1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election
Country:South Carolina
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1870 South Carolina gubernatorial election
Previous Year:1870
Election Date:October 16, 1872
Next Election:1874 South Carolina gubernatorial election
Next Year:1874
Nominee1:Franklin J. Moses, Jr.
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Alliance1:-
Popular Vote1:69,838
Percentage1:65.44%
Map Size:200px
Governor
Before Election:Robert Kingston Scott
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Franklin J. Moses, Jr.
After Party:Republican Party (United States)
Nominee2:Reuben Tomlinson
Party2:Independent Republican
Alliance2:Democratic
Popular Vote2:36,533
Percentage2:34.23%
Color2:ff00ff

The 1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on October 16, 1872, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Franklin J. Moses, Jr. won the election as a Radical Republican against the more moderate faction of the Republican Party and became the 75th governor of South Carolina.

Campaign

Republican nomination for Governor
CandidateVotes%
69 58.5
Samuel W. Melton 18 15.2
16 13.6
15 12.7
The state Republicans met in Columbia for their nominating convention on August 21 through August 24. There were 115 black and 33 white delegates to the convention, many of them calling for reform in state government. The nomination for Governor proceeded after the organization of the convention and five men were mentioned, but Franklin J. Moses, Jr. was seen as the clear favorite.

Immediately, accusations of bribery were pegged against each candidate. Former Governor Orr accused Moses of offering a delegate from Barnwell $2,000 for his vote. Tomlinson was alleged by Judge Thomas Mackey to have been giving bribes to ensure the passage of the phosphate bill in 1870.

A vote was taken for the nomination of Governor during the commotion over the accusations of bribery and Moses emerged as the clear winner from the other contenders. Orr denounced the selection and led a walkout by some of the delegates from the convention. The Republican platform adopted at the convention called for a reduction in expenditures and financial reform.

Assembling at the Richland courthouse on August 22, Orr directed the formation of an Independent Republican ticket for the general election in October. Reuben Tomlinson was nominated for Governor and half of the Independent Republican slate for statewide office were black men. The platform consisted entirely of opposing Moses and advocating for reform in state government.

General election

The general election was held on October 16, 1872, and Franklin J. Moses, Jr. was elected as governor of South Carolina by a wide margin. Turnout was lower than the previous election because it was mainly a contest between Republicans; it was estimated that approximately 40,000 white voters did not cast a ballot in the election.

|-| style="color:inherit;background:#ff00ff" || Independent Republican| Reuben Tomlinson| align="right" | 36,533| align="right" | 34.3| align="right" | +34.3|-|-| | colspan=5 |Republican hold|-

See also

References

External links