United States Senate special election in South Carolina, 1897
Encyclopedia
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...
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....
held on August 31, 1897 to select the U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 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...
. Prior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
, 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
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....
organized primary elections for the U.S. Senate beginning in 1896 and the General Assembly
South Carolina General Assembly
The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. Altogether, the General...
would confirm the choice of the Democratic voters. Tillmanite 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...
John L. McLaurin
John L. McLaurin
John Lowndes McLaurin was a United States Representative and Senator from South Carolina; born in Red Bluff, South Carolina, he attended schools at Bennettsville, South Carolina and Englewood, New Jersey as well as Bethel Military Academy and Swarthmore College He graduated from the Carolina...
won the Democratic primary and was elected by the General Assembly to serve the remainder of the six-year term expiring in 1903.
Democratic primary
After Joseph H. EarleJoseph H. Earle
Joseph Haynsworth Earle was a United States Senator from South Carolina. Born in Greenville, he attended private schools in Sumter. He was a first year cadet at the South Carolina Military Academy at the outbreak of the Civil War enlisted in the Confederate Army...
's victory in the 1896 Democratic primary election for Senate
United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1896
The 1896 South Carolina United States Senate election was a Democratic Party primary election held on August 26, 1896 and September 9 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Prior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S...
, the Conservatives believed that they had scored a decisive victory over the Tillmanite faction. Earle's sudden death in 1897 caught the Conservatives by surprise and they were unprepared to enter a candidate in the Democratic primary election on August 31 to replace Earle in the U.S. Senate. Thus all the candidates who entered the race were Tillmanites and were proponents of Free Silver
Free Silver
Free Silver was an important United States political policy issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as opposed to the less inflationary Gold Standard; its supporters were called...
.
Of the four serious candidates in the race, John L. McLaurin
John L. McLaurin
John Lowndes McLaurin was a United States Representative and Senator from South Carolina; born in Red Bluff, South Carolina, he attended schools at Bennettsville, South Carolina and Englewood, New Jersey as well as Bethel Military Academy and Swarthmore College He graduated from the Carolina...
was the most acceptable to the Conservatives and was the only one strongly in favor of the tariffs promoted by the Republicans. When the campaigning began on July 5 in Chester
Chester, South Carolina
Chester is a small city in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,476 at the 2000 census and a center urban cluster population of 11,140...
, McLaurin was repeatedly attacked by former Senator John L. M. Irby
John L. M. Irby
John Laurens Manning Irby was a United States Senator from South Carolina. Born in Laurens, he attended Laurensville Male Academy , Princeton College John Laurens Manning Irby (September 10, 1854 December 9, 1900) was a United States Senator from South Carolina. Born in Laurens, he attended...
and former Governor
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...
John Gary Evans
John Gary Evans
John Gary Evans was the 85th Governor of South Carolina from 1894 to 1897.-Early life:Evans was born in Cokesbury, South Carolina to an aristocratic and well connected family. His father was Nathan George Evans, a Confederate general, and after his father died in 1868, he went to live in Edgefield...
over his support of the tariff. McLaurin was accused of organizing the Populist Party
Populist Party (United States)
The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891. It was most important in 1892-96, then rapidly faded away...
in South Carolina, a charge he vehemently denied. S.G. Mayfield withdrew from the race on August 12 at Yorkville
York, South Carolina
York is a small city in York County, South Carolina, United States. The city of York is also the county seat of York County. The population was approximately 6,985 at the 2000 census and the 2009 population estimate for the city...
when McLaurin provided evidence that he had worked to prevent the Populist Party from organizing in South Carolina. John T. Duncan and G. Walton Whitman were the two minor candidates in the contest, although Duncan withdrew from the race in the closing days of the campaign and Whitman was never officially recognized by the state Democratic Party
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....
.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |