Olin D. Johnston Democratic Burnet R. Maybank Democratic The 1938 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina.

Burnet Rhett Maybank, Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, won the contested Democratic primary and defeated Republican Joseph Augustis Tolbert in the general election becoming the 99th governor of South Carolina.

Maybank, the mayor of Charleston, had the support of the Lowcountry and emerged victorious from the runoff on September 13 against Wyndham Manning because the Upstate failed to coalesce around his candidacy.

The general election was held on November 8, 1938, and Burnet Rhett Maybank was elected the next governor of South Carolina against token Republican candidate Joseph Augustis Tolbert.

The presence of even a token opposition candidate was unusual for South Carolina at the time.