South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1898

The 1898 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1898 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor William Haselden Ellerbe won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election to win a second term as governor.

[edit] Democratic Primary

The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on August 30 and incumbent Governor Ellerbe was the frontrunner. Claudius Cyprian Featherstone won second place in the primary to advance to the runoff on September 8, but came up short against Ellerbe.

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
William Haselden Ellerbe	30,101	38.4
Claudius Cyprian Featherstone	17,782	22.7
George D. Tillman	12,361	15.8
O.L. Schumpert	8,137	10.4
R.B. Watson	7,560	9.7
E.L. Archer	2,000	2.5
G. Walton Whitman	367	0.5

Democratic Primary Runoff
Candidate	Votes	%	±%
William Haselden Ellerbe	37,723	53.1	+14.7
Claudius Cyprian Featherstone	33,271	46.9	+24.2

The general election was held on November 8, 1898 and William Haselden Ellerbe was reelected as the governor of South Carolina without opposition. Being a non-presidential election and few contested races, turnout was approximately half of that for the previous gubernatorial election.

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1898
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William Haselden Ellerbe	28,225	100.0	+10.9
Majority			28,225	100.0	+17.5
Turnout			28,225
	Democratic hold

1898 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county. 65+% won by Ellerbe

"Decline of the Primary", The News and Courier, 6 September 1898, p. 2.
"The Vote Tabulated", The News and Courier, 13 September 1898, p. 2.
"Election Returns." Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, SC: The Bryan Printing Company, 1899, p. 256.
Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962, pp. 19-21.