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.
Democratic primary Candidates Cole L. Blease, former Governor (191115) and United States Senator (192531) 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 PrimaryCandidateVotes% 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 RunoffCandidateVotes%±% Olin D. Johnston 157,673 56.2 +19.7 Coleman Livingston Blease 122,876 43.8 +14.0
General election 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.
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
See also Governor of South Carolina List of governors of South Carolina South Carolina gubernatorial elections
References
"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.
External links SCIway Biography of Olin Dewitt Talmadge Johnston