The 2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of South Carolina. Incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster ran for re-election for a second full term in office and secured the Republican nomination in the June 14 primary. Joe Cunningham, former United States representative from South Carolina's 1st congressional district, was the Democratic nominee. McMaster won the general election with 58% of the vote — a 4.08% improvement over his 2018 margin.
McMaster became the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win Calhoun County since 1994, and the first to win Clarendon County and Dillon County since 1990. This election marks the largest gubernatorial victory in the state since 1990, when incumbent Republican Carroll Campbell won his re-election bid by a margin of 41.7%.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- Henry McMaster, incumbent governor
- Running mate: Pamela Evette, incumbent lieutenant governor
Eliminated in primary
- Harrison "Trucker Bob" Musselwhite, trucker and chairman of Legislate Liaison Committee for the Greenville County Republican Party
- Running mate: Zoe Warren, filmmaker and editor-at-large for The Standard SC
Withdrew
- Al Bellavance, former Fort Lawn town councilor
- Mindy L. Steele, political consultant
Declined
- A. Shane Massey, majority leader of the South Carolina Senate
- Tim Scott, U.S. senator (ran for re-election)
- Katrina Shealy, state senator
- John Warren, Greenville businessman and candidate for governor in 2018
Endorsements
Henry McMaster
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Joe Cunningham, former U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district
Eliminated in primary
- Carlton Boyd
- Mia McLeod, state senator
- Calvin "CJ Mack" McMillan, singer
- William H. Williams, former postmaster, veteran and candidate for South Carolina's 7th congressional district in 2020
Withdrew
- Gary Votour, healthcare advocate and retired GIS mapper (running under Labor nomination)
Declined
- Stephen K. Benjamin, former mayor of Columbia
- Mandy Powers Norrell, former state representative and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018 (endorsed McLeod)
- Todd Rutherford, minority leader of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Lieutenant governor selection
After winning the primary, on July 18, Cunningham released a shortlist of potential running mates. He announced Tally Parham Casey as his running mate on August 1.
Chosen as running mate
- Tally Parham Casey, law firm CEO and former South Carolina Air National Guard fighter pilot
Made shortlist
- Rosalyn Glenn, financial planner and nominee for South Carolina State Treasurer in 2018
- Jermaine Johnson, state representative
- Kimberly Johnson, state representative
- Meghan Smith, Spartanburg city councilor
- Ed Sutton, real estate agent and U.S. Air Force pilot
- Spencer Wetmore, state representative
- Kathryn Whitaker, law firm chief marketing officer
Declined
- Mia McLeod, state senator and runner-up in the gubernatorial primary
- Teresa Wilson, Columbia city manager
Independents and third parties
Candidates
Declared
- Jokie Beckett Jr., veteran (Independence)
- Michael Copeland (Independence)
- Morgan Bruce Reeves (Libertarian), United Citizens and Green nominee for governor in 2010 and United Citizens nominee in 2014
- Gary Votour (Labor), healthcare advocate and retired GIS mapper.
- Running mate: Harold Geddings III, candidate for South Carolina's 2nd congressional district in 2014
General election
Post-primary endorsements
Henry McMaster (R)
Joe Cunningham (D)
Polling
Graphical summary
Results
By county
McMaster won 34 of 46 counties.
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Calhoun (largest city: St. Matthews)
- Clarendon (largest city: Manning)
- Dillon (largest city: Dillon)
- Jasper (largest city: Hardeeville)
By congressional district
McMaster won six of seven congressional districts.