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United States · Election results history · 2018 governors · South Carolina
Election 2018 Results

Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.

2018 South Carolina governor election

Henry McMaster (Republican) beat James Smith (Democrat) in South Carolina in 2018, 54.0% to 45.9%, a margin of 8.0 points and 137,160 votes.

The Republican hold continued from 2014, when Nikki R. Haley won.

Republicans led in 30 of the 46 counties and Democrats in 16. The largest, Greenville, cast 176,571 votes and went to the Republican by 16.0 points. The closest was Calhoun, where 38 votes separated the two parties.

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Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

Governor

CandidatePartyVotesShare
Henry McMaster won Republican 921,342 54.0%
James Smith Democratic 784,182 45.9%
All other candidates 2,045 0.1%
Total1,707,569

Every county

CountyDemocratRepublicanOthersTotalMargin
Greenville 74,007 41.9% 102,195 57.9% 369 176,571 R+16.0
Charleston 84,634 57.4% 62,642 42.5% 175 147,451 D+14.9
Richland 99,476 70.3% 41,793 29.5% 169 141,438 D+40.8
Horry 38,574 34.9% 71,985 65.1% 79 110,638 R+30.2
Lexington 36,854 37.0% 62,544 62.8% 153 99,551 R+25.8
York 39,571 41.4% 55,905 58.5% 54 95,530 R+17.1
Spartanburg 36,264 38.2% 58,442 61.6% 168 94,874 R+23.4
Beaufort 31,971 45.4% 38,399 54.5% 63 70,433 R+9.1
Berkeley 30,452 46.4% 35,107 53.5% 110 65,669 R+7.1
Anderson 19,386 30.8% 43,412 69.0% 95 62,893 R+38.2
Aiken 22,754 38.2% 36,801 61.7% 57 59,612 R+23.6
Dorchester 23,275 45.7% 27,563 54.2% 58 50,896 R+8.4
Florence 22,533 49.5% 22,947 50.4% 36 45,516 R+0.9
Pickens 10,393 26.9% 28,139 72.9% 82 38,614 R+46.0
Sumter 19,830 57.6% 14,578 42.3% 18 34,426 D+15.3
Lancaster 13,297 40.5% 19,554 59.5% 21 32,872 R+19.0
Orangeburg 21,402 69.8% 9,222 30.1% 19 30,643 D+39.7
Oconee 7,945 28.8% 19,599 71.1% 38 27,582 R+42.3
Georgetown 11,760 45.5% 14,083 54.5% 15 25,858 R+9.0
Kershaw 9,588 40.8% 13,881 59.1% 28 23,497 R+18.3
Darlington 11,436 49.0% 11,871 50.9% 8 23,315 R+1.9
Greenwood 9,140 39.5% 13,973 60.4% 34 23,147 R+20.9
Laurens 7,415 36.4% 12,899 63.4% 34 20,348 R+27.0
Cherokee 4,964 29.7% 11,730 70.2% 17 16,711 R+40.5
Colleton 6,321 47.8% 6,891 52.1% 14 13,226 R+4.3
Newberry 5,374 41.2% 7,644 58.7% 12 13,030 R+17.4
Clarendon 6,365 52.6% 5,722 47.3% 3 12,090 D+5.3
Chesterfield 5,241 43.8% 6,730 56.2% 6 11,977 R+12.4
Williamsburg 7,769 67.2% 3,774 32.7% 11 11,554 D+34.6
Chester 5,195 47.8% 5,665 52.1% 3 10,863 R+4.3
Marion 6,450 61.9% 3,963 38.0% 8 10,421 D+23.9
Edgefield 3,747 39.9% 5,636 60.0% 9 9,392 R+20.1
Jasper 5,002 53.4% 4,346 46.4% 12 9,360 D+7.0
Fairfield 5,865 63.2% 3,409 36.7% 5 9,279 D+26.5
Union 3,728 41.7% 5,208 58.2% 7 8,943 R+16.5
Abbeville 3,113 36.3% 5,451 63.6% 8 8,572 R+27.3
Dillon 4,141 50.5% 4,052 49.5% 1 8,194 D+1.1
Marlboro 4,594 59.1% 3,166 40.8% 7 7,767 D+18.4
Barnwell 3,549 48.7% 3,734 51.2% 6 7,289 R+2.5
Saluda 2,356 34.3% 4,516 65.7% 4 6,876 R+31.4
Hampton 4,051 61.2% 2,558 38.6% 15 6,624 D+22.5
Lee 4,190 65.8% 2,174 34.1% 4 6,368 D+31.7
Calhoun 2,990 50.3% 2,952 49.6% 6 5,948 D+0.6
McCormick 2,103 47.5% 2,327 52.5% 1 4,431 R+5.1
Bamberg 2,828 64.5% 1,552 35.4% 2 4,382 D+29.1
Allendale 2,289 79.0% 608 21.0% 1 2,898 D+58.0

Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Sources and how the results were checked.

South Carolina governor elections we hold

YearWinnerMargin
2022 Henry McMaster (R) R+17.4
2018 Henry McMaster (R) R+8.0
2014 Nikki R. Haley (R) R+14.5
2010 Nikki R. Haley (R) R+4.5
2006 Mark Sanford (R) R+10.3
2002 Mark Sanford (R) R+5.8
1998 James H. Hodges (D) D+8.0
1994 David Beasley (R) R+2.5
1990 Carroll Campbell (R) R+41.6
1986 Carroll Campbell (R) R+3.1
1982 Richard Riley (D) D+39.6
1978 Richard W. Riley (D) D+23.6
1974 James B. Edwards (R) R+3.3
1970 John C. West (D) D+5.9
1966 Robert Evander McNair (D) D+16.3
1962 Donald S. Russell (D) D+100.0
1958 Ernest F. Hollings (D) D+100.0
1954 George Bell Timmerman (D) D+100.0
1950 James F. Byrnes (D) D+100.0
1946 James Strom Thurmond (D) D+100.0
1942 Olin D. Johnston (D) D+100.0
1938 Burnet Rhett Maybank (D) D+98.9
1934 Olin D. Johnston (D) D+100.0
1930 Ibra C. Blackwood (D) D+100.0
1926 John G. Richards (D) D+100.0
1924 Thomas G. McLeod (D) D+100.0
1922 Thomas G. McLeod (D) D+100.0
1920 Robert A. Cooper (D) D+100.0
1918 Robert A. Cooper (D) D+100.0
1916 Richard Irvine Manning III (D) D+97.9
1914 Richard Irvine Manning III (D) D+99.8
1912 Coleman L. Blease (D) D+99.5
1910 Coleman L. Blease (D) D+99.8
1908 Martin F. Ansel (D) D+100.0
1906 Martin F. Ansel (D) D+99.9
1904 Duncan C. Heyward (D) D+100.0
1902 Duncan C. Heyward (D) D+100.0
1900 Miles B. McSweeney (D) D+100.0
1898 William H. Ellerbe (D) D+100.0
1896 William H. Ellerbe (D) D+82.5
1894 John Gary Evans (D) D+69.6
1892 Benjamin Ryan Tillman (D) D+99.9
1890 Benjamin Ryan Tillman (D) D+79.8
1888 John P. Richardson (D) D+100.0
1886 John P. Richardson (D) D+100.0
1884 Hugh S. Thompson (D) D+100.0
1882 Hugh S. Thompson (D) D+79.0
1880 Johnson Hagood (D) D+96.4
1878 Wade Hampton (D) D+99.8
1876 Wade Hampton (D) D+0.6
1874 Daniel H. Chamberlain (R) R+53.9
1872 Franklin J. Moses Jr. (R) R+65.4
1870 Robert K. Scott (R) R+62.3
1868 Robert K. Scott (R) R+50.4
1865 James Lawrence Orr (other)