View source for 1913 United States Senate election in South Carolina

{{short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name      = 1912 Democratic Senate primary in South Carolina
| country            = South Carolina
| type               = presidential
| ongoing            = no
| previous_election  = 1907 United States Senate election in South Carolina
| previous_year      = 1907
| next_election      = 1918 United States Senate election in South Carolina
| next_year          = 1918
| election_date      = August 27, 1912
| image_size         = x150px
| image1             = File:Tillman crop.jpg
| nominee1           = '''[[Benjamin Tillman|Ben Tillman]]'''
| party1             = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote1      = '''73,148'''
| percentage1        = '''52.7%'''
| image2             = File:William Jasper Talbert.jpg
| nominee2           = [[W. Jasper Talbert]]
| party2             = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote2      = 37,141
| percentage2        = 26.8%
| image3             = File:Nathaniel B. Dial.jpg
| nominee3           = [[Nathaniel B. Dial]]
| party3             = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote3      = 28,476
| percentage3        = 20.5%
| map_image = 1912 United States Democratic primary in South Carolina results map by county.svg
| map_size = 250px
| map_caption = Results by county<br/>'''Tillman''': {{legend0|#a5b0ff|40–50%}} {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}} {{legend0|#3933e5|80–90%}}<br/>'''Talbert''': {{legend0|#e9ddaf|40–50%}}<br/>'''Dial''': {{legend0|#ffe9ff|30–40%}}
| title              = U.S. Senator
| before_election    = [[Benjamin Tillman|Ben Tillman]]
| before_party       = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election     = Ben Tillman
| after_party        = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{ElectionsSC}}
The '''1913 South Carolina United States Senate election''' was held on January 28, 1913, when the South Carolina legislature met and unanimously ratified the results of the August 27, 1912 primary. Incumbent Senator [[Benjamin Tillman|Ben Tillman]] was re-elected to a fourth term in office.
Prior to the ratification of the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|17th Amendment to the United States Constitution]], U.S. Senators were elected by the state legislature.  However, the [[South Carolina Democratic Party|Democratic Party of South Carolina]] organized primary elections for the U.S. Senate beginning in 1896 and the [[South Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]] would confirm the choice of the Democratic voters. Tillman handily defeated former U.S. Representative [[W. Jasper Talbert]] and businessman [[Nathaniel B. Dial]] in the primary election.
==Democratic primary==
===Candidates===
*[[Benjamin Tillman]], incumbent Senator since 1895
*[[W. Jasper Talbert]], former U.S. Representative from [[Parksville, South Carolina|Parksville]]
*[[Nathaniel B. Dial]], businessman and former Mayor of [[Laurens, South Carolina|Laurens]]
===Campaign===
[[Benjamin Tillman|Ben Tillman]], a Senator since 1895, drew opposition in the Democratic primary for the first time during his career.  He had long avoided any opposition because of his influence in the Democratic Party in the state, but by 1912 he had moderated his positions and lost the radical edge that had allowed him to build up a hard core following of support.  The radicals in the state electorate had thrown their support to [[Coleman Livingston Blease]] in the [[South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1910|gubernatorial election of 1910]] and the Bleasites were determined to knock his chief opponent, Tillman, out of office.  [[W. Jasper Talbert]] emerged as the candidate of the Bleasites and [[Nathaniel B. Dial]] entered the race as an alternative to the two.  The voters of the state split their support between the Tillmanite and Bleasite factions as both Tillman and Blease won their respective primaries.
===Results===
{| class=wikitable
! colspan="3" | Democratic Primary
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
! colspan="1" style="width: 170px"|Candidate
! style="width: 50px"|Votes
! style="width: 40px"|%
|-
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Benjamin Tillman]] (incumbent)
| align="right" | 73,148
| align="right" | 52.7
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[W. Jasper Talbert]]
| align="right" | 37,141
| align="right" | 26.8
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Nathaniel B. Dial]]
| align="right" | 28,476
| align="right" | 20.5
|-
|}
==Election==
The General Assembly met and ratified the choice of the primary voters, re-electing Tillman for a third term.
==See also==
*[[List of United States senators from South Carolina]]
*[[1912 and 1913 United States Senate elections]]
*[[1912 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina]]
*[[1912 South Carolina gubernatorial election]]
==References==
*{{cite book | last = Jordan | first = Frank E | title = The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962 | pages = 62–63}}
*{{cite news |title= Tillman Against Blease |work= New York Times |date= August 25, 1912 |page= 14}}
{{1913 United States elections}}
{{South Carolina elections}}
[[Category:1913 South Carolina elections|South Carolina]]
[[Category:United States Senate elections in South Carolina|1913]]
[[Category:1913 United States Senate elections|South Carolina]]
[[Category:Single-candidate elections]]