South_Carolina_gubernatorial_election,_1934
1934 South Carolina gubernatorial election
Election
The 1934 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Olin D. Johnston won the contested Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election becoming the 98th governor of South Carolina.
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 County results Johnston: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Blease: 50-60% 60-70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Candidates
- Cole L. Blease, former Governor (1911–15) and United States Senator (1925–31)
- Kemper Cooke
- Olin D. Johnston, former State Representative from Spartanburg and candidate for Governor in 1930
- Wyndham Meredith Manning, State Representative from Stateburg and son of former Governor Richard Irvine Manning III
- L.B. Owens
- Thomas B. Pearce
- James O. Sheppard
- C.E. Sloan
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor in the summer of 1934 and it attracted many politicians because of the change in 1926 to the South Carolina constitution providing for a four-year term. Johnston emerged victorious from the runoff against former Governor Cole Blease and ran without opposition on account of South Carolina's effective status as a one-party state.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Olin D. Johnston | 104,799 | 36.5 |
| Coleman Livingston Blease | 85,795 | 29.8 |
| Wyndham Meredith Manning | 55,767 | 19.4 |
| Thomas B. Pearce | 26,328 | 9.2 |
| Kemper Cooke | 7,390 | 2.6 |
| L.B. Owens | 4,186 | 1.4 |
| James O. Sheppard | 2,482 | 0.9 |
| C.E. Sloan | 683 | 0.2 |
| Democratic Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Olin D. Johnston | 157,673 | 56.2 | +19.7 |
| Coleman Livingston Blease | 122,876 | 43.8 | +14.0 |
The general election was held on November 6, 1934, and Olin D. Johnston was elected the next governor of South Carolina without opposition. Being a non-presidential election and few contested races, turnout was much lower than the Democratic primary election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Olin D. Johnston | 22,873 | 100.0 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 22,873 | 100.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Turnout | 22,873 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
- Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876–1962. pp. 40–41.
- "Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports of State Officers Boards and Committees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, South Carolina: 1935, p. 3.
| Preceded by 1930 |
South Carolina gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 1938 |