| 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.
| Republican nomination for Governor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| 69 | 58.5 | ||
| Samuel W. Melton | 18 | 15.2 | |
| 16 | 13.6 | ||
| 15 | 12.7 | ||
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.
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|-