1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election

1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election

← 1874 November 7, 1876 1878 →
Turnout	99.2%
Nominee Wade Hampton III Daniel Henry Chamberlain Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 92,261 91,127 Percentage 50.3% 49.7%
County results Hampton:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Chamberlain:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%
Governor before election Daniel Henry Chamberlain Republican Elected Governor Wade Hampton III Democratic

Elections in South Carolina
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State offices General elections 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 State Senate elections 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 State House elections 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment 1 2008 2010 2012 2014
Charleston Mayoral elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Columbia Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2010 2013 2017 2021
Rock Hill Mayoral elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Greenville Mayoral elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
v t e

The 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1876, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The election campaign was a referendum on the Radical Republican-led state government and their Reconstruction policies. Opponents disputed the challenger Wade Hampton III's victory, gained by a margin of little more than 1100 votes statewide. But he took office in April 1877, after President Hayes withdrew federal troops as a result of a national Democratic compromise, and the incumbent Daniel Henry Chamberlain left the state.

Governor Chamberlain had been unable to preserve the peace in the months beforehand, reducing support for Republicans as the Red Shirts, a white Democratic paramilitary group, attacked Republican blacks in numerous areas of the state, particularly the Piedmont, in violent incidents including the Hamburg Massacre, and riots at Ellenton and Cainhoy. Under this pressure, some blacks were discouraged from voting altogether; others had aligned with Democrats for a variety of reasons. White voters overwhelmingly supported the Democratic ticket in November. The turbulent atmosphere ended before election day, which was peaceful.

Democrat Wade Hampton narrowly won with slightly more than 1100 votes statewide following the suppression of black voters, particularly in Edgefield County. The election was disputed and a prolonged contest ensued as both parties established separate governments. Chamberlain lost most of his support and in early 1877 was kept in office by Federal troops guarding the state capitol. When President Rutherford B. Hayes ordered the troops to stand down, Chamberlain left the state and Hampton was confirmed as the 77th governor of South Carolina.