Richard Riley Democratic Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Republican The 1986 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina.

The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on June 10.

Michael R. Daniel was declared the official candidate for the Democrats despite not obtaining 50% of the vote because second-place finisher, Winthrop University president Philip Lader, declined a runoff election.

[1] Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans and avoided a primary election.

Turnout was higher than the previous gubernatorial election because of the increasingly competitive nature of the race between the two parties.