Clash for governor leads South Carolina’s primary races

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 Case in point: When S.C. State University rescinded her invitation to speak at its graduation last month, she called the students who’d protested her appearance a “woke mob” and called for the school to be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 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.

U.S. Congress

In the Charleston area, voters will see races for either the 1st or 6th Congressional District — and with the last-minute Statehouse redistricting push now ended, those races will count.

In the 1st District seat vacated by Mace, Republican voters will choose among 10 active GOP candidates, including frontrunners Berkeley S.C. Rep. Mark Smith, Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt and Dorchester County Councilman Jay Byars. Also running in the Republican primary are Dan Brown, Logan Cunningham, Tyler Dykes, Kendal Ludden, Sam McCown, Alex Pelbath and Cindy Wagers Riley.

In the same district, Democrats have a field of seven candidates, including frontrunners Lowcountry attorney Mac Deford, retired Admiral Nancy Lacore of Mount Pleasant and Democratic Party leader Mayra Rivera-Vazquez of Beaufort. Also seeking the 1st District Democratic nomination are Francina Dantzler, Max Diaz, Ben Frasier and Matthew Fulmer.

In the 6th District, 17-term incumbent U.S. Rep. James Clyburn — the man Statehouse Republicans were targeting with their redistricting drive — is facing Frederick R. Goodwin in the Democratic primary. And in the GOP race to take on Clyburn this November, John Peterson faces Maurice Washington.

Attorney General

S.C.’s Republican attorney general primary briefly made national news last week when President Donald 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 S.C. 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.