 Since Democrats dominated politics in the South during that time period, victory in the primary meant certain victory in the general election.Manning did not return to the legislature after his first defeat, but instead returned to farming and made a second attempt at the governorship in the 1938 election.This time, he fared better, defeating Blease and placing second to Burnet Rhett Maybank with a strong enough result to qualify for the runoff, which he lost by less than 15,000 votes.