South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1990
Encyclopedia
The 1990 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990 to select the governor
of the state of South Carolina
. Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
, the popular Republican
incumbent, handily defeated Democrat
Theo Mitchell
to become only the second governor at the time elected to a second consecutive four year term.
and other civil rights legislation in the 1960s, black participation in the Democratic Party grew while the role of the whites diminished. This became evident in the 1988 U.S. Presidential election
when Jesse Jackson
, a black civil rights activist from Greenville
, was chosen by South Carolina Democrats as their nominee for President. His nomination hastened the exodus of whites from the Democratic Party, but it also gave hope to blacks across the state that they could win a statewide office. Theo Mitchell
, a black state senator
from Greenville, sought to capitalize on the changing demographics of the state Democratic primary by indicating his intentions of seeking the governorship in April 1989.
In January 1990, Mitchell formally announced his candidacy for governor at a bus station named for him in Greenville. State Senator Ernie Passailaigue of Charleston
entered the lackluster race in March 1990, but was widely unknown outside of Charleston and he failed to generate any excitement from the voters or the media. Other prominent state Democrats saw the race as unwinnable because of Governor Campbell's popularity and chose not to run for governor.
As a result of the apathy of the voters and the declining participation of whites, turnout was light for the state Democratic
primary
on June 12. Mitchell easily defeated Passailaigue because black voters dominated the primary and they overwhelmingly cast their vote for Mitchell. He made political history by becoming the first black in South Carolina to be nominated by a major political party for the office of governor.
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans
and avoided a primary election
.
Governor Campbell stressed throughout the campaign his achievements in office, such as his leadership during Hurricane Hugo
and his role in luring BMW
to build a manufacturing plant in Greer
. The one issue that he hoped to accomplish in a second term was the restructuring of state government for the first time since 1895. He had stated that there were four branches of government in South Carolina: the executive, legislative, judicial and bureaucracy. Campbell desired to reform state government so that it would operate for the people and not the special interests.
Mitchell committed a grave gaffe in September when he referred to Campbell's black supporters as "house niggers" and "black prostitutes who have sold out their race, their dignity, their honor and their integrity." He refused to apologize for the remarks and Campbell cancelled a planned televised debate with Mitchell. The quote and the loss of exposure from a televised debate ultimately doomed Mitchell's quixotic candidacy for governor.
. The defeat marked the second largest loss by a Democratic nominee for Governor in the state of South Carolina and the largest loss since Reconstruction. Turnout
was less than the previous gubernatorial election because of the uncompetitive nature of the race.
Political commentators said that the huge loss was a result of Mitchell's combative style and his inability to curry support from the white power brokers of the Democratic Party. Consequently, Mitchell lacked the funding to mount an effective campaign against Governor Campbell. Mitchell had to travel by van for long hours to campaign functions and carry his own lectern whereas Campbell and his entourage traversed the state in two planes.
| colspan=5 |Republican
hold
|-
Governor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
of the state of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
Carroll Ashmore Campbell, Jr. was a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as 112th Governor of South Carolina from 1987 to 1995.-Early life:He was born in Greenville, South Carolina, the oldest of six children...
, the popular Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent, handily defeated Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Theo Mitchell
Theo Mitchell
Theo W. Mitchell is an attorney from South Carolina who served in the South Carolina General Assembly from 1975 to 1995.-Early life:...
to become only the second governor at the time elected to a second consecutive four year term.
Democratic primary
Ever since the passage of the Voting Rights ActVoting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
and other civil rights legislation in the 1960s, black participation in the Democratic Party grew while the role of the whites diminished. This became evident in the 1988 U.S. Presidential election
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
when Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, a black civil rights activist from Greenville
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
, was chosen by South Carolina Democrats as their nominee for President. His nomination hastened the exodus of whites from the Democratic Party, but it also gave hope to blacks across the state that they could win a statewide office. Theo Mitchell
Theo Mitchell
Theo W. Mitchell is an attorney from South Carolina who served in the South Carolina General Assembly from 1975 to 1995.-Early life:...
, a black state senator
South Carolina Senate
The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives...
from Greenville, sought to capitalize on the changing demographics of the state Democratic primary by indicating his intentions of seeking the governorship in April 1989.
In January 1990, Mitchell formally announced his candidacy for governor at a bus station named for him in Greenville. State Senator Ernie Passailaigue of Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
entered the lackluster race in March 1990, but was widely unknown outside of Charleston and he failed to generate any excitement from the voters or the media. Other prominent state Democrats saw the race as unwinnable because of Governor Campbell's popularity and chose not to run for governor.
As a result of the apathy of the voters and the declining participation of whites, turnout was light for the state Democratic
South Carolina Democratic Party
The South Carolina Democratic Party is the South Carolina affiliate of the United States Democratic Party. The Democratic party thrived during the Second Party System between 1832 and the mid-1850s and was one of the causes of the collapse of the Whig Party....
primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
on June 12. Mitchell easily defeated Passailaigue because black voters dominated the primary and they overwhelmingly cast their vote for Mitchell. He made political history by becoming the first black in South Carolina to be nominated by a major political party for the office of governor.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican primary
GovernorGovernor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
Carroll Ashmore Campbell, Jr. was a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as 112th Governor of South Carolina from 1987 to 1995.-Early life:He was born in Greenville, South Carolina, the oldest of six children...
faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans
South Carolina Republican Party
The South Carolina Republican Party and the South Carolina Democratic Party are the two major political parties within the U.S. state of South Carolina...
and avoided a primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
.
Campaign
After his win in the Democratic primary, Theo Mitchell came out swinging against Governor Campbell. He accused Campbell of lying to him in 1988 because he said that Campbell had told him that he would first appoint a black to the State Board of Corrections. Campbell replied that it was a mix-up and instead named a white to the board, although he did later appoint a black to the board. Mitchell also accused Campbell of taking on a "dictatorial role" as governor because of his inaccessibility and said that Campbell was vulnerable on the issues of hazardous waste, auto insurance, and education. The proposals made by Mitchell for the election were:- Eliminate the sales tax on groceries and over-the-counter medicine.
- Raise the automobile sales tax and restructure income tax brackets.
- Create a state lotterySouth Carolina Education LotteryThe South Carolina Education Lottery began in 2002.South Carolina is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association , best known for Powerball...
for education.
Governor Campbell stressed throughout the campaign his achievements in office, such as his leadership during Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
and his role in luring BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
to build a manufacturing plant in Greer
Greer, South Carolina
Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, between the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg. The population was 25,515 at the 2010 census. It is projected to hit 30,000 within 4 years. Each day, more than three times that number of people pass...
. The one issue that he hoped to accomplish in a second term was the restructuring of state government for the first time since 1895. He had stated that there were four branches of government in South Carolina: the executive, legislative, judicial and bureaucracy. Campbell desired to reform state government so that it would operate for the people and not the special interests.
Mitchell committed a grave gaffe in September when he referred to Campbell's black supporters as "house niggers" and "black prostitutes who have sold out their race, their dignity, their honor and their integrity." He refused to apologize for the remarks and Campbell cancelled a planned televised debate with Mitchell. The quote and the loss of exposure from a televised debate ultimately doomed Mitchell's quixotic candidacy for governor.
Election results
The general election was held on November 6, 1990 and Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. was reelected overwhelmingly as governor of South CarolinaGovernor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
. The defeat marked the second largest loss by a Democratic nominee for Governor in the state of South Carolina and the largest loss since Reconstruction. Turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was less than the previous gubernatorial election because of the uncompetitive nature of the race.
Political commentators said that the huge loss was a result of Mitchell's combative style and his inability to curry support from the white power brokers of the Democratic Party. Consequently, Mitchell lacked the funding to mount an effective campaign against Governor Campbell. Mitchell had to travel by van for long hours to campaign functions and carry his own lectern whereas Campbell and his entourage traversed the state in two planes.
| colspan=5 |Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
hold
|-
See also
- Governor of South CarolinaGovernor of South CarolinaThe Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
- List of Governors of South Carolina
- South Carolina gubernatorial elections