2018 South Carolina gubernatorial election
The 2018 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of South Carolina. Incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster, who took office after Nikki Haley resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, ran for election to a full term. The primary was held on June 12, with the Democrats nominating State Representative James E. Smith Jr. McMaster failed to win a majority of the vote, and then defeated John Warren in the Republican runoff on June 26. In the general election, McMaster defeated Smith, winning election to a full term.Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Henry McMaster, incumbent governor
- * Running mate: Pamela Evette, businesswoman
Defeated in Runoff
- John Warren, businessman
- * Running mate: Pat McKinney, businessman
Defeated in Primary
- Kevin Bryant, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
- Yancey McGill, former Democratic lieutenant governor and former Democratic state senator
- Catherine Templeton, attorney, former director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control and former director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
- * Running mate: Walt Wilkins, Greenville County Solicitor
Declined
- Tom Davis, state senator
- Jeff Duncan, U.S. Representative
- Mikee Johnson, businessman and former chairman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
- Tim Scott, U.S. Senator
- Joe Taylor, former South Carolina Secretary of Commerce
- Billy Wilkins, former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Alan Wilson, attorney general
Endorsements
First round
Polling
Results
Runoff
Polling
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- James Smith, state representative
- * Running mate: Mandy Powers Norrell, state representative
Defeated in Primary
- Phil Noble, business and technology consultant and candidate for lieutenant governor in 1994
- * Running mate: Gloria Bromell Tinubu, former Atlanta, Georgia City Councilwoman, former Georgia State Representative and nominee for SC-07 in 2012 and 2014
- Marguerite Willis, attorney
- * Running mate: John Scott, state senator
Declined
- Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia
- Marlon Kimpson, state senator
- Inez Tenenbaum, former State Superintendent of Education, former chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2004
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Independents and Third Parties
Declared
- Phil Cheney, former Anderson City Councilman, candidate for SC-03 in 2006 and write-in candidate for SC-05 in 2017
Failed Nomination
- Martin Barry, medication researcher, nomination declined by the American Party
- * Running mate: James Cartee, theater director
General election
Predictions
;NotesEndorsements
Polling
Results
