1906 South Carolina gubernatorial election

The 1906 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1906, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina, United States. Martin Frederick Ansel won the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election to become the 89th governor of South Carolina.

1906 South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff

← 1904 September 11, 1906 (1906-09-11) 1908 →
 
Candidate Martin Frederick Ansel Richard Irvine Manning III
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 47,638 37,245
Percentage 56.1% 43.9%

Governor before election

Duncan Clinch Heyward
Democratic

Elected Governor

Martin Frederick Ansel
Democratic

Democratic primary

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The South Carolina Democratic Party held its primary for governor on August 28 and Martin Frederick Ansel emerged as the frontrunner. Ansel was vocal in his opposition to the Dispensary system set up by Ben Tillman and instead favored the local county option established by the Bryce law in 1904. His chief rival, progressive reformer Richard Irvine Manning III, sought to maintain a statewide Dispensary and work to remove all the corrupt officials in it. The public sentiment at the time felt that nobody with even the best intentions could clean up the Dispensary and therefore Ansel won the Democratic runoff on September 11 against Manning. He essentially became the next governor of South Carolina because there was no opposition in the general election.

Democratic Primary
Candidate Votes %
Martin Frederick Ansel 39,850 41.2
Richard Irvine Manning III 23,008 23.8
Coleman Livingston Blease 16,801 17.4
J.E. Brunson 9,982 10.3
John T. Sloan 3,348 3.5
John Joseph McMahan 2,231 2.3
A.C. Jones 898 0.9
W.A. Edwards 530 0.6
Democratic Primary Runoff
Candidate Votes % ±%
Martin Frederick Ansel 47,638 56.1 +14.9
Richard Irvine Manning III 37,245 43.9 +20.1

General election

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The general election was held on November 6, 1906, and Martin Frederick Ansel 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.

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1906
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Martin Frederick Ansel 30,251 100.0 0.0
Majority 30,251 100.0 0.0
Turnout 30,251
Democratic hold
 
1906 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county.
  65+% won by Ansel

See also

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References

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  • Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962. pp. 25–26.
  • Ball, William Watts (1932). The State That Forgot; South Carolina's Surrender to Democracy. The Bobbs-Merrill Company. pp. 254, 256–257.
  • "Primary Results Declared". The News and Courier. September 1, 1906. p. 1.
  • "Election Returns All In". The News and Courier. September 14, 1906. p. 1.
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Preceded by
1904
South Carolina gubernatorial elections Succeeded by
1908