South Carolina’s GOP Candidates for Governor Debate

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by WILL FOLKS

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Four of the six primary candidates for South Carolina’s decisive Republican gubernatorial nomination appeared on stage together for the first of three scheduled debates prior to the June 9, 2026 primary election. A fourth debate between the top two vote-getters will be held after the June 9 election, assuming no candidate secures a majority of votes on the first ballot.

Four-term attorney general Alan Wilson, first district U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace, fifth district congressman Ralph Norman and state senator Josh Kimbrell debated for an hour at the historic Newberry Opera House in Newberry, S.C. on Wednesday night (April 1, 2026).

Lieutenant governor Pamela Evette refused to participate in the debate, as did Lowcountry multi-millionaire Rom Reddy.

In fact, here is a look at their two unused podiums off-stage…

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????? Four candidates for governor of South Carolina took the stage to debate in Newberry tonight. Two refused. Left to right, here are the unused podiums of @PamelaEvette and @RomReddySC. ?? #Crossroads2026 pic.twitter.com/0Ccg3LKK5r

— FITSNews (@fitsnews) April 1, 2026

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Evette refused to participate in the debate owing to an ongoing dispute with SCGOP leaders over candidate sponsorships, while Reddy cited “a longstanding family obligation” as his reason for refusing to participate.

Curiously, within minutes of the debate concluding, Reddy was already on social media armchair quarterbacking the very forum he refused to attend.

While Evette and Reddy were roundly criticized for their failure to show, the candidates who did bother to appear outlined similar visions for their aspirational administrations – starting with near-uniform agreement on the issue of income tax elimination.

Kimbrell, Mace and Wilson each endorsed the complete elimination of the income tax over time, while Norman stated he supported cutting taxes across the board – but only after a forensic audit.

“I’m going to cut your taxes,” Norman promised, adding the aforementioned audit would “show the people what to cut.”

All four candidates endorsed varying versions of a temporary suspension of the state’s recently hiked gasoline tax, an issue Wilson took credit for spearheading.

Riffing off of these tax cut concepts, Kimbrell, Mace and Wilson each cited affordability as their top campaign issue, while Norman indicated he would focus first on “fraud, waste and abuse” in government – and ending corruption through term limits.

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“We have allowed Republicans to masquerade as conservatives, and when they win they morph into raging liberals,” Norman said.

Picking up the mantle abandoned by Reddy – who until two weeks ago was leading a legislative reform movement called DOGE SC – Wilson said his administration would commit to “DOGE-ing government” from top to bottom.

Expect that to become a flash point in future debates…

In assessing the myriad of problems South Carolina is facing, debate moderators pointed out that Republicans have controlled the state for the past quarter century. In fact, the GOP secured governing super-majorities in both the S.C. House of Representatives and State Senate following the 2020 elections.

Kimbrell insisted Republicans were not to blame for the Palmetto State’s persistent woes, though, arguing it was only recently that the GOP majority had purportedly been bolstered with true conservative lawmakers.

“I want the state to be redder,” he said.

Wilson blamed the problems on a lack of accountability created by the omnipotent legislature lording its authority over the other two branches of government – shredding the separation of powers.

“Our government runs about thirty years behind the private sector,” Wilson said. “It’s because the legislature has too much power relative to the executive branch of government.”

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Asking about permitting casino gaming in South Carolina, the candidates’ views began to start showing significant divergence. Norman and Wilson both made it clear they opposed brick-and-mortar casinos.

“I think it would be detrimental to our state to have brick-and-mortar casinos,” Wilson said, citing conversations with law enforcement and faith leaders across the state.

Left unsaid? The glaring hypocrisy of those faith leaders…

Kimbrell left the casino question open, saying his only concern was turning South Carolina into “Atlantic City.”

Mace argued the decision regarding casinos ought to be left to the people of the Palmetto State via a popular referendum.

“I would want everyone to have a say,” Mace said.

Mace’s strongest point during the debate was when she seized on the fatal consequences of excessive judicial leniency in the Palmetto State, specifically the case of 22-year-old Logan Hailey Federico. According to police, Federico was murdered last May near the University of South Carolina by career criminal Alexander Devonte Dickey – who had approximately 40 prior charges (including more than two dozen felony arrests) on his record at the time.

“He should’ve been in jail for over 140 years,” Logan’s father, Stephen Federico, said last fall. “You know how much time he spent in prison? A little over 600 days in 10 years.”

Mace vowed to “impeach liberal judges,” drawing huge applause from the crowd. She also said in circumstances like Federico’s, judges who let violent criminals go free should be “sent to prison.”

“That’s what law and order will look like under a Mace administration,” she said.

Norman argued the best way to address liberal judges would be to have them elected by “we the people, not the trial lawyers.” That’s a reference to his judicial reform proposal – which is far more populist than the one Reddy has advanced.

With Reddy nipping at Norman’s heels in the fight for fourth place in this race, expect their divergent views on judicial reform to become another flashpoint as their undercard battle escalates.

As noted, the GOP nomination for governor in South Carolina is decisive. Democrats have not won a statewide office in the Palmetto State since 2006 – and haven’t won a top-of-the-ticket race since 1998. That means whoever claims the Republican nomination is virtually assured of prevailing in the general election come November.

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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 eight children.

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