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South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1882





DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION


Governor Johnson Hagood chose not to seek reelection in 1882 and two former General s in the Confederate Army emerged as the frontrunners, Lieutenant Governor John Kennedy and Comptroller General John Bratton . Both men were loyal followers of Wade Hampton , neither had supported Martin Witherspoon Gary , and both were dedicated Democrats. However, many in the state wanted a new direction and the candidacy of George D. Tillman quickly gained pace. Others feared that an intra-party fight over the nomination would bring back Radical Republican rule and only the return of Senator Hampton could save the party. Even so, both Tillman and Hampton declined and chose to continue their representation in the Congress .

Hugh Smith Thompson , the state Superintendent of Education since 1876 , had declined to be a candidate for governor and instead lobbied for the presidency of South Carolina College . However, with the opening of the State Democratic convention in August, Thompson was nominated for governor alongside Kennedy and Bratton. After the second ballot with momentum in Thompson's favor, both Kennedy and Bratton withdrew their names thus allowing Thompson to be the Democrats nominee for the general election.


GREENBACK-LABOR CONVENTION

Following their disastrous defeat in the Gubernatorial Election Of 1880 , the Greenback-Labor Party members met with State Republican leaders to Fuse and offer a joint ticket for the general election. In a January interview with the News And Courier , McLane stated that the Greenbacks would get 150,000 votes in the general election and sweep the statewide offices.

A convention for the Greenbacks was held in Columbia with over one hundred delegates from 22 Counties , even including a Democratic State Senator . McLane was nominated for the governorship and candidates were field for six of the seven congressional districts, the Seventh District being a heavily black district held by the Republicans.

The platform outlined by the Greenbacks for the election was:


GENERAL ELECTION

The general election was held on November 7 , 1882 and Hugh Smith Thompson was elected as Governor Of South Carolina with nominal opposition. Turnout was less than the previous Gubernatorial Election because of the increasingly uncompetitive nature of the election in South Carolina.

  party Democratic Party (United States)
  candidate Hugh Smith Thompson
  votes 67,158
  percentage 790
  change -174


  Bgcolor "#0BDA51"
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/United_States_Greenback_Party" class="copylinks">Greenback-Labor
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/J_Hendrix_McLane" class="copylinks">J Hendrix McLane
  Align "right" 17,719
  Align "right" 208
  Align "right" +173
  party ''No party''
  candidate Write-Ins
  votes 134
  percentage 02
  change +01


  votes 49,439
  percentage 582
  change -347


  votes 85,011


  Colspan 5 Democratic '''hold'''
  Prev 1880
  List South Carolina Gubernatorial Elections