| Election Name: | 1926 South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff |
| Country: | South Carolina |
| Flag Year: | 1926 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Vote Type: | Popular |
| Party Name: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Previous Election: | 1924 South Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1924 |
| Next Election: | 1930 South Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1930 |
| Image1: | File:John Gardiner Richards, Jr..jpg |
| Candidate1: | John G. Richards |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote1: | 95,007 |
| Percentage1: | 58.20% |
| Candidate2: | Ibra Blackwood |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote2: | 68,224 |
| Percentage2: | 41.80% |
| Governor of South Carolina | |
| Before Election: | Thomas Gordon McLeod |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | John Gardiner Richards Jr. |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1926 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1926, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The South Carolina constitution was amended in 1926 to change the term of governor from two years to four years, but also prohibiting governors from consecutive terms. John Gardiner Richards, Jr. won the contested Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election becoming the 96th governor of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor in the summer of 1926 and it attracted many politicians because of the recent change to the South Carolina constitution providing for a four-year term. Richards emerged victorious from the runoff and effectively became the next governor of South Carolina because there was no opposition in the general election.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| John Gardiner Richards, Jr. | 44,906 | 25.8 |
| 34,870 | 20.1 | |
| Edmund B. Jackson | 33,804 | 19.5 |
| Carroll D. Nance | 16,970 | 9.8 |
| George K. Laney | 13,386 | 7.7 |
| Thomas H. Peeples | 10,636 | 6.1 |
| D.A.G. Ouzts | 10,570 | 6.1 |
| John T. Duncan | 6,297 | 3.6 |
| John J. McMahan | 2,300 | 1.3 |
| Democratic Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| John Gardiner Richards, Jr. | 95,007 | 58.2 | +32.4 |
| Ibra Charles Blackwood | 68,224 | 41.8 | +21.7 |
The general election was held on November 2, 1926, and John Richards was elected the next governor of South Carolina without opposition thanks to the state's suppression of parties other than the ruling Democrats. Being a non-presidential election and few contested races, turnout was the lowest ever for a gubernatorial election in South Carolina.
|-| | colspan=5 |Democratic hold|-