South Carolina Senator Could Join 2026 Governor’s Race

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With incumbent South Carolina governor Henry McMaster ineligible to seek another term in office in 2026, a wide open race is expected for his seat. Given the sheer dominance of the Republican party in Palmetto State politics, this race will be decided in June 2026 when GOP primary voters select their gubernatorial nominee.

Democrats? Their statewide nominees simply aren’t relevant anymore…

The perpetual minority party is fading fast in South Carolina. It consists of eroding “superminorities” in both the S.C. House and the State Senate – and it occupies zero statewide constitutional offices (well, barring the office McMaster recently gifted them).

Both U.S. Senate seats are in GOP hands – as are six of the state’s seven congressional districts.

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Democrats haven’t won a statewide office since 2006 – and haven’t won a top-of-the-ticket race since 1998. Still, they wield disproportionate influence in state government due to party-switching chameleons – and squishy establishment “Republicans” who seem intent on destroying conservative influence within their party.

As for the governor’s office? It’s been a status quo bastion under McMaster, sadly… which makes the race to succeed him a referendum on the future direction of the party.

While several big-name GOP candidates are reportedly eyeing gubernatorial campaigns – including attorney general Alan Wilson, congresswoman Nancy Mace and lieutenant governor Pamela Evette – there are several potential dark horse candidates also considering bids. Some of these candidates might even be able to claw their way to contention by raising the sort of money necessary to compete with those three well-known political commodities.

One of them? S.C. senator Sean Bennett – a financial planner from Summerville who heretofore has maintained a relatively low profile in the legislature.

Among the sharpest fiscal minds in the S.C. General Assembly, Bennett was first elected in 2012 – defeating incumbent senator Mike Rose. He ran unopposed in the 2016 and 2024 general elections, and has faced only token opposition in this Charleston and Dorchester county district since winning office.

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Bennett, 56, landed on our radar earlier this year when he argued in favor of returning an unexpected surplus of $1.8 billion to taxpayers.

“South Carolina’s tax policy is broken,” Bennett told FITSNews at the time. “We should protect these newly discovered funds from the appropriations process and use them to bridge to a tax system that treats all citizens fairly.”

Bennett also told us the Palmetto State needed to undertake a “significant shift (away) from antiquated practices which makes the political will to accomplish reform difficult to muster.”

Sources familiar with Bennett’s potential 2026 candidacy told me he would bring his financial background to bear on “systemic and fiscal issues” beginning to adversely impact South Carolina’s citizenry – including the aforementioned tax policy problems as well as a lack of vision on energy issues and an escalating lack of affordability when it comes to housing.

A free market, pro-trade, deregulation advocate, Bennett would reportedly seek to better leverage executive authority on the various boards and commissions which oversee so much of the Palmetto administrative state – while pushing the state’s federal delegation to curtail certain programs while block granting more money to the state so its leaders can better control its destiny.

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He has also spoken of restoring public trust in “our institutions,” which we certainly hope is code for supporting aggressive judicial reform.

Reached for comment, Bennett was non-committal about his future plans – except to confirm he’d been approached about running for governor and was given those who contacted him due consideration.

“I’m hearing from many people that I respect and have supported me and I owe it to them to listen,” Bennett told FITSNews recently.

Count on this media outlet to keep our audience in the loop on the status of Bennett’s deliberations – as well as the ongoing jockeying for position(s) ahead of the upcoming election cycle. While it’s too early to start projecting fields for specific offices – let alone frontrunners and credible contenders – the 2026 cycle is clearly gearing up.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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