The 1938 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Burnet Rhett Maybank, Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, won the contested Democratic primary and defeated Republican Joseph Augustis Tolbert in the general election becoming the 99th governor of South Carolina.
Democratic primary Candidates Ben E. Adams Neville Bennett D.T. Blackmon Cole L. Blease, former Governor (191115) and United States Senator (192531) John Hughes Cooper Francis M. Easterling Wyndham Meredith Manning, former State Representative from Stateburg and candidate for Governor in 1934 Burnet Rhett Maybank, mayor of Charleston
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on August 30 and it is noted as being the last attempt by former Governor Cole Blease at becoming governor again. Maybank, the mayor of Charleston, had the support of the Lowcountry and emerged victorious from the runoff on September 13 against Wyndham Manning because the Upstate failed to coalesce around his candidacy.
Results Democratic PrimaryCandidateVotes% Burnet Rhett Maybank 117,900 35.1 Wyndham Meredith Manning 74,356 22.1 Coleman Livingston Blease 60,823 18.1 Neville Bennett 47,882 14.2 Ben E. Adams 26,376 7.9 Francis M. Easterling 6,877 2.0 D.T. Blackmon 951 0.3 John Hughes Cooper 922 0.3
Democratic Primary RunoffCandidateVotes%±% Burnet Rhett Maybank 163,947 52.3 +17.2 Wyndham Meredith Manning 149,368 47.7 +25.6
General election The general election was held on November 8, 1938, and Burnet Rhett Maybank was elected the next governor of South Carolina against token Republican candidate Joseph Augustis Tolbert. Being a non-presidential election and few contested races, turnout was much lower than the Democratic primary election. The presence of even a token opposition candidate was unusual for South Carolina at the time.
| 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." Report of the State Officers Boards and Committees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, South Carolina: 1939, pp. 30–31.
External links SCIway Biography of Burnet Rhett Maybank