South Carolina, Governor/Lieutenant Governor

South Carolina held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2018.

The winners of the primaries were incumbent Henry McMaster (R) and state Rep. James Smith, Jr. (D). Their running mates were Pamela Evette (R) and Mandy Powers Norrell (D).

SETTING THE STAGE
Heading into the 2018 election, the sitting governor was Henry McMaster (R), who took office on January 25, 2017, following the resignation of Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. McMaster sought re-election in 2018.
At the time of the 2018 election, South Carolina was a Republican trifecta. It first gained this status when Gov. Mark Sanford (R) took office in 2003. South Carolina was a Republican triplex in 2018.
South Carolina had been won by the Republican candidate in each of the five presidential elections leading up to the 2018 election. The widest margin of victory was George W. Bush's 17 percent margin in 2004 while the narrowest was John McCain's 9 percent margin in 2008.

South Carolina was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.

Race rating

Race ratings: South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2018

Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2018	October 30, 2018	October 23, 2018	October 16, 2018
The Cook Political Report	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in South Carolina from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the South Carolina Election Commission.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in South Carolina every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), South Carolina 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	54.9%	Hillary Clinton	40.7%	14.2%
2012	Mitt Romney	54.6%	Barack Obama	44.1%	10.5%
2008	John McCain	53.9%	Barack Obama	44.9%	9.0%
2004	George W. Bush	58.0%	John Kerry	40.9%	17.1%
2000	George W. Bush	56.8%	Al Gore	40.9%	15.9%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in South Carolina from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), South Carolina 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Tim Scott	60.6%	Thomas Dixon	36.9%	23.7%
2014	Tim Scott	61.1%	Joyce Dickerson	37.1%	24.0%
2014	Lindsey Graham	54.3%	Brad Hutto	38.8%	15.5%
2010	Jim DeMint	61.5%	Alvin Greene	27.7%	33.8%
2008	Lindsey Graham	57.5%	Bob Conley	42.3%	15.2%
2004	Jim DeMint	53.7%	Inez Tenenbaum	44.1%	9.6%
2002	Lindsey Graham	54.4%	Alex Sanders	44.2%	10.2%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in South Carolina.

Election results (Governor), South Carolina 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Nikki Haley	55.9%	Vincent Sheheen	41.4%	14.5%
2010	Nikki Haley	51.4%	Vincent Sheheen	46.9%	4.5%
2006	Mark Sanford	55.1%	Kerry Healey	44.8%	10.3%
2002	Mark Sanford	52.8%	Jim Hodges	47.0%	5.8%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, South Carolina 2000-2016

Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	6	85.7%	1	14.3%	R+5
2014	6	85.7%	1	14.3%	R+5
2012	6	85.7%	1	14.3%	R+5
2010	5	83.3%	1	16.7%	R+4
2008	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2006	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2004	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2002	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2
2000	4	66.7%	2	33.3%	R+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

South Carolina Party Control: 1992-2019
No Democratic trifectas • 17 years of Republican trifectas

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

Demographic data for South Carolina

	South Carolina	U.S.
Total population:	4,894,834	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	30,061	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	51.4%	50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:	67.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	27.5%	12.6%
Asian:	1.4%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	5.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	85.6%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	25.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$45,483	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	22%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Carolina.

As of July 2016, South Carolina's three largest cities were Charleston (pop. est. 135,000), Columbia (pop. est. 133,000), and North Charleston (pop. est. 111,000).