1903 United States Senate election in South Carolina
April 11, 2024
The 1903 South Carolina United States Senate election, held January 27, 1903 to select the U.S. senator from the state of South Carolina, was predetermined by the Democratic Partyprimary election held on August 26, 1902, and September 9. Democrats were so overwhelmingly dominant that their nomination was tantamount to the general election.
1903 Democratic Senate primary runoff in South Carolina
Prior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S. senators were elected by the state legislature and not through the direct election by the people of the state. However, the Democratic Party of South Carolina organized primary elections for the U.S. Senate beginning in 1896 and the General Assembly would confirm the choice of the Democratic voters. Tillmanite DemocratAsbury Latimer won the Democratic primary and was elected by the General Assembly for a six-year term.
In the special election of 1897, the Conservatives were without a candidate so in 1902 four candidates vied for the support of Conservatives: Dan S. Henderson, William Elliott, George Johnstone and John J. Hemphill. The two remaining candidates in the race, Representative Asbury Latimer and former GovernorJohn Gary Evans, were strong Tillmanites. However, they held strongly opposing views and a duel almost ensued between the two while campaigning at St. George on July 12. A fight did indeed break out between Latimer and Hemphill when they were campaigning in Gaffney on August 14. Latimer took offence to an accusation by Hemphill and struck him. Hemphill was unable to strike back because Latimer quickly left the scene.
On August 26, Latimer and Evans emerged as the top two candidates in the field and were to face each other in a runoff election on September 9. The Conservative candidates had garnered more votes combined than the combined vote of Latimer and Evans, but their inability to coalesce around a single candidate prevented a Conservative from winning the election. Evans was widely disliked by Conservatives in the state so they threw their support behind Latimer and he easily won the runoff election.
Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962. pp. 56–59.
"Candidates Use Threats". New York Times. July 13, 1902. p. 2.
"Senatorial Candidates Indulge in Fisticuffs". New York Times. August 15, 1902. p. 2.
"Latimer's Lucky Election". New York Times. September 12, 1902. p. 2.
April 11, 2024
1903, united, states, senate, election, south, carolina, 1903, south, carolina, united, states, senate, election, held, january, 1903, select, senator, from, state, south, carolina, predetermined, democratic, party, primary, election, held, august, 1902, septe. The 1903 South Carolina United States Senate election held January 27 1903 to select the U S senator from the state of South Carolina was predetermined by the Democratic Party primary election held on August 26 1902 and September 9 Democrats were so overwhelmingly dominant that their nomination was tantamount to the general election 1903 Democratic Senate primary runoff in South Carolina 1898 special September 9 1902 1908 special Nominee Asbury Latimer John Gary EvansParty Democratic DemocraticPopular vote 53 890 36 371Percentage 59 7 40 3 U S senator before electionJohn L McLaurinDemocratic Elected U S Senator Asbury LatimerDemocraticPrior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution U S senators were elected by the state legislature and not through the direct election by the people of the state However the Democratic Party of South Carolina organized primary elections for the U S Senate beginning in 1896 and the General Assembly would confirm the choice of the Democratic voters Tillmanite Democrat Asbury Latimer won the Democratic primary and was elected by the General Assembly for a six year term Contents 1 Democratic primary 1 1 Candidates 1 2 Campaign 1 3 Results 2 See also 3 ReferencesDemocratic primary editCandidates edit William Elliott U S Representative from Beaufort John Gary Evans former Governor of South Carolina John J Hemphill former U S Representative from Chester Dan S Henderson George Johnstone former U S Representative from Newberry County Asbury Latimer U S Representative from BeltonCampaign edit In the special election of 1897 the Conservatives were without a candidate so in 1902 four candidates vied for the support of Conservatives Dan S Henderson William Elliott George Johnstone and John J Hemphill The two remaining candidates in the race Representative Asbury Latimer and former Governor John Gary Evans were strong Tillmanites However they held strongly opposing views and a duel almost ensued between the two while campaigning at St George on July 12 A fight did indeed break out between Latimer and Hemphill when they were campaigning in Gaffney on August 14 Latimer took offence to an accusation by Hemphill and struck him Hemphill was unable to strike back because Latimer quickly left the scene On August 26 Latimer and Evans emerged as the top two candidates in the field and were to face each other in a runoff election on September 9 The Conservative candidates had garnered more votes combined than the combined vote of Latimer and Evans but their inability to coalesce around a single candidate prevented a Conservative from winning the election Evans was widely disliked by Conservatives in the state so they threw their support behind Latimer and he easily won the runoff election Results edit Democratic PrimaryCandidate Votes Asbury Latimer 22 971 24 1John Gary Evans 17 993 18 9Dan S Henderson 13 771 14 5William Elliott 13 658 14 4George Johnstone 13 556 14 2John J Hemphill 13 261 13 9Democratic Primary RunoffCandidate Votes Asbury Latimer 53 890 59 7 35 6John Gary Evans 36 371 40 3 21 4See also editList of United States senators from South Carolina 1902 and 1903 United States Senate elections 1902 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina 1902 South Carolina gubernatorial electionReferences editJordan Frank E The Primary State A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina 1876 1962 pp 56 59 Candidates Use Threats New York Times July 13 1902 p 2 Senatorial Candidates Indulge in Fisticuffs New York Times August 15 1902 p 2 Latimer s Lucky Election New York Times September 12 1902 p 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1903 United States Senate election in South Carolina amp oldid 1173749856, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
