| Election Name: | 1918 South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial primary |
| Country: | South Carolina |
| Flag Year: | 1918 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Vote Type: | Popular |
| Party Name: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Previous Election: | 1916 South Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1916 |
| Next Election: | 1920 South Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1920 |
| Image1: | File:Robert Archer Cooper (South Carolina Governor).jpg |
| Candidate1: | Robert A. Cooper |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote1: | 61,900 |
| Percentage1: | 57.9% |
| Candidate2: | John Gardiner Richards Jr. |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote2: | 31,230 |
| Percentage2: | 29.2% |
| Image3: | File:Andrew Jackson Bethea II.jpg |
| Candidate3: | Andrew Bethea |
| Party3: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote3: | 10,362 |
| Percentage3: | 9.7% |
| Governor of South Carolina | |
| Before Election: | Richard Manning III |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Robert Archer Cooper |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1918 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1918, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Robert Archer Cooper emerged from the crowded Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the one-party state's general election to become the 93rd governor of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on August 27 and progressive reformer Robert Archer Cooper emerged as the winner in a crowded field. He garnered more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary election and was able to avoid a runoff election.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Robert Archer Cooper | 61,900 | 57.9 |
| 31,230 | 29.2 | |
| Andrew J. Bethea | 10,362 | 9.7 |
| 1,584 | 1.5 | |
| John T. Duncan | 1,256 | 1.2 |
| John M. DesChamps | 496 | 0.5 |
The general election was held on November 5, 1918, and Robert Archer Cooper was elected the next governor of South Carolina without opposition. Being a non-presidential election and few contested races, turnout was much less than the previous gubernatorial election.
|-| | colspan=5 |Democratic hold|-