South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1878

The 1878 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1878 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Wade Hampton III was renominated by the Democrats and ran against no organized opposition in the general election to win reelection for a second two-year term.

Upon becoming governor after a prolonged struggle against Daniel Henry Chamberlain in the gubernatorial election of 1876, Wade Hampton adopted moderate racial policies and favored many Republican proposals. For instance, the state modified the agriculture lien law and passed a law giving counties the ability to mandate the fencing of livestock. Hampton also appointed many blacks to government positions and provided for more funds to be spent educating black children than white children.

The state Republican Party held their convention in Columbia on August 7 and August 8. The white Republican leaders opposed fielding a slate of candidates for statewide offices and even proposed a resolution to endorse Hampton. They felt that any opposition to Hampton would only encourage the Democrats to mount an aggressive and unified campaign. Instead, they proposed for the party to concentrate its resources on contesting the local races in hopes that the Democrats would not vigorously contest those elections due to lack of competition at the state level.

However, many prominent black Republicans favored fielding a slate of statewide candidates and launch an all out campaign against the Democrats. The sentiment among the delegates favored this position, but party chairman, Robert B. Elliott, and other Republican leaders managed to convince the delegates the futility of fielding a statewide campaign. When a resolution was offered to pledge the Republican Party to field a state ticket, it was defeated by a vote of 85-35. The platform of the party adopted at the convention merely stated that a full slate was inexpedient because it was "impossible for Republican voters to organize and vote without incurring great personal danger". Thus, the campaign of 1878 for the Republicans was left up to the county organizations.

...
Wikipedia