The 1926 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1926, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The South Carolina constitution was amended in 1926 to change the term of governor from two years to four years, but also prohibiting governors from consecutive terms. John Gardiner Richards, Jr. won the contested Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election becoming the 96th governor of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor in the summer of 1926 and it attracted many politicians because of the recent change to the South Carolina constitution providing for a four-year term. Richards emerged victorious from the runoff and effectively became the next governor of South Carolina because there was no opposition in the general election.
Democratic Primary
Candidate
Votes
%
John Gardiner Richards, Jr.
44,906
25.8
Ibra Charles Blackwood
34,870
20.1
Edmund B. Jackson
33,804
19.5
Carroll D. Nance
16,970
9.8
George K. Laney
13,386
7.7
Thomas H. Peeples
10,636
6.1
D.A.G. Ouzts
10,570
6.1
John T. Duncan
6,297
3.6
John J. McMahan
2,300
1.3
Democratic Primary Runoff
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
John Gardiner Richards, Jr.
95,007
58.2
+32.4
Ibra Charles Blackwood
68,224
41.8
+21.7
General election[]
The general election was held on November 2, 1926, and John Richards was elected the next governor of South Carolina without opposition thanks to the state's suppression of parties other than the ruling Democrats. Being a non-presidential election and few contested races, turnout was the lowest ever for a gubernatorial election in South Carolina.
"Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina. Part II." Reports of State Officers Boards and Committees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, South Carolina: 1927, p. 57.
Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876–1962. pp. 36–38.
Glashan, Roy R. American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. pp. 284–285.