South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1880

The 1880 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1880 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Johnson Hagood was nominated by the Democrats and ran against L. W. R. Blair, a Greenback-Labor candidate. Hagood easily won the general election and became the 80th governor of South Carolina.

In 1880, the state Democratic Party was split between the supporters of Wade Hampton and Martin Witherspoon Gary, although Hampton clearly commanded the respect and admiration of the party faithful. Therefore, to thwart a bid by Gary for the governorship, the state executive committee on March 10 announced that the state nominating convention would be held on June 1, a couple months before the anticipated date in August. Gary was viewed negatively during the spring because of his tirades against Hampton and the state Democrats hoped that an early convention would eliminate any possibility of Gary recovering his support.

At the convention in Columbia, a motion to proceed with nominations was immediately brought to a vote and it passed by a margin of 84 to 63. Unable to stop the nominating process and with little support, Gary refused to let his name be nominated for governor so as to avoid the embarrassment of an overwhelming defeat. Johnson Hagood, a conservative Democrat, was nominated for governor by acclamation.

The state Republicans held their convention in early September and the sentiment of the delegates heading into the convention was to mount an all-out attempt on the state offices. Led by Thomas E. Miller and other notable black leaders, they reasoned that although they might not win, it would maintain the cohesion and organization of the state party. However, as in the previous gubernatorial election, the party leaders stressed the futility of launching a statewide campaign. Nevertheless, a special committee was created to discuss the issue.

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