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.
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.
Democratic Primary
Candidate
Votes
%
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 Runoff
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
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 even a token opposition candidate was unusual for South Carolina at the time.
Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876–1962. pp. 41–43.
"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.