The 1970 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970 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 C. West, the Democratic nominee, won a close general election against Albert Watson, the

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 ...

congressman from the 2nd congressional district. ''

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'' credited West's victory to his success among Black voters, "whites who were moderate on racial issues", and segments of the white working-class who supported George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign but were disappointed with the state of the economy. Central to the campaign was the issue of school integration: Watson ran a

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

campaign and pledged to "stand up" to federal judicial orders to desegregate schools.

Primaries

Both John Carl West and Albert Watson faced no opposition in their party's primaries which allowed both candidates to concentrate solely on the general election.

General election

Watson's campaign was supported by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and Senator Strom Thurmond. Watson's anti-integration campaign rhetoric is considered to have contributed to a

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

riot that targeted Black schoolchildren. Watson would defend the rioters, stating that "you can expect that to happen when you have frustrated people … People get restless and then things occur.” The general election was held on November 3, 1970 and West was elected as the next governor of South Carolina. Turnout was even higher than the previous gubernatorial election because of the recent enfranchisement of Black voters and the controversial candidacy of Albert Watson. , - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -

References

External links

SCIway Biography of Governor John Carl West

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

1970 United States gubernatorial elections

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 1970 events in the United States {{SouthCarolina-stub

Primaries

General election

See also

References

External links