The race to replace term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster heated up on the Republican side this week with a splashy campaign announcement, a lawsuit alleging serious misconduct and a high-profile trip to the White House.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, an Upstate businesswoman and political unknown when McMaster selected her as his running mate in 2018, launched her 2026 GOP primary bid at a July 14 event in Greenville, stressing her ties with President Donald Trump.
“South Carolina needs a governor who has his trust, a governor who doesn’t need to build a relationship, a governor who can pick up the phone and get things done for South Carolina, because that relationship already exists,” Evette told supporters.
Hours later, in a social media post, Evette went further, telling Republicans that she was the only candidate they could rely on to never “betray” the president.
“You can choose someone who’s been with Trump from the beginning, when it wasn’t the easy thing to do,” Evette wrote on X. “Or you can choose from a number of career politicians who only back President Trump when it’s in their political interest to do so, and will betray him the minute it isn’t popular to be by his side.”
Meanwhile, Spartanburg Republican Sen. Josh Kimbrell, who announced his gubernatorial campaign in June, claimed he was a victim of “lawfare” this week after a business partner filed a lawsuit alleging that the senator misappropriated $2 million from their jointly-owned company, Exodus Aircraft, to support his political ambitions.
“What we’re dealing with here is nothing short of a politically motivated attack,” Kimbrell said in a July 17 social media video addressing the charges. “I have full faith that the truth will prevail, and I will be fully vindicated once again.”
Also making news among the announced candidates for governor was S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson, who touted a call-out he received from the president during a July 16 White House bill signing ceremony.
“Proud to be with @POTUS as he signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law today,” Wilson said in remarks posted to X, alongside video of the president thanking him for his support of the bill. “I’ll never stop fighting to get fentanyl off our streets, hold dealers accountable, and protect South Carolina families.”
With the gubernatorial primary almost a year away, several additional candidates are expected to crowd into the Republican primary field before the summer is out, including U.S. First District Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Fifth District Rep. Ralph Norman and Summerville Sen. Sean Bennett.
On the Democratic side, only Richland County Rep. Jermaine Johnson has so far expressed an interest in the race, announcing the formation of his 2026 exploratory committee in May.
In other recent news
Hurricane cuts could create forecasting havoc in S.C. With the Trump administration’s huge ongoing and planned cuts to federal staff and funding of the nation’s storm forecasting abilities, the storms of the future may pose more of a risk than ever before. And it’s not because of climate change. It’s because of changes that will scale back forecasting.
2028: Kentucky governor tours S.C. as he considers presidential bid. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear made several high-profile stops in Upstate S.C. Wednesday in advance of a possible run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. “There’s so much discourse right now about the messaging and how Democrats get out of the wilderness,” Beshear told the state AFL-CIO. “We do it by showing up. We do it by getting dirt on our boots. We do it by governing well. That’s how we rebuild the confidence of the American people.”
2026: Johnson suspends U.S. Senate campaign two months after launch. Greenville businessman Lee Johnson announced Wednesday that he’s suspending his Democratic primary campaign to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, leaving Lowcountry pediatrician Annie Andrews, Upstate educator Brandon Brown and retired Navy officer Kyle Freeman in the race.
S.C. schools allowed to hire noncertified teachers under new state law. Facing an ongoing teacher shortage, S.C. public schools now have the option of hiring noncertified teachers for the 2025-26 school year. Under the new law, teachers must have at least an undergraduate degree in the subject they will teach, and will have to enroll in an educator certification program if they wish to stay in the classroom.
S.C. seeks waiver to add thousands to state Medicaid program. The state of South Carolina is asking the federal government for a waiver that would allow its Medicaid program to cover working parents making up to 100% of the federal poverty level. Under the plan, newly eligible parents would have to prove they are working at least 80 hours per month to receive the benefit.
McMaster open to S.C. version of Alligator Alcatraz. Gov. Henry McMaster’s office is leaving the door open on a potential partnership between South Carolina and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to build something similar to Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” to facilitate deportations of undocumented migrants.
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