1994 South Carolina gubernatorial election

The 1994 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The contest featured two politicians from the Upstate and David Beasley narrowly defeated Nick Theodore to become the 113th governor of South Carolina.

1994 South Carolina gubernatorial election

← 1990 November 8, 1994 1998 →

Nominee David Beasley Nick Theodore Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 470,756 447,002 Percentage 50.4% 47.9%

County results Beasley:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70% Theodore:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Republican Elected Governor David Beasley Republican

Democratic primary

The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on August 9, 1994. Lieutenant Governor Nick Theodore, from the Upstate, emerged as the winner of the runoff election on August 23 against popular Charleston mayor Joseph P. (Joe) Riley Jr. and the three-term Attorney General of South Carolina, Thomas T. Medlock.

Candidates

• William Holler
• Thomas T. Medlock, Attorney General of South Carolina
• Joseph P. Riley Jr., mayor of Charleston
• Nick Theodore, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina

Results

1994 Democratic gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nick Theodore	129,572	49.56%
	Democratic	Joseph P. Riley Jr.	99,967	38.24%
	Democratic	Thomas T. Medlock	22,468	8.59%
	Democratic	William Holler	9,439	3.61%
Total votes			261,446	100.00%

Runoff results

1994 Democratic gubernatorial runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Nick Theodore	113,127	50.36%	0.80
	Democratic	Joseph P. Riley Jr.	111,517	49.64%	11.20
Total votes			224,644	100.00%

Republican primary

The South Carolina Republican Party held their primary on August 9, 1994, and the contest featured state representative David Beasley from the Upstate against two Lowcountry politicians. Beasley cruised to victory and benefited from the campaign of popular Charleston mayor Joe Riley for the Democratic nomination by drawing Lowcountry voters away from the Republican primary and towards the Democratic primary.

Candidates

• David Beasley, state representative from Society Hill
• Thomas Hartnett, former U.S. representative from Charleston
• Arthur Ravenel Jr., U.S. representative from Charleston

Results

1994 Republican gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Beasley	119,724	47.19%
	Republican	Arthur Ravenel Jr.	81,129	31.98%
	Republican	Thomas Hartnett	52,866	20.84%
Total votes			253,719	100.00%

Runoff results

1994 Republican gubernatorial runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	David Beasley	134,297	57.59%	10.40
	Republican	Arthur Ravenel Jr.	98,915	42.41%	10.43
Total votes			233,212	100.00%

General election

Polling

Source	Date	Beasley (R)	Theodore (D)
The Greenville News	Nov. 3, 1994	38%	34%

Results

The general election was held on November 8, 1994, and David Beasley was elected as the next governor of South Carolina in the closest election percentage wise since the disputed election of 1876. Turnout was higher than the previous gubernatorial election because of the competitive nature of the race between the two parties.

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	David Beasley	470,756	50.41	−19.1
	Democratic	Nick Theodore	447,002	47.87	+20.1
	U.S. Taxpayers Party	John R. Peeples, Jr.	8,003	0.9	+0.9
	New Alliance Party	Wayne B. Griffin	5,875	0.6	+0.6
	No party	Write-Ins	2,214	0.2	−0.2
Majority			23,754	2.5	−39.2
Turnout			933,850	62.3	+6.3
	Republican hold

1994 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county.

  60%-64% won by Beasley

  55%-59% won by Beasley

  50%-54% won by Beasley

  <50% won by Beasley

  <50% won by Theodore

  50%-54% won by Theodore

  55%-59% won by Theodore

  60%-64% won by Theodore

  65+% won by Theodore

See also

• Governor of South Carolina
• List of governors of South Carolina
• South Carolina gubernatorial elections

References

• State Election Commission (1995). South Carolina Election Report 1994–1995. Columbia, South Carolina: The Commission. p. 26.

External links

• SCIway Biography of Governor David Muldrow Beasley

Preceded by 1990

South Carolina gubernatorial elections

Succeeded by 1998