|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Three months ago, FITSNews first reported that South Carolina lieutenant governor Pamela Evette was telling anyone who would listen that she had the inside track on becoming the next governor of the Palmetto State.
Why? Because, according to the Ohio businesswoman, she has in her back pocket a “Trump card” – i.e. the endorsement of president Donald Trump. And in South Carolina politics, that’s pretty much all you need to win the Republican nomination for whatever statewide office you are seeking.
“She believes it’s in the bag,” one source close to the lieutenant governor told this media outlet at the time, referring to Trump’s backing.
Assuming Evette’s boast is accurate, such an endorsement would instantaneously propel her from her current status as a second-tier candidate to the very top of a crowded field that’s expected to include attorney general Alan Wilson of Lexington and first district congresswoman Nancy Mace of Daniel Island.
Both Wilson and Mace are firmly in the MAGA camp, but neither politician was by Trump’s side when he kicked off his third campaign for the presidency at the S.C. State House in Columbia on January 29, 2023.
Who was? Evette.
Does Trump remember those sorts of details? You better believe it.
***
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source close to the president made it abundantly clear last week that Trump “has not thought a moment” on the 2026 South Carolina governor’s race – and that anyone claiming to have secured his endorsement in any upcoming Palmetto State political contest was not shooting straight.
“That’s all bullshit,” the source said.
However, the source did say Evette was well-regarded by Trump’s political team – and by the president personally.
“Pamela is well-liked by the team because she delivered in the campaign when he asked,” the source said. “POTUS knows her and likes her and can trust her.”
In other words, while Trump’s endorsement in the 2026 governor’s race is by no means a done deal… Evette has a significant leg up on the rest of the field in the battle to obtain it.
Closer to home, a South Carolina-based Trump donor concurred with that assessment – noting that the premium placed on loyalty by the president gave Evette the “inside track” on securing his imprimatur.
“She’s the only one running for governor next year who stood with him when it mattered,” the donor said. “He’s not going to forget that.”
Trump-aligned strategists have already vowed to launch a political action committee in support of Evette – one purportedly backed by $5 million in pledges – although it’s not immediately clear whether this organization is a bona fide political entity or an attempt by overzealous MAGA operatives to present Trump with a fait accompli.
Evette has been mostly out of the picture during the initial stages of the 2026 race – with the early bloodletting in the contest being between Mace and Wilson. She’s received a few zingers from Mace, but up to now Evette has been a non-factor because, let’s face it, absent Trump supporting her candidacy she is a non-factor.
***
RELATED | TRUMP ENDORSEMENT LOCKED UP?
***
The granddaughter of Polish immigrants, Evette was elected on a ticket with status quo governor Henry McMaster in November 2018. She became the Palmetto State’s 93rd lieutenant governor the following January. Prior to her entry into politics, she was chief executive officer of Quality Business Solutions – a payroll, human resources and benefits firm headquartered in her adopted home of Travelers Rest, S.C.
Her official bio touts her as having “demonstrated a deep understanding of the regulatory issues and challenges facing small and medium sized businesses” in the Palmetto State, and of being a “staunch promoter of innovative public-private partnerships.”
Since being elected, though, Evette has done little to distinguish herself as McMaster’s No. 2 on any signature issue – a low-profile many of her allies privately attribute to McMaster’s notoriously churlish, controlling chief of staff, Trey Walker.
Evette has been employed as a dutiful cheerleader for the glad-handing McMaster, having been handed no distinct profile nor given any real responsibility – thus leaving her devoid of any signature accomplishments over the past six-and-a-half years.
“She’s an empty pantsuit,” a strategist working for a rival 2026 candidate told FITSNews.
“No, she’s a blank slate,” an Evette backer countered.
Evette has consistently declined to provide comment for our reporting. In the event that changes, we’ll be sure to provide our audience with an update as to what she may think of all this speculation.
***
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 eight children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
2 comments
If she is in fact a “staunch promoter of innovative public-private partnerships” then she will never have my vote. While it sounds nice, it should really be called “public- private insider grift racket.” Over and over again, it is an arrangement of connected people who set up non-profits that pay huge salaries to their founders and waste huge sums of money doing things the government either ought to be handling itself, or not at all. Additionally, the nonprofit then directs portions of its funding to political contributions and other downstream nonprofits that further distribute the grift.
Evette versus Wilson and Mace and an assorted state Senator or two: “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed are king.”