2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election

2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →

Nominee Nikki Haley Vincent Sheheen Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 690,525 630,535 Percentage 51.37% 46.91%

County results Precinct results Haley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Sheheen:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election Mark Sanford Republican Elected Governor Nikki Haley Republican

Elections in South Carolina
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v t e

The 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Sanford was term limited and unable to seek re-election. Primary elections took place on June 8, 2010, and a runoff election, as was necessary on the Republican side, was held two weeks later on June 22.

Republican Nikki Haley defeated Democrat Vincent Sheheen in the general election by a margin of 4.5%. As of 2023, this is the closest that the Democrats have come to winning the governorship of South Carolina since their last victory in 1998. This is the first open-seat election since 1994. Haley was re-elected in 2014 in a rematch with Sheheen.