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2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election

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For related races, see 2022 United States gubernatorial elections.

2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election
← 2018
November 8, 2022
2026 →
Turnout50.86% Decrease
 
Nominee Henry McMaster Joe Cunningham
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Pamela Evette Tally Parham Casey
Popular vote 988,501 692,691
Percentage 58.04% 40.67%
McMaster:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Cunningham:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%      No data
Governor before election

Henry McMaster
Republican

Elected Governor

Henry McMaster
Republican

The 2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of South Carolina. Incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster ran for re-election for a second full term in office and secured the Republican nomination in the June 14 primary. Joe Cunningham, former United States representative from South Carolina's 1st congressional district, was the Democratic nominee.[1] McMaster won the general election with 58% of the vote — a 4.08% improvement over his 2018 margin.

McMaster became the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win Calhoun County since 1994, and the first to win Clarendon County and Dillon County since 1990. This election marks the largest gubernatorial victory in the state since 1990, when incumbent Republican Carroll Campbell won his re-election bid by a margin of 41.7%.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Declared

[edit]

Eliminated in primary

[edit]
  • Harrison "Trucker Bob" Musselwhite, trucker and chairman of Legislate Liaison Committee for the Greenville County Republican Party[4]
    • Running mate: Zoe Warren, filmmaker and editor-at-large for The Standard SC[5]

Withdrew

[edit]

Declined

[edit]

Endorsements

[edit]
Henry McMaster
Executive branch officials
U.S. senators
State officials
Party officials
Organizations

Results

[edit]
Primary results by county:
  McMaster
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   90–100%
South Carolina gubernatorial Republican primary election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Henry McMaster (incumbent) 306,555 83.0%
Republican Harrison Musselwhite 61,545 16.7%
Total votes 367,689 100%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Eliminated in primary

[edit]

Withdrew

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  • Gary Votour, healthcare advocate and retired GIS mapper[25] (running under Labor nomination)[7][26]

Declined

[edit]

Endorsements

[edit]
Joe Cunningham

U.S. senators

State representatives

Local officials

Organizations

Newspapers

  • Charleston City Paper[33]
Mia McLeod

State legislators

Individuals

  • Amanda Bonfiglio Cunningham, ex-wife of Joe Cunningham[35]

Results

[edit]
Primary results by county:
  Cunningham
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  McLeod
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   70–80%
South Carolina gubernatiorial Democratic primary election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joe Cunningham 102,315 56.5%
Democratic Mia McLeod 56,084 31.0%
Democratic Carlton Boyd 9,526 5.3%
Democratic William Williams 6,746 3.7%
Democratic Calvin McMillan 6,260 3.5%
Total votes 180,931 100%

Lieutenant governor selection

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After winning the primary, on July 18, Cunningham released a shortlist of potential running mates.[36] He announced Tally Parham Casey as his running mate on August 1.[37]

Chosen as running mate

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Made shortlist

[edit]

Declined

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Independents and third parties

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Candidates

[edit]

Declared

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General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[41] Solid R July 26, 2022
Inside Elections[42] Solid R July 22, 2022
Sabato's Crystal Ball[43] Safe R June 29, 2022
Politico[44] Solid R April 1, 2022
RCP[45] Safe R June 8, 2022
Fox News[46] Solid R May 12, 2022
538[47] Solid R July 31, 2022
Elections Daily[48] Safe R November 7, 2022

Post-primary endorsements

[edit]
Henry McMaster (R)
Organizations
Joe Cunningham (D)
U.S. representatives
Local officials
Organizations

Polling

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Graphical summary

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Henry
McMaster (R) 		Joe
Cunningham (D) 		Other Undecided
Echelon Insights (R)[57] August 24 – September 7, 2022 600 (LV) ± 3.7% 50% 44% 6% 0%
Impact Research (D)[58][A] August 24–30, 2022 700 (LV) ± 3.7% 49% 42% 4%[c] 5%
The Trafalgar Group (R)[59] August 25–28, 2022 1,071 (LV) ± 2.9% 51% 43% 2%[d] 4%
Blueprint Polling (D)[60] August 24–25, 2022 721 (LV) ± 3.7% 50% 39% 1% 9%

Debates and forums

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2022 South Carolina gubernatorial debates
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Democratic Libertarian Labor
Key:  P  Participant   N  Non-invitee  
Henry McMaster Joe Cunningham Morgan Reeves Gary Votour
[61] Oct 26, 2022 South Carolina ETV Gavin Jackson
Andy Shain 		P P N N

Results

[edit]
The 2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election results by state senate district
State Senate district results
2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election[62]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
988,501 58.04% +4.08%
Democratic
692,691 40.67% −5.25%
Libertarian
  • Morgan Bruce Reeves
  • Jessica Ethridge
 20,826 1.22% N/A
Write-in 1,174 0.07%
Total votes 1,703,192 100.00% N/A
Turnout 1,718,626 50.86%
Registered electors 3,379,089
Republican hold

By county

[edit]

McMaster won 34 of 46 counties.[63]

County Henry McMaster
Republican 		Joe Cunningham
Democratic 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total
# % # % # % # %
Abbeville 6,010 69.88% 2,498 29.04% 93 1.08% 3,512 40.84% 8,601
Aiken 35,948 65.53% 18,014 32.84% 898 1.63% 17,934 32.69% 54,860
Allendale 562 30.88% 1,234 67.80% 24 1.40% -672 -36.92% 1,820
Anderson 46,144 72.76% 16,541 26.08% 734 1.16% 29,603 50.68% 63,419
Bamberg 1,736 43.59% 2,192 55.03% 55 1.38% -456 -11.44% 3,983
Barnwell 3,643 58.22% 2,543 40.64% 71 1.14% 1,100 17.58% 6,257
Beaufort 41,839 58.35% 29,265 40.81% 602 0.84% 12,574 17.54% 71,706
Berkeley 39,829 55.78% 30,592 42.85% 979 1.37% 9,237 12.93% 71,400
Calhoun 3,238 57.60% 2,301 40.93% 83 1.48% 937 16.67% 5,622
Charleston 66,475 43.31% 85,433 55.66% 1,580 1.03% -18,958 -12.35% 153,488
Cherokee 12,300 76.20% 3,685 22.83% 157 0.97% 8,615 53.37% 16,142
Chester 5,762 60.13% 3,695 38.56% 126 1.31% 2,067 21.57% 9,583
Chesterfield 7,983 63.57% 4,435 35.32% 139 1.11% 3,548 28.25% 12,557
Clarendon 6,374 55.63% 4,983 43.49% 100 0.88% 1,391 12.14% 11,457
Colleton 7,159 57.07% 5,239 41.76% 147 1.17% 1,870 15.31% 12,545
Darlington 11,535 57.57% 8,334 41.59% 169 0.84% 3,201 15.98% 20,038
Dillon 4,341 54.85% 3,508 44.32% 69 0.83% 833 10.53% 7,915
Dorchester 27,358 54.94% 21,741 43.66% 695 1.40% 5,617 11.28% 49,794
Edgefield 5,907 67.08% 2,790 31.68% 109 1.24% 3,117 35.40% 8,806
Fairfield 3,658 43.48% 4,619 54.90% 136 1.62% -961 -11.42% 8,413
Florence 22,741 54.88% 18,189 43.89% 509 1.23% 4,552 10.99% 41,439
Georgetown 16,373 59.54% 10,889 39.59% 239 0.87% 5,484 19.95% 27,501
Greenville 108,222 60.75% 66,943 37.58% 2,969 1.67% 41,279 23.17% 178,134
Greenwood 14,196 65.12% 7,330 33.62% 275 1.26% 6,866 31.50% 21,801
Hampton 2,665 47.34% 2,907 51.63% 58 1.03% -242 -4.29% 5,630
Horry 92,708 69.36% 39,813 29.79% 1,140 0.85% 52,895 39.57% 133,661
Jasper 6,259 56.25% 4,749 42.68% 120 1.07% 1,510 13.57% 11,128
Kershaw 14,024 62.60% 8,072 36.03% 306 1.37% 5,952 26.57% 22,402
Lancaster 22,399 64.83% 11,653 33.73% 499 1.44% 10,746 31.10% 34,551
Laurens 13,766 69.45% 5,771 29.12% 284 1.43% 7,995 40.33% 19,821
Lee 2,116 40.27% 3,082 58.65% 57 1.08% -966 -18.38% 5,255
Lexington 64,328 64.55% 33,745 33.86% 1,583 1.59% 30,583 30.69% 99,656
Marion 3,846 45.70% 4,484 53.28% 86 1.02% -638 -7.58% 8,416
Marlboro 3,209 49.09% 3,247 49.67% 81 1.24% -38 -0.58% 6,537
McCormick 2,757 60.37% 1,759 38.52% 51 1.11% 998 21.85% 4,567
Newberry 8,413 65.55% 4,248 33.10% 174 1.35% 4,165 32.45% 12,835
Oconee 21,622 74.65% 6,988 24.13% 355 1.22% 14,634 50.52% 28,965
Orangeburg 9,501 36.28% 16,481 62.93% 209 0.79% -6,980 -26.65% 26,191
Pickens 30,020 74.67% 9,546 23.74% 639 1.59% 20,474 50.93% 40,205
Richland 41,008 32.20% 84,541 66.38% 1,819 1.42% -43,533 -34.18% 127,368
Saluda 4,695 71.57% 1,783 27.18% 82 1.25% 2,912 44.39% 6,560
Spartanburg 63,806 65.74% 31,939 32.91% 1,306 1.35% 31,867 32.83% 97,051
Sumter 14,292 46.59% 16,051 52.32% 334 1.09% -1,759 -5.73% 30,677
Union 5,722 66.04% 2,859 32.99% 84 0.97% 2,863 33.05% 8,665
Williamsburg 3,858 39.40% 5,839 59.63% 95 0.97% -1,981 -20.23% 9,792
York 58,154 60.59% 36,141 37.66% 1,683 1.75% 22,013 22.93% 95,978
Totals 988,501 58.04% 692,691 40.67% 22,000 1.29% 295,810 17.37% 1,703,192

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

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McMaster won six of seven congressional districts.[64]

District McMaster Cunningham Representative
1st 55% 44% Nancy Mace
2nd 56% 42% Joe Wilson
3rd 71% 28% Jeff Duncan
4th 61% 37% William Timmons
5th 62% 37% Ralph Norman
6th 36% 63% Jim Clyburn
7th 63% 36% Tom Rice (117th Congress)
Russell Fry (118th Congress)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Labor Party candidates' names were kept off the ballot after court ruling.[39][40]
  2. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. ^ Reeves with 4%
  4. ^ Reeves with 2%

Partisan clients

  1. ^ This poll was sponsored by Cunningham's campaign.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "South Carolina Primary Results". CNNpolitics. CNN. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Byrd, Caitlyn. "He's in: Democrat Joe Cunningham, former congressman, to announce run for SC governor". The State. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "Meet Pamela". henrymcmaster.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  4. ^ Folks, Will (December 1, 2021). "'Trucker Bob' Running For Governor Of South Carolina". FITSNews. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  5. ^ Folks, Will (February 17, 2022). "South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Candidate Interrogated By Feds". FITSNews. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Folks, Will (July 27, 2021). "Former Town Councilman From Chester County To Campaign For Governor Of South Carolina". FITSNews. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gale, Heather; Parkhouse, Emma (March 30, 2022). "Know Your Candidate: A brief look at who is running for the upcoming 2022 election season". ABC 15 News. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "South Carolina". Politics1. March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  9. ^ Folks, Will (July 27, 2021). "South Carolina Senate Majority Leader On 2022 Gubernatorial Bid: 'I'm Not Running'". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "A South Carolina Senatorial Shakeup?". FITSNews. June 25, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Frazin, Rachel (August 9, 2019). "GOP Sen. Tim Scott says if he runs in 2022 it will be his last race". The Hill. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Folks, Will (September 8, 2021). "South Carolina Senator Katrina Shealy Mulls 2022 GOP Gubernatorial Bid". FITSNews. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Shain, Andy (May 19, 2019). "SC Gov. Henry McMaster already gearing up for 2022 re-election bid". The Post and Courier. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Folks, Will (January 6, 2022). "John Warren Won't Run For Governor Of South Carolina In 2022". FITSNews. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  15. ^ Joseph Bustos (July 30, 2021). "Mike Pompeo endorses SC Gov. McMaster's reelection bid". The State.
  16. ^ McFall, Caitlin (March 5, 2021). "Trump issues GOP endorsements in latest sign he is reentering political arena". Fox News. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Kinnard, Meg (October 12, 2021). "SC's Tim Scott Gives Early Nod to McMaster in Governor Race". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  18. ^ Bustos, Joseph (August 24, 2021). "Here's what potential presidential candidate South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in SC". The State. Anderson, S.C. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  19. ^ Jamie Lovegrove (April 9, 2021). "Iowa governor to stump for McMaster's SC reelection campaign in sign of RGA support". Post and Courier.
  20. ^ Thomas Novelly (August 21, 2021). "SC Democrat Joe Cunningham tells McMaster to 'step aside' in first TV ad in governor's race". The Post and Courier.
  21. ^ Andy Shain (April 11, 2021). "McMaster campaign fundraising rises as COVID eases. Governor still has no major foes". The Post and Courier.
  22. ^ Lexi Lonas (August 10, 2021). "Susan B. Anthony List backing SC governor in first 2022 endorsement". The Hill.
  23. ^ Bean, Riley (April 26, 2021). "Former Congressman Cunningham officially announces run for governor". WCSC 5. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  24. ^ a b c "Sen. McLeod to run for SC governor; A win would make her the first Black female governor in U.S. history". The Associated Press. June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  25. ^ Byrd, Caitlin; Derickson, Cailyn (April 22, 2021). "SC Democrat Joe Cunningham files preliminary paperwork for possible run for governor". The State. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Democratic activist Gary Votour of Columbia declared a bid earlier this year.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  26. ^ a b c "Gary4GovSC". Gary4GovSC. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  27. ^ "Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin won't run again, will focus on family, law firm". wltx.com. February 4, 2021.
  28. ^ a b Lovegrove, Jamie. "State Sen. Mia McLeod launches 2022 Democratic bid for SC governor". Post and Courier. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  29. ^ Garrison, Steve. "Former Alabama U.S. Senator Doug Jones rallies local Dems at Blue Jamboree". Post and Courier.
  30. ^ Adcox, Seanna (June 7, 2022). "Endorsement in SC governor's race turns into Democrat vs. Democrat squabble". The Post and Courier. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  31. ^ Byrd, Cailtin (April 28, 2021). "Joe Cunningham wants to change SC Democrats' gubernatorial chances. But can he?". The State. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  32. ^ Schechter, Maayan (June 14, 2021). "National pro-science PAC endorses Democrat Joe Cunningham's 2022 SC governor bid". The State. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  33. ^ "Our View: Elect Joe Cunningham to be South Carolina's next governor". Charleston City Paper. October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  34. ^ "Sen. Kimpson endorses Mia McLeod in SC governor's race". WOLO-TV. June 3, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  35. ^ "Ex-wife of Joe Cunningham endorses Mia McLeod for governor". June 13, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Dem. Lieutenant Governor Selection". thestate. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  37. ^ a b "Cunningham picks former fighter pilot as SC gov running mate". August 2022.
  38. ^ Folks, Will (August 12, 2014). ""Pharaoh" Is On The Ballot Again". FITSNews. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  39. ^ ""Labor Party Argues Whether to Put Candidates on SC Ballot"". US News and World Report. Associated Press. August 5, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  40. ^ ""SC Democrats sue to keep Labor Party candidates off ballot"". WPDE-TV. Associated Press. August 13, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  41. ^ "2022 Governor Race Ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  42. ^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  43. ^ "2022 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  44. ^ "South Carolina Governor Race 2022". Politico. April 1, 2022.
  45. ^ "2022 Governor Races". RCP. January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  46. ^ "2022 Election Forecast". Fox News. May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  47. ^ "2022 Election Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  48. ^ Szymanski, Joe (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Unveils Final 2022 Midterm Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  49. ^ "Governor McMaster kicks off Early Voting with rally". October 24, 2022.
  50. ^ "Small business group backs McMaster for governor". WIS News 10. September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  51. ^ "South Carolina Grades & Endorsements". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  52. ^ "Cunningham to hold campaign rally in Charleston on Monday". August 20, 2022.
  53. ^ "Joe Riley endorses Joe Cunningham in SC governor's race". June 2, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  54. ^ "Joe Cunningham's Ratings and Endorsements". justfacts.votesnart.org. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  55. ^ "South Carolina Endorsed Candidates". Planned Parenthood. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  56. ^ Gatlin, James (September 27, 2022). "Joe Cunningham accepts South Carolina Education Association Endorsement in Governor's Race". WACH FOX 57. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  57. ^ Echelon Insights (R)
  58. ^ Impact Research (D)
  59. ^ The Trafalgar Group (R)
  60. ^ Blueprint Polling (D)
  61. ^ McMaster, Cunningham set to face off in SC governor debate. How to watch
  62. ^ Results State of South Caroline. Retrieved March 11, 2023
  63. ^ "SC - Election Night Reporting". South Carolina Election Commission. November 17, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  64. ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
[edit]

Official campaign websites

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