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2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election

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For related races, see 2010 United States gubernatorial elections.

2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election
← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →
 
Nominee Nikki Haley Vincent Sheheen
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 690,525 630,535
Percentage 51.37% 46.91%
Haley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Sheheen:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Governor before election

Mark Sanford
Republican

Elected Governor

Nikki Haley
Republican

Elections in South Carolina
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The 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Sanford was term limited and unable to seek re-election. Primary elections took place on June 8, 2010, and a runoff election, as was necessary on the Republican side, was held two weeks later on June 22.

Republican Nikki Haley defeated Democrat Vincent Sheheen in the general election by a margin of 4.5%. As of 2023, this is the closest that the Democrats have come to winning the governorship of South Carolina since their last victory in 1998. This is the first open-seat election since 1994. Haley was re-elected in 2014 in a rematch with Sheheen.

Republican primary

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According to CNN, Haley initially entered the gubernatorial primary as a dark horse candidate. In an article covering her surge in the primary in the weeks prior to the election, it was noted that a "surprise" endorsement from former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin boosted Haley's candidacy. Haley's campaign was backed by TV ads run by ReformSC, an advocacy group funded by allies of outgoing governor Mark Sanford.[1]

Candidates

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Endorsements

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Nikki Haley

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Gresham Barrett

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Henry McMaster

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André Bauer

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  • Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), former presidential candidate for 2008 Republican nomination[12]

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Henry
McMaster 		Gresham
Barrett 		André
Bauer 		Nikki
Haley 		Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling (report) June 5–6, 2010 998 ± 3.1% 16% 23% 12% 43% -- 7%
Public Policy Polling (report) May 22–23, 2010 638 ± 3.9% 18% 16% 13% 39% -- 14%
Rasmussen Reports (report) May 17, 2010 931 ± 4.5% 19% 17% 12% 30% 3% 13%
Rasmussen Reports (report) March 3, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 21% 14% 17% 12% 9% 29%
InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research ([2]) December 16, 2009 371 ± 5.1% 22% 9% 22% 13% 6% 28%

Runoff

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Nikki
Haley 		Gresham
Barrett 		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (report) June 5–6, 2010 998 ± 3.1% 51% 35% 14%

Results

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Primary results by county:
Haley
  •   Haley—60–70%
  •   Haley—50–60%
  •   Haley—40–50%
  •   Haley—<40%
Barrett
  •   Barrett—40–50%
  •   Barrett—50–60%
Republican primary results[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nikki Haley 206,326 48.9
Republican Gresham Barrett 91,824 21.8
Republican Henry McMaster 71,494 16.9
Republican André Bauer 52,607 12.4
Total votes 422,251 100
Primary runoff results by county:
Haley
  •   Haley—80–90%
  •   Haley—70–80%
  •   Haley—60–70%
  •   Haley—50–60%
Barrett
  •   Barrett—50–60%
  •   Barrett—60–70%
Republican primary runoff results on June 22[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nikki Haley 233,733 65.1
Republican Gresham Barrett 125,601 34.9
Total votes 359,334 100

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Jim
Rex 		Vincent
Sheheen 		Robert
Ford 		Dwight
Drake* 		Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling (report) May 22–23, 2010 410 ± 4.8% 30% 36% 11% -- -- 23%
Rasmussen Reports (report[permanent dead link‍]) May 17, 2010 404 ± 5.0% 22% 30% 4% -- 12% 32%
Rasmussen Reports (report) March 3, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 16% 16% 12% 5% 15% 37%
  • as of March 5, 2010 Dwight Drake withdrew from the race for Governor.[17]

Results

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Primary results by county:
Sheheen
  •   Sheheen—>90%
  •   Sheheen—80–90%
  •   Sheheen—70–80%
  •   Sheheen—60–70%
  •   Sheheen—50–60%
  •   Sheheen—40–50%
  •   Sheheen—<40%
Democratic primary results[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Vincent Sheheen 111,637 59.0
Democratic Jim Rex 43,590 23.0
Democratic Robert Ford 34,121 18.0
Total votes 189,348 100

Other Parties

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  • Morgan Reeves, Businessman, Minister, and retired National Football League player from Irmo[18]
    • Dr. Reeves was nominated on March 30 by the United Citizens Party and South Carolina Green Party on April 7 (see SC Election Commission website). Reeves appeared on the November 2nd general election ballot for both parties. An Independent, Dr. Reeves collected enough voter petition signatures to qualify by the July 15th deadline onto a 3rd ballot line.[19]
  • Jim Rex, State Superintendent of Education from Fairfield County[20]
    • Rex was nominated by the Working Families Party prior to losing the Democratic primary. Rex did not appear on the Working Families ballot line in November due to South Carolina's "sore loser" law that requires candidates not to seek nominations from multiple parties from appearing on the ballot after they lose any one party's nomination (see candidate party pledge forms). Several election law issues are before US appellate court in Richmond, Virginia regarding conformity to the 1965 Voting Rights Act and US Constitutional provisions, see ACLU/Platt v SC [21]

General election

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Debates

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  • "First in the State" Republican Gubernatorial Primary Debate

Sponsored by the Republican Parties of Newberry and Laurens Counties
Aired on WIS-TV on September 22, 2009
Watch here

  • "Spotlight on the Candidates" Joint Gubernatorial Primary Debate

Sponsored by the SC Natural Resources Society
Aired on SCETV on November 3, 2009
(This debate marked the first time in state history that gubernatorial primary candidates from both parties participated in the same debate.)[22]
Watch here

  • SCGOP Gubernatorial Debate

Sponsored by the South Carolina Republican Party
Moderated by MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski
Aired on WCSC-TV on January 28, 2010
Watch here

Endorsements

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Senator Vincent Sheheen -- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce[23]

Representative Nikki Haley-- National Rifle Association of America

Representative Nikki Haley-- South Citizens for Life

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Cook Political Report[24] Lean R October 14, 2010
Rothenberg[25] Safe R October 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics[26] Lean R November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[27] Likely R October 28, 2010
CQ Politics[28] Lean R October 28, 2010

Polling

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Poll source Dates administered Nikki Haley (R) Vincent Sheheen (D)
Crantford & Associates[29] October 21, 2010 48% 37%
Crantford & Associates[29] October 18, 2010 43% 41%
Winthrop University[30] October 13, 2010 47% 39%
Hamilton Campaigns[31] October 5, 2010 49% 44%
Hamilton Campaigns[31] October 5, 2010 49% 44%
Hamilton Campaigns[31] October 4, 2010 51% 41%
Crantford & Associates[29] October 2, 2010 45% 41%
Rasmussen Reports[32] September 22, 2010 50% 33%
Rasmussen Reports[33] August 25, 2010 52% 36%
Rasmussen Reports[34] July 29, 2010 49% 35%
Rasmussen Reports[35] June 23, 2010 52% 40%
Rasmussen Reports[36] June 10, 2010 55% 34%
Public Policy Polling[37] May 22–23, 2010 44% 34%

Results

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South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2010[38]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Nikki Haley 690,525 51.37% −3.75%
Democratic Vincent Sheheen 630,534 46.91% +2.12%
United Citizens Morgan B. Reeves 20,114 1.50% N/A
Write-ins 3,025 0.23% N/A
Majority 59,991 4.46% −5.87%
Turnout 1,344,198 50.92% +6.42%
Republican hold Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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References

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  1. ^ Hamby, Peter (May 20, 2010). "Haley has momentum in South Carolina race, rivals admit". CNN. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Barrett running for S.C. governor Archived 2009-03-05 at the Wayback Machine The State, Mar. 4, 2009
  3. ^ Lt Gov Bauer makes run for governor official Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine WPDE, Oct. 29, 2009
  4. ^ Haley announces run for governor Archived 2013-02-05 at archive.today The State, May 14, 2009
  5. ^ Henry McMaster seeking S.C. Governor post Archived 2013-01-19 at archive.today WCBD, August 3, 2009
  6. ^ "Governor Mitt Romney Endorses Nikki Haley for South Carolina Governor". Nikkihaley.com. March 16, 2010. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  7. ^ "Sarah Palin to Endorse Nikki Haley". Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  8. ^ O'Connor, John (November 12, 2009). "Jenny Sanford endorses Nikki Haley - Yahoo elections". TheState.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  9. ^ "Vice President Cheney Endorses Gresham Barrett". GreshamBarrett.com. June 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  10. ^ a b ANDY BARR. "Rudy latest '08 vet to endorse in S.C. – Jessica Taylor". Politico.Com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  11. ^ "Henry McMaster Endorsed by David Beasley wltx.com | Columbia, SC News, Weather and Sports |". Wltx.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  12. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  13. ^ a b c "South Carolina Primary Results". Politico. June 8, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  14. ^ Ford to focus on return of video poker Post and Courier, Jan. 14, 2009
  15. ^ Jim Rex announces campaign for governor Archived 2013-01-19 at archive.today WCBD, September 15, 2009
  16. ^ Sheheen Announces Run for Governor WLTX, Oct. 28, 2009
  17. ^ Dwight Drake Drops out of SC race Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine Drake for South Carolina, March 5, 2010
  18. ^ Irmo man clears hurdle to run for governor[permanent dead link‍] WACH, March 1, 2010
  19. ^ Green, Libertarian, Working Families, Labor, Constitution, United Citizens, Independence Archived 2010-06-08 at the Wayback Machine- List of candidates who have filed with these parties. Candidates are nominated by convention and do not appear on Primary ballots.
  20. ^ "Rex counting on fusion voters in governor's race". GoUpstate.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  21. ^ "ACLU to Argue in Appeals Court That South Carolina's Ballot Access Law Is Unconstitutional". CommonDreams.org. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  22. ^ Ten Gubernatorial Candidates to Share Stage for Historic Debate on ETV Archived 2010-03-01 at the Wayback Machine SCETV Website, Oct. 23, 2009
  23. ^ "WFAE 90.7 FM". Wfae.org. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  24. ^ "2010 Governors Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  25. ^ "Governor Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  26. ^ "2010 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  27. ^ "THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  28. ^ "Race Ratings Chart: Governor". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  29. ^ a b c Crantford & Associates
  30. ^ Winthrop University
  31. ^ a b c Hamilton Campaigns
  32. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  33. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  34. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  35. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  36. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  37. ^ Public Policy Polling
  38. ^ "SC - Election Results".
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Debates

Official campaign websites

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