ShR #25.22: On primaries, gerrymandering, early voting

STATEHOUSE REPORT | ISSUE 25.22 | MAY 29, 2026

BIG STORY: Gubernatorial primaries lead way in June 9 elections
ROUNDUP: GOP gerrymandering bill dies in state Senate
LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Get a lapdog
BRACK: Early voting indicates 2026 may be Year of Change election
MYSTERY PHOTO: Glassy
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts

Gubernatorial primaries lead way in June 9 elections

By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | Despite what you might have heard amid the chaos created by state lawmakers’ last-second congressional redistricting efforts, there’s still a statewide primary scheduled for June 9 in South Carolina. And early voting is already underway at county election centers across the state.

That’s the simple message that state and county election officials are working overtime to communicate after state lawmakers spent the past three weeks very publicly debating — and finally, on May 26, defeating — a possible 11th hour congressional gerrymander, sowing voter confusion and potential electoral problems with every public pronouncement.

“Our goal is to let the voters know that the primary is still scheduled,” Charleston County Elections Director Isaac Cramer told the Charleston City Paper. “Everything is the same as far as voters are concerned — you still need your ID. It’s the same process to vote.”

Democratic and Republican voters will be picking their party’s standard bearers for U.S. Senate and Congress as well as each of the state’s seven independently elected constitutional offices, including governor. Also on the June 9 ballot: contested primary races for all 124 seats in the S.C. House of Representatives.

Here’s a snapshot of the major races as the clock ticks down to primary day.

Governor

With S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster term-limited after a decade in office, the scramble for S.C.’s top job is the marquee statewide race of 2026, drawing major candidates in both parties.

While reliable polling is sparse, most recent surveys suggest that Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson are heading into the GOP primary with the strongest bases of support, while the Democratic race is thought to be wide open.

Republicans

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette: A newcomer to politics when McMaster selected her as his running mate in 2018, the Upstate businesswoman spent the past year showing she’s learned how to throw a sharp political elbow. Case in point: When S.C. State University rescinded her invitation to speak at its graduation last month, she called the students who’d protested her appearance a “woke mob” and called for the school to be defunded.

S.C. Sen. Josh Kimbrell: When second-term Spartanburg Sen. Josh Kimbrell announced his governor’s campaign in June of last year, some political observers argued his conservative legislative record and Christian talk radio experience could make him a formidable candidate. But when a business associate sued him just a month later alleging serious financial wrongdoing, Kimbrell’s campaign appeared to stall, never getting out of the low single digits in any public poll.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace: A cable-news magnet since she was first elected in 2020, the mercurial 1st District congresswoman has continued to make national headlines since jumping into the governor’s race last summer. But analysts wonder if all of that often controversial attention — for instance, her profanity-filled run-in with Charleston airport security officials last October — has done her campaign more harm than good.

U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman: After a decade as a member of the uber-conservative U.S. House Freedom Caucus, the 5th District congressman entered the governor’s race last July touting his hard-right bona fides and promising to drain the swamp in Columbia. In 2025, Norman helped lead the fight in the House to slash about $1 trillion in Medicaid benefits as part of Trump’s Big Beautiful Budget Bill.

Rom Reddy: Perhaps best known for his long-running legal battle over a controversial sea wall he built to protect his Isle of Palms home, Reddy founded the DOGESC super PAC last year promising “radical reform” of S.C. government, starting with a push to change the way the state appoints judges. The wealthy Lowcountry businessman says he’s self-funding his campaign, refusing political contributions and endorsements.

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson: Famous for suing the Biden administration more than 50 times, the four-term attorney general and son of 2nd District U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson has tried to walk a narrow line in his gubernatorial campaign, serving up conservative red meat on the campaign trail while maintaining his “adult in the room” vibe. Political watchers say his most deft campaign moment came last year when he delivered a hot Waffle House breakfast to the airport security officials who Mace had cursed.

Democrats

S.C. Rep. Jermaine Johnson: Three-term Richland Rep. Jermaine Johnson has been a quiet maverick of sorts among state Democrats, fighting for traditional party priorities like Medicaid expansion while being willing to challenge “the top of the Democratic Party” for not always “listening to the bottom of the Democratic Party.” Johnson made waves in March when he said that unnamed “party brokers” had pressured him to drop out of the race to clear the field for a candidate with stronger fundraising capacity.

Mullins McLeod: A nationally known trial lawyer who helped secure an $88 million settlement for the families and survivors of 2015’s Emanuel A.M.E. Church massacre, McLeod surprised many political observers when he ignored calls from party leaders to drop out after a 2025 public-intoxication arrest came to light. Despite police video footage that appears to show a shirtless McLeod insulting rivals and using a racial slur, McLeod has insisted the arrest was inappropriate and remained in the race.

Billy Webster: Former Clinton White House official and Advance America founder Billy Webster is running as the kind of “throwback” moderate Democrat who used to win statewide races in South Carolina. Webster, who’s been criticized for Advance America’s outsized role in Palmetto State payday lending, has defended his company’s record by noting that he’s consistently supported legislative efforts to rein in the industry’s worst practices.

U.S. Senate

With President Donald Trump’s endorsement and about $12 million cash on hand, four-term Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham looks to be cruising toward renomination, holding a 40-plus point lead over his nearest GOP rival, Upstate businessman Mark Lynch, according to poll trackers.

Other Republicans on the ballot include Duncan Town Councilman Calvin Cowen, motivational speaker Thomas Dismukes, Horry County GOP official Patrick Herrmann and self-described “hip-hop Republican” Darius Mitchell.

In the Democratic primary, Lowcountry pediatrician and former 1st District nominee Annie Andrews is facing off against small businessman and former 4th District nominee Brandon P. Brown and logistics professional Kyle Freeman.

Attorney General

S.C.’s Republican attorney general primary briefly made national news last week when Trump took to social media to denounce 1st Circuit Solicitor and recent party-switcher David Pascoe as “a lifelong Democrat who previously endorsed Crooked Joe Biden for President.”

In his post, Trump avoided explicitly endorsing either of Pascoe’s GOP opponents — Georgetown Sen. Stephen Goldfinch or 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo of Greenwood.

The Democratic nominee will be Lowcountry attorney Richard Hricik, who’s running unopposed.

Superintendent of Education

Incumbent Republican Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver is running unopposed in the GOP primary for a second term.

Vying for the opportunity to face her this fall are educator and 2022 Democratic nominee Lisa Ellis and Charleston-area teacher Sylvia Wright.

Treasurer

To the astonishment of some political observers, Republican Treasurer Curtis Loftis, who’s spent much of the past two years digging out from a state accounting foul-up that led to many in his own party to call for his removal, is running unopposed for renomination.

But on the other side of the aisle, famously sharp-tongued former state Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson is squaring off against bank officer and former bank examiner Vincent Coe.

Commissioner of Agriculture

With the retirement of longtime GOP Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers, four Republicans are fighting to replace him. Leading the pack with endorsements from Trump and McMaster is Cody Simpson, state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency. Running against him are Danny Ford II, son and namesake of the legendary Clemson football coach, businessman Jeremy Cannon and S.C. Agriculture Department official Fred West. All are farmers.

Running unopposed for the Democratic nomination is DeShawn Blanding, a sixth-generation farmer and former policy analyst for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.

Comptroller General

With no primary opposition, businessman Mike Burkhold, who some may remember for his unsuccessful 1998 run against 5th District Democratic Congressman John Spratt, will be the Republican nominee for the open comptroller general position.

On the ballot for the opportunity to face him this fall are Democrats Tiffany Boozer and Bruce Cole, both certified public accountants.

Secretary of State

Incumbent S.C. Secretary of State Mark Hammond, who’s held the office over six full terms since 2002, will be the GOP nominee.

He’ll face the winner of a Democratic primary matchup that pits labor leader Jason Belton against small businesswoman Edwina Winter.

For more on voting locations and requirements, visit SCVotes.gov.

Jack O’Toole is Statehouse bureau chief for Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper.
Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com

ROUNDUP

GOP gerrymandering bill dies in state Senate

By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | An openly partisan attempt to gerrymander longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. James Clyburn out of his seat died Tuesday in the S.C. Senate after passing with overwhelming GOP support last week in the House.

At the time of the May 20 House vote, more than 3,000 absentee ballots had already been cast in advance of the state’s June 9 primary — a problem that only deepened when in-person early voting began Tuesday. As of Thursday,, more than 90,000 people voted early – a new record, according to state officials.

Tuesday’s Senate defeat of the congressional remapping came 11 days into a special legislative session called by Gov. Henry McMaster at the public urging of President Donald Trump. He has called on Republican-controlled states to aggressively redistrict their congressional lines heading into this November’s midterms.

In a floor speech just prior to the House vote, Rep. Luke S. Rankin of Laurens, the bill’s primary sponsor, left no room for doubt about why supporters wanted to cancel the state’s June 9 congressional primaries and reschedule them under new lines later this summer.

“President Trump decisively won in South Carolina not once, not twice, but three times and Republicans have dominated statewide elections for many years,” Rankin told his colleagues. “So it’s completely reasonable for the people that elected us here to expect that we send a full 7-0 Republican congressional delegation to Washington, D.C.”

He added, “To President Trump and his administration that’s watching what’s happening here tonight, let me be very clear: I have your back, South Carolina Republicans have your back, and we will get this done.”

But with five GOP senators, including Majority Leader Shane Massey, opposed to the bill, it was clear from the moment it crossed over from the House on May 21 that it was going to face a harder road in the upper chamber.

Put simply, given the Senate’s deliberative-by-design pace, the only way the bill could pass before in-person early voting began Tuesday — a practical deadline many GOP supporters accepted — was with rule changes requiring a two-thirds majority vote.

And without those five senators, Republicans simply didn’t have the votes.

As a result, when senators returned at 11 a.m. Tuesday amid pictures of early voting locations with lines around the block, a bipartisan majority was prepared to throw in the towel, voting 26-18 to move the bill to next year’s legislative agenda. Two members — Sen. Tom Fernandez, R-Dorchester, and Sen. Shane Martin, R-Spartanburg — did not vote due to excused absences.

Shortly before the noon Tuesday vote, senators learned from state election officials that more than 26,000 South Carolinians had already voted — a single-day record for the state.

“Massey warned them they were at risk of energizing independent and Black voters,” Charleston Democratic Sen. Ed Sutton told the The Charleston City Paper after the vote. “And by God, that’s exactly what they did.”

Massey later elaborated: . “What we’ve seen today, with the early voting turnout, is that we’ve made some people mad,” he told reporters, noting that it could hurt GOP candidates in the fall. “Just having this debate upset a lot of South Carolinians, because they think we’re cheating.”

Barring another governor-called special session, the legislature is now in recess until it returns to complete work on the state budget next month.

In other recent news

ELECTIONS: Sparks fly in S.C. GOP governor’s debate. With early voting already underway for the state’s June 9 primary, four GOP contenders for the state’s highest office traded barbs in a debate this week at Wofford College.

South Carolina gas prices dip 7.8 cents to $4.04 a gallon, GasBuddy reports. South Carolina drivers are seeing some relief at the pump as gasoline prices fell over the past week, though costs remain significantly higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.

Rainfall eases South Carolina drought. A half-foot of rain in parts of South Carolina put a big dent in some extremely dry conditions, but a third of the state is still very dry, officials say.

Clemson University names Michigan State University leader as new president. The Clemson Board of Trustees Wednesday morning named Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz as Clemson’s 16th president.

USC names school of medicine for Floyd family

South Carolinians tell their story for America’s 250th. Some South Carolina residents filmed interviews to join those from around the nation in “Our American Story,” a storytelling project that will be preserved at the Library of Congress.

ROBERT ARIAIL’S LOWCOUNTRY

Get a lapdog

Credit: Robert Ariail

Award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail has a special knack for poking a little fun in just the right way. This week, he takes a swipe at U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for being a lapdog to President Donald Trump.

Love this week’s cartoon or hate it? Did he go too far, or not far enough? Send your thoughts to feedback@statehousereport.com.

COMMENTARY

Brack: Early voting indicates 2026 may be Year of Change election

Commentary by Andy Brack | Incumbency generally has its advantages in the General Assembly. But maybe not this year.

If you dig into the record number of people who voted early by Thursday – more than 90,000 South Carolinians – it’s clear that something big is going on.

Brack

Exactly what that is kind of murky. Democrats across the state are claiming that the huge turnout on May 26 proved voters wanted to send a crisp message that a messy, unprecedented, last-minute effort by Republicans to redraw congressional lines to try to get a sweep of congressional seats was unacceptable.

Perhaps. But deeper politics may be at work. With May 26 being the first day of early in-person voting, the political ground shifted in the state Senate. Enough Republican state senators debating the redistricting effort in a special session finally had some political cover to oppose the gerrymander. They knew that if they passed the bill, the ballots already cast would have to be thrown out. And in turn, that would cause the courts to get involved and it could throw out any shiny new, mid-decade congressional map because it would mess with the sanctity of voters’ ballots and cause even more confusion in a primary filled with turbidity.

In other words, a few senators who previously voted to approve the redistricting bill on Tuesday had an opportunity to shut it down based on anything from the rule of law to fear that the courts would embarrass the legislature.

But those very same Republican senators, a minority of which teamed with 12 Democrats to tank the bill, might have been looking at something far more interesting to save their political hides – the numbers of Republicans who went to the polls.

The number of primary voters on May 26, that first day of early voting, shows up to 10 times as many Democrats in purple or blue counties went to the polls. From tiny Allendale County, where 182 people voted Tuesday compared to 20 on the first day in 2024, to Charleston (6,788 in 2026 versus 530 in 2024) and Richland (7,451 in 2024 versus 562 in 2024) counties, Democrats certainly turned out.

But look at red counties like Anderson, where 1,226 people voted Tuesday, compared to 377 two years earlier on the first day. Or Greenville (3,713 this year versus 1,145 in 2024) or Lexington (2,410 in 2026 versus 585 in 2024) and York (2,416 this year compared to 402 in 2024) counties. These results show three to five times as many voters in these Republican-leaning counties went to the polls, too. And more than likely, their message was not to stop the redistricting bill. More likely: they wanted to show sheer frustration with politicians who weren’t listening to them and acting on issues like expensive health care costs, the price of food, rising gas prices and overall affordability.

This conclusion is borne out in a new Winthrop Poll, which shows 67% of Palmetto State residents say groceries are difficult or very difficult to afford. Almost three in five say health care and housing costs are tough to pay for. Even more disturbing: 61% say going out to dinner isn’t affordable and seven out of 10 can’t afford a week-long vacation.

In other words, a majority of South Carolinians are saying that the American dream is starting to elude them. And on the first day of early primary voting, some 56,000 went to the polls.

If their early votes were grounded in frustration or outrage, Republican incumbents at the Statehouse – as well as Democratic ones – have a reason to be concerned.

It’s also why the general election in November could be a real “change election” that reshapes the make-up of the General Assembly – especially in a year in which state Democrats put up 124 candidates for 124 House seats. That was a first in a long, long time.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.

MYSTERY PHOTO

Glassy

Here are some windows through which to view the world. This one might be a little tough, but send in your best guess for where you think it might be in South Carolina. Don’t forget to add your hometown and name – to: feedback@statehousereport.com.

Last week’s photo, “River scene” shows the unique habitat for the Rocky Shoals spider lilies on the Catawba River. Beautiful.

Hats off to several people who identified the lilies: Tim Todd of Anderson;

Jay Altman of Columbia; Michael Webb of Hartsville; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Steve Willis of Lancaster; Philip Cromer of Beaufort; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Don Gordon of Mount Pleasant; and Trish McGuinn of Charleston.

SHARE: If you have a Mystery Photo to share, please send it to us – and make sure you tell us what it is!

FEEDBACK

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Statehouse Report, founded in 2001 as a weekly legislative forecast that informs readers about what is going to happen in South Carolina politics and policy, is provided by email to you at no charge every Friday.

Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
Statehouse bureau chief: Jack O’Toole

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