List of lieutenant governors of South Carolina

The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. This is a list of lieutenant governors of the U.S. state of South Carolina, 1730 to present.^[1][2]

Royal period (1719–1776)

The lieutenant governor position was created by the British government under the control of the Board of Trade in 1729 for a term beginning on January 1, 1730. Prior to that, the Governor appointed a deputy governor to act in his stead during his absence. There were only three lieutenant governors during the Royal period and two were father and son.

Lieutenant governors of South Carolina (1730 to 1776)

No.	Image	Lieutenant Governor	Term in office	Governor	Notes	Monarch
1		Thomas Broughton	January 1, 1730 – November 22, 1737	Arthur Middleton	Died in office	George II
				Robert Johnson
2		William Bull I	December 23, 1738 – March 21, 1755	James Glen	Died in office
3		William Bull II	March 21, 1755 – March 26, 1776		Son of his predecessor Died in office
				William Lyttelton		George III
				Thomas Boone
				Lord Charles Montagu
				Lord William Campbell

Statehood period (1776–present)

Vice presidents under the Constitution of 1776

The General Assembly chose the vice president for a term of two years.

Parties

  No party (2)

Vice presidents of the State of South Carolina (1776 to 1779)

No.	Image	Vice President		Party	Term in office	President		Notes
4			Henry Laurens	Independent	March 26, 1776 – January 10, 1777		John Rutledge	Officially titled "Vice President"
Vacant					until June 24, 1777
5			James Parsons	Independent	June 24, 1777 – January 9, 1779			Officially titled "Vice President"
							Rawlins Lowndes

Lieutenant governors in early and antebellum America

The General Assembly chose the lieutenant governor for a term of two years.

Parties

  No party (6)   Federalist (5)   Democratic-Republican (16)   Nullifier (Democratic) (3)   Democratic (16)

Lieutenant governors of the State of South Carolina (1779 to 1865)

No.	Image	Lieutenant Governor		Party	Term in office	Governor		Notes
6			Thomas Bee	Independent	January 9, 1779 – January 24, 1780		John Rutledge
7			Christopher Gadsden	Independent	January 24, 1780 – January 31, 1782
8			Richard Hutson	Independent	January 31, 1782 – February 4, 1783		John Mathews
9			Richard Beresford	Independent	February 4, 1783 – March 15, 1783		Benjamin Guerard	Shortest term (39 days) Resigned[a]
-	Vacant				until February 16, 1784
10			William Moultrie	Independent	February 16, 1784 – February 11, 1785
11			Charles Drayton	Independent	February 11, 1785 – February 20, 1787		William Moultrie
12			Thomas Gadsden	Federalist	February 20, 1787 – January 26, 1789		Thomas Pinckney
13			Alexander Gillon	Federalist	January 26, 1789 – February 15, 1791		Charles Pinckney
14			Isaac Holmes	Federalist	February 15, 1791 – December 5, 1792
15			James Ladson	Federalist	December 5, 1792 – December 17, 1794		William Moultrie
16			Lewis Morris	Federalist	December 17, 1794 – December 8, 1796		Arnoldus Vanderhorst
17			Robert Anderson	Democratic-Republican	December 8, 1796 – December 18, 1798		Charles Pinckney
18			John Drayton	Democratic-Republican	December 18, 1798 – January 23, 1800		Edward Rutledge	Succeeded to governorship[b]
-	Vacant				until December 4, 1800
19			Richard Winn	Democratic-Republican	December 4, 1800 – December 8, 1802		John Drayton
20			Ezekiel Pickens	Democratic-Republican	December 8, 1802 – December 7, 1804		James Burchill Richardson
21			Thomas Sumter Jr.	Democratic-Republican	December 7, 1804 – December 9, 1806		Paul Hamilton
22			John Hopkins	Democratic-Republican	December 9, 1806 – December 10, 1808		Charles Pinckney
23			Frederick Nance	Democratic-Republican	December 10, 1808 – December 8, 1810		John Drayton
24			Samuel Farrow	Democratic-Republican	December 8, 1810 – December 10, 1812		Henry Middleton
25			Eldred Simkins	Democratic-Republican	December 10, 1812 – December 10, 1814		Joseph Alston
26			Robert Creswell	Democratic-Republican	December 10, 1814 – December 5, 1816		David Rogerson Williams
27			John A. Cuthbert	Democratic-Republican	December 5, 1816 – December 8, 1818		Andrew Pickens
28			William Youngblood	Democratic-Republican	December 8, 1818 – December 7, 1820		John Geddes
29			William Pinckney	Democratic-Republican	December 7, 1820 – December 7, 1822		Thomas Bennett Jr.
30			Henry Bradley	Democratic-Republican	December 7, 1822 – December 3, 1824		John Lyde Wilson
31			William Bull	Democratic-Republican	December 3, 1824 – December 9, 1826		Richard Irvine Manning I
32			James Witherspoon	Democratic-Republican	December 9, 1826 – December 10, 1828		John Taylor
33			Thomas Williams	Nullifier (Democratic)	December 10, 1828 – December 9, 1830		Stephen Decatur Miller
34			Patrick Noble	Nullifier (Democratic)	December 9, 1830 – December 10, 1832		James Hamilton Jr.
35			Charles Cotesworth Pinckney II	Nullifier (Democratic)	December 10, 1832 – December 9, 1834		Robert Young Hayne
36			Whitemarsh B. Seabrook	Democratic	December 9, 1834 – December 10, 1836		George McDuffie
37			William DuBose	Democratic	December 10, 1836 – December 7, 1838		Pierce Mason Butler
38			Barnabas Kelet Henagan	Democratic	December 7, 1838 – April 7, 1840		Patrick Noble	Succeeded to governorship[c]
-	Vacant				until December 9, 1840
39			William K. Clowney	Democratic	December 9, 1840 – December 8, 1842		John Peter Richardson II
40			Isaac Donnom Witherspoon	Democratic	December 8, 1842 – December 7, 1844		James Henry Hammond
41			J.F. Ervin	Democratic	December 7, 1844 – December 7, 1846		William Aiken
42			William Cain	Democratic	December 8, 1846 – December 12, 1848		David Johnson
43			William Henry Gist	Democratic	December 12, 1848 – December 13, 1850		Whitemarsh B. Seabrook
44			Joshua John Ward	Democratic	December 13, 1850 – December 9, 1852		John Hugh Means
45			James Irby	Democratic	December 9, 1852 – December 11, 1854		John Lawrence Manning
46			Richard de Treville	Democratic	December 11, 1854 – December 9, 1856		James Hopkins Adams
47			Gabriel Cannon	Democratic	December 9, 1856 – December 10, 1858		Robert F.W. Allston
48			M. E. Carn	Democratic	December 10, 1858 – December 14, 1860		William Henry Gist
49			William Harllee	Confederate Democratic	December 14, 1860 – December 17, 1862		Francis Wilkinson Pickens
50			Plowden Weston	Confederate Democratic	December 17, 1862 – January 25, 1864		Milledge Luke Bonham	Died in office[d]
-	Vacant				until December 18, 1864
51			Robert McCaw	Confederate Democratic	December 18, 1864 – May 25, 1865		Andrew Gordon Magrath	Overthrown by Union Army at the end of the Civil War; government disestablished.
-	Office abolished until government reinstated under new constitution November 30, 1865

Lieutenant governors post-Civil War through the present

First Constitution of South Carolina to provide for the direct election of the lieutenant governor.

• 2-year term, 1868-1927, no limit
• 4-year term, 1927–present, no limit

Legend:   Democratic (32)   Republican (9)   No party (1)

Lieutenant governors of the State of South Carolina (1865 to 1868)

No.	Image	Lieutenant Governor		Party	Term in office	Election	Governor		Notes
52			William Porter	Independent	November 30, 1865 – July 6, 1868	1865		James Lawrence Orr	First popularly elected lieutenant governor
53			Lemuel Boozer	Republican	July 6, 1868 – December 3, 1870	1868		Robert Kingston Scott
54			Alonzo J. Ransier	Republican	December 3, 1870 – December 7, 1872	1870			First black lieutenant governor
55			Richard Howell Gleaves	Republican	December 7, 1872 – December 14, 1876	1872		Franklin J. Moses, Jr.	Second black lieutenant governor Haitian-American Lost reelection[e][3]
						1874		Daniel Henry Chamberlain
-	Disputed					Disputed between Gleaves and William Dunlap Simpson. Two governments were formed during this time. Main article: Disputed government of South Carolina of 1876-77
56			William Dunlap Simpson	Democratic	December 14, 1876 – February 26, 1879	1876		Wade Hampton III	Succeeded to governorship[f]
						1878
-	Vacant				until November 30, 1880
57			John D. Kennedy	Democratic	November 30, 1880 – December 1, 1882	1880		Johnson Hagood
58			John Calhoun Sheppard	Democratic	December 1, 1882 – July 10, 1886	1882		Hugh Smith Thompson	Succeeded to governorship[g]
						1884
-	Vacant				until November 30, 1886
59			William L. Mauldin	Democratic	December 30, 1886 – December 4, 1890	1886		Hugh Smith Thompson
						1888
60			Eugene B. Gary	Democratic	December 4, 1890 – December 22, 1893	1890		Benjamin Tillman	Resigned[h]
						1892
61			Washington H. Timmerman	Democratic	December 22, 1893 – January 18, 1897
						1894		John Gary Evans
62			Miles Benjamin McSweeney	Democratic	January 18, 1897 – June 2, 1899	1896		William Haselden Ellerbe	Succeeded to governorship[i]
						1898
63			Robert B. Scarborough	Democratic	June 2, 1899 – January 15, 1901			Miles Benjamin McSweeney	Not elected
64			James Tillman	Democratic	January 15, 1901 – January 20, 1903	1900
65			John Sloan	Democratic	January 20, 1903 – January 15, 1907	1902		Duncan Clinch Heyward
						1904
66			Thomas Gordon McLeod	Democratic	January 15, 1907 – January 17, 1911	1906		Martin Frederick Ansel
						1908
67			Charles Aurelius Smith	Democratic	January 17, 1911 – January 14, 1915	1910		Coleman Livingston Blease	Succeeded to governorship[j]
						1912
-	Vacant				until January 19, 1915
68			Andrew Bethea	Democratic	January 19, 1915 – January 21, 1919	1914		Richard Irvine Manning III
						1916
69			Junius T. Liles	Democratic	January 21, 1919 – January 18, 1921	1918		Robert Archer Cooper
70			Wilson Godfrey Harvey	Democratic	January 18, 1921 – May 20, 1922	1920			Succeeded to governorship[k]
-	Vacant				until January 16, 1923
71			E. B. Jackson	Democratic	January 16, 1923 – January 18, 1927	1922		Thomas Gordon McLeod
						1924
72			Thomas Bothwell Butler	Democratic	January 18, 1927 – January 5, 1931[4]	1926		John Gardiner Richards, Jr.	First elected to four-year term Died in office
-	Vacant				until January 20, 1931
73			James O. Sheppard	Democratic	January 20, 1931 – January 15, 1935	1930		Ibra Charles Blackwood
74			Joseph Emile Harley	Democratic	January 15, 1935 – November 4, 1941	1934		Olin D. Johnston	Succeeded to governorship[l]
						1938		Burnet R. Maybank
-	Vacant				until January 19, 1943
75			Ransome Judson Williams	Democratic	January 19, 1943 – January 2, 1945	1942		Olin D. Johnston	Succeeded to governorship[m]
-	Vacant				until January 21, 1947
76			George Bell Timmerman, Jr.	Democratic	January 21, 1947 – January 18, 1955	1946		Strom Thurmond
						1950		James F. Byrnes
77			Fritz Hollings	Democratic	January 18, 1955 – January 20, 1959	1954		George Bell Timmerman, Jr.
78			Burnet R. Maybank Jr.	Democratic	January 20, 1959 – January 15, 1963	1958		Fritz Hollings
79			Robert Evander McNair	Democratic	January 15, 1963 – April 22, 1965	1962		Donald S. Russell	Succeeded to governorship[n]
-	Vacant				until January 17, 1967
80			John C. West	Democratic	January 17, 1967 – January 19, 1971	1966		Robert Evander McNair
81			Earle Morris, Jr.	Democratic	January 19, 1971 – January 21, 1975	1970		John C. West
82			W. Brantley Harvey, Jr.	Democratic	January 21, 1975 – January 10, 1979	1974		James B. Edwards
83			Nancy Stevenson	Democratic	January 10, 1979 – January 12, 1983	1978		Richard Riley	First female lieutenant governor
84			Michael R. Daniel	Democratic	January 12, 1983 – January 14, 1987	1982
85			Nick Theodore	Democratic	January 14, 1987 – January 11, 1995	1986		Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
						1990
86			Bob Peeler	Republican	January 11, 1995 – January 15, 2003	1994		David Beasley
						1998		Jim Hodges
87			André Bauer	Republican	January 15, 2003 – January 12, 2011	2002		Mark Sanford
						2006
88			Ken Ard	Republican	January 12, 2011 – March 9, 2012	2010		Nikki Haley	Resigned[o]
-	Vacant				until March 13, 2012
89			Glenn F. McConnell	Republican	March 13, 2012 – June 18, 2014				Resigned[p]
90			Yancey McGill	Democratic	June 18, 2014 – January 14, 2015
91			Henry McMaster	Republican	January 14, 2015 – January 24, 2017	2014			Succeeded to governorship[q]
-	Vacant				until January 25, 2017
92			Kevin L. Bryant	Republican	January 25, 2017 – January 9, 2019			Henry McMaster
93			Pamela Evette	Republican	January 9, 2019 – Present	2018			First elected on same ticket as governor[5]
						2022

Notes

1. Resigned after elected to the Congress of the Confederation.
2. Succeeded to the governorship when Governor John Drayton died in office.
3. Succeeded to the governorship when Governor Patrick Noble died in office.
4. Died of tuberculosis
5. Gleaves lost by 359 votes. Initially, the Republicans claimed that the Democrats committed voter fraud and that their majority was invalid. However, Republicans lost electoral support and were forced to concede. Gleaves, by all accounts of sources, did not refuse to leave office as Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain did.
6. Succeeded to the governorship when Governor Wade Hampton III resigned to become a U.S. Senator
7. Succeeded to the governorship when Governor Hugh Thompson resigned to become the assistant Secretary of the Treasury under the Grover Cleveland administration.
8. Resigned to take position of associate justice on the South Carolina Supreme Court.
9. Succeeded to governorship when Governor William Ellerbe died in office.
10. Succeeded to governorship for five days when Governor Coleman Blease resigned to avoid attending the innaguration of his successor
11. Succeeded to governorship when Governor Robert Cooper resigned to take a position on the Federal Farm Loan Board.
12. Succeeded to governorship when Governor Burnet Maybank resigned to become a United States senator.
13. Succeeded to governorship when Governor Olin Johnston resigned to become a United States senator.
14. Succeeded to governorship when Governor Donald Russell resigned to become a United States senator.
15. Resigned after the South Carolina ethics commission charged him with 69 counts of using campaign money for personal use and 23 counts of failing to disclose campaign expenses during the 2010 election for lieutenant governor.
16. Resigned to become the president of the College of Charleston.
17. Succeeded to the governorship after Governor Nikki Haley resigned to become the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

See also

• Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
• Governor of South Carolina
• List of governors of South Carolina

References

1. "South Carolina Lieutenant Governors 1730 to Present". Carolana. n.d. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
2. Salley, A.S. (n.d.). "Lieutenant Governors of South Carolina" (PDF). State of South Carolina. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 30, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
3. Reports of Committees of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Columbia: South Carolina Government. 1876. p. 125.
4. "The Greenville News Greenville, South Carolina · Tuesday, January 06, 1931". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
5. "SC voters in favor of governor-lieutenant governor ticket". wmbfnews.com. Retrieved October 31, 2013.

External links

• List of Lieutenant Governors for South Carolina
• Office of the Lieutenant Governor for South Carolina
• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825