South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1874

The 1874 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1874 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Daniel Henry Chamberlain won the election and became the 76th governor of South Carolina.

Campaign

At the convention of the state Republicans on September 8 through September 11 in Columbia, the delegates felt that reform was vital for the continuation of Republican power. Governor Moses was caught up in corruption scandals and never considered as a nominee for reelection to Governor. Instead, Daniel Henry Chamberlain was nominated for Governor and soundly won the nomination.

Chamberlain had been the Attorney General of South Carolina from 1868 to 1872 and pushed for reform of the state government. His association with Radical Republicans such as Senator Patterson and former Governor Scott enabled him to keep the support of stalwart Republicans while preaching a reform message.

It was this close association with Radical Republicans that again caused a split within the Republican party. The Independent Republicans met in Charleston on October 2 to select candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor. John T. Green was chosen to be their nominee for Governor and Martin Delany, a black man, was their candidate for Lieutenant Governor. The Independent Republicans adopted the Republican platform and the only difference between the two parties was that the Independent Republicans claimed their intention to clean up state government if elected.

The Conservative Party of South Carolina formed in 1874 from the members of the State Tax Union advocating for change. They endorsed the Independent Republican ticket for statewide offices and their platform consisted entirely of restoring honesty and efficiency in state government.

General Election

The general election was held on November 3, 1874 and Daniel Henry Chamberlain was elected as governor of South Carolina. Turnout was the highest for a gubernatorial election thus held in South Carolina, although many white voters stayed away from the polls.

Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Daniel Henry Chamberlain
votes = 80,403
percentage = 53.9
change = -11.5
-
bgcolor="#ff00ff"
Independent Republican
John T. Green
align="right" | 68,818
align="right" | 46.1
align="right" | +11.8
-Election box candidate
party = "No party"
candidate = Write-Ins
votes = 19
percentage = 0.0
change = -0.3Election box majority
votes = 11,585
percentage = 7.8
change = -23.3Election box turnout
votes = 149,240
percentage =
change =
colspan=5 |Republican hold
-

frame|300px|none|1874 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county.

ee also

*Governor of South Carolina
*List of Governors of South Carolina
*South Carolina gubernatorial elections

References

*"Election Returns." "Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina at the Regular Session, 1873-'74". Columbia, SC: Republican Printing Company, 1874, p. 85.
*cite book | first = John S. | last = Reynolds | title = Reconstruction in South Carolina | year = 1969 | publisher = Negro University Press | id = ISBN 0-8371-1638-4
*cite news |title= The Official Vote in the State |work= The News and Courier |date= 20 November 1874 |page= 1

External links

* [http://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/chamberlain.html SCIway Biography of Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain]

sequence
prev=1872
list=South Carolina gubernatorial elections
next=1876