The 1948 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 2, 1948 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Senator Burnet R. Maybank won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican challenger J. Bates Gerald in the general election to win another six-year term.
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Results by county | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Senator Maybank narrowly achieved a majority of the primary vote, avoiding a potential run-off election against Dorn.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Burnet R. Maybank | 161,608 | 51.5 |
| W.J. Bryan Dorn | 76,749 | 24.4 |
| Neville Bennett | 43,068 | 13.7 |
| Alan Johnstone | 17,689 | 5.6 |
| Marcus A. Stone | 14,904 | 4.8 |
Since the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the Democratic Party dominated the politics of South Carolina and its statewide candidates were never seriously challenged. Maybank did not campaign for the general election as there was no chance of defeat.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Burnet R. Maybank (incumbent) | 135,998 | 96.4 | −3.6 | |
| Republican | J. Bates Gerald | 5,008 | 3.6 | +3.6 | |
| Majority | 130,990 | 92.8 | −7.2 | ||
| Turnout | 141,006 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
