1950 United States Senate election in South Carolina
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County Results
Johnston: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Thurmond: 50-60% 60-70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in South Carolina |
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The 1950 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1950, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Olin D. Johnston defeated Strom Thurmond in a bitterly contested Democratic primary on July 11 and was unopposed in the general election.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Olin D. Johnston, incumbent Senator
- Strom Thurmond, incumbent Governor of South Carolina and 1948 presidential candidate
Campaign
Strom Thurmond entered the Democratic
The campaign began on May 23 in Lexington and Thurmond attacked Johnston for being soft on segregation and too close to the administration of President Truman. At a campaign stop for the Democratic candidates in Newberry on June 26, Thurmond accused Johnston of being "silent as a tomb" when Truman ordered the integration of the military and called out Johnston to stand up and deny it. Johnston stood up and yelled back at Thurmond that he was a liar to which chaos ensued. Thurmond challenged Johnston to a fight and after the meeting as Johnston went to shake Thurmond's hand, Thurmond grabbed Johnston's arm and swung him around. A fight between the two men was only prevented due to the timely intervention of campaign aides and supporters.
Throughout the campaign, Thurmond painted Johnston as a Southern liberal senator similar to Senators
Thurmond attacked Johnston's record as governor claiming that he had released 3,221 criminals from prison and stated that "it was easier to get out of the penitentiary than it was to get in it."[3] Johnston referred to state statistics that showed he had only pardoned, paroled, or commuted the sentences of 671 criminals. Furthermore, he said that some of the men he had released were named honorary colonels by Thurmond. This charge was given credence because Thurmond refused to make public his list of honorary colonels.
One policy in which the two candidates did disagree on was federal aid to education. While governor, Thurmond had been supportive of assistance from the federal government, but he reversed his position because he feared that the federal government would eventually force integration upon the states. Johnston countered that the state universities received federal funds, but remained segregated and that the state desperately needed assistance because its teachers were grossly underpaid.
The South Carolina Democratic Party held the primary on July 11 and Johnston emerged as the clear winner. It was estimated that approximately 50,000 blacks voted in the election and they overwhelmingly cast their ballot for Johnston. [citation needed] While the blacks were repulsed by both men's positions on civil rights, they gave their support to Johnston because he had a progressive record and they wanted to penalize Thurmond for his 1948 presidential campaign.
Results
Democratic Primary | ||
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Candidate | Votes | % |
Olin D. Johnston | 186,180 | 54.0 |
Strom Thurmond | 158,904 | 46.0 |
General election
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Democratic | Olin D. Johnston (incumbent) | 50,458 | 99.93% | +6.99% | |
No party | Write-Ins | 37 | 0.07% | N/A | |
Majority | 50,421 | 99.85% | +10.65% | ||
Turnout | 50,495 | ||||
Democratic hold |
See also
- List of United States senators from South Carolina
- 1950 United States Senate elections
- 1950 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina
- 1950 South Carolina gubernatorial election
References
Bibliography
- Bass, Jack; Marilyn W. Thompson (2005). Strom: The Complicated Personal and Political Life of Strom Thurmond. PublicAffairs. pp. 123–135.
- Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962. p. 80.
- "Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Columbia, SC: 1951, p. 7.
- "Fielder's Choice". Time. July 24, 1950. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
- "Political Caravan". Time. July 24, 1950. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2008.