source ! Ranking ! As of , - ,

Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

, , October 14, 2010 , - ,

Rothenberg Rothenberg is a village and a former municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Since January 2018, it is part of the new town Oberzent. Geography Location Rothenberg lies at elevations between 200 and 500 m in the sou ...

, , October 28, 2010 , - ,

RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ...

, , November 1, 2010 , - ,

Sabato's Crystal Ball ''Sabato's Crystal Ball'' is an online political newsletter and election handicapper. It predicts electoral outcomes for the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, U.S. governors, and U.S. presidential races, with electo ...

, , October 28, 2010 , - ,

CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combine ...

, , October 28, 2010

Polling

{, class="wikitable" , - valign=bottom ! style="width:150px;", Poll source ! style="width:125px;", Dates administered ! style="width:130px;", Nikki Haley (R) ! style="width:130px;", Vincent Sheheen (D) , -
Crantford & Associates
, align=center, October 21, 2010 , align=center, 48% , align=center, 37% , - , -
Crantford & Associates
, align=center, October 18, 2010 , align=center, 43% , align=center, 41% , -
Winthrop University
, align=center, October 13, 2010 , align=center, 47% , align=center, 39% , -
Hamilton Campaigns
, align=center, October 5, 2010 , align=center, 49% , align=center, 44% , -
Hamilton Campaigns
, align=center, October 5, 2010 , align=center, 49% , align=center, 44% , - , -
Hamilton Campaigns
, align=center, October 4, 2010 , align=center, 51% , align=center, 41% , - , -
Crantford & Associates
, align=center, October 2, 2010 , align=center, 45% , align=center, 41% , - , -
Rasmussen Reports
, align=center, September 22, 2010 , align=center, 50% , align=center, 33% , -
Rasmussen Reports
, align=center, August 25, 2010 , align=center, 52% , align=center, 36% , -
Rasmussen Reports
, align=center, July 29, 2010 , align=center, 49% , align=center, 35% , -
Rasmussen Reports
, align=center, June 23, 2010 , align=center, 52% , align=center, 40% , -
Rasmussen Reports
, align=center, June 10, 2010 , align=center, 55% , align=center, 34% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, May 22–23, 2010 , align=center, 44% , align=center, 34%

Results

References

External links

South Carolina State Election CommissionSouth Carolina Governor Candidates
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Campaign contributions for 2010 South Carolina Governor
from ''Follow the Money''

from OurCampaigns.com
2010 South Carolina Governor General Election: Nikki Haley (R) vs Vincent Sheheen (D)
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: South Carolina Governor
from ''

''
2010 South Carolina Governor
from ''

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ...

''
2010 South Carolina Governor's Race
from ''

''
Race Profile
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' ;Debates
South Carolina Republican Gubernatorial Primary Debate
on ''

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

'', June 1, 2010
South Carolina Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Debate
on ''

'', June 3, 2010
South Carolina Republican Gubernatorial Primary Runoff Debate
on ''

'', June 17, 2010 ;Official campaign websites
Gresham Barrett for Governor

André Bauer for Governor

Dwight Drake for Governor

Robert Ford for Governor

Nikki Haley for Governor

Henry McMaster for Governor

Morgan Reeves for Governor

Jim Rex for Governor

Vincent Sheheen for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 2010

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 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2010 United States gubernatorial elections fr:Élections de 2010 en Caroline du Sud