Governor elections in South Carolina
● In officeHenry D. McMasterRepublican
Elections won
R 14 · D 30 · Other 650 gubernatorial elections since 1789
Last decided by
17.4 pts2022, Henry D. McMaster over Joe Cunningham
Closest ever
0.60 pts1876, Wade Hampton III over Daniel Henry Chamberlain
Longest streak
14 in a rowDemocratic, 1800–1842
Next election
2026Tuesday, November 3, 2026
South Carolina's governor is Republican Henry D. McMaster; McMaster won the most recent race by 17.4 points in 2022. McMaster has held the office since 2018. The 2022 race put McMaster ahead of Joe Cunningham, 17.4 points clear. Across 50 elections since 1789, Republicans have won 14 and Democrats 30, with 6 going to other parties. Of those, the closest was 1876, decided by 0.60 points; the widest 1896, by 82.5 points.
Henry D. McMaster R 988,501 · Joe Cunningham D 692,691
Henry D. McMaster R 921,342 · James Smith D 784,182
Nikki Haley R 696,645 · Vincent Sheheen D 516,166
Nikki Haley R 690,525 · Vincent Sheheen D 630,535
Mark Sanford R 601,868 · Tommy Moore D 489,076
Mark Sanford R 585,422 · Jim Hodges D 521,140
Jim Hodges D 570,070 · David Beasley R 484,088
David Beasley R 470,756 · Nick Theodore D 447,002
Carroll Campbell R 528,831 · Theo Mitchell D 212,048
Carroll Campbell R 384,565 · Michael R. Daniel D 361,328
Richard Riley D 468,787 · W. D. Workman Jr. R 202,806
Richard Riley D 384,898 · Edward Lunn Young R 236,946
James B. Edwards R 266,338 · W.J. Bryan Dorn D 248,861
John C. West D 251,151 · Albert Watson R 221,236
Robert Evander McNair D 255,854 · Joseph O. Rogers Jr. R 184,088
William Haselden Ellerbe D 59,424 · Sampson Pope R 4,432
John Gary Evans D 39,507 · Sampson Pope I 17,278
Ben Tillman D 59,159 · A.C. Haskell D 14,828
Hugh Smith Thompson D 67,158 · J. Hendrix McLane G 17,719
Johnson Hagood D 117,432 · L. W. R. Blair G 4,277
Wade Hampton III D 92,261 · Daniel Henry Chamberlain R 91,127
Daniel Henry Chamberlain R 80,403 · John T. Green R 68,818
Franklin J. Moses Jr. R 69,838 · Reuben Tomlinson R 36,533
Robert Kingston Scott R 85,071 · Richard B. Carpenter Rf 51,537
Robert Kingston Scott R 70,054 · William Dennison Porter D 23,096
James Lawrence Orr I 9,928 · Wade Hampton III I 9,186