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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson – one of the frontrunners to become the next governor of the Palmetto State – is doubling down on demand that “Republican” lawmakers temporarily spend the state’s regressive levy on gasoline.
Wilson also endorsed U.S. president Donald Trump‘s call to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax, citing a need for “immediate coordinated action to ease crushing fuel costs for South Carolina families.”
If both the federal and state taxes were suspended, drivers in the Palmetto State would save approximately 46 cents per gallon.
“Families across our state are being squeezed at the pump,” Wilson said in a statement issued by his campaign. “We cannot wait. Temporary suspension of the gas tax at both the state and federal levels will put dollars back in people’s pockets now, not months from now.”
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Wilson was the first GOP gubernatorial candidate to call on lawmakers to suspend the gas tax back in March. Shortly thereafter, U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace, fifth district congressman Ralph Norman and state senator Josh Kimbrell followed suit and endorsed the idea.
Curiously, initial calls to suspend the tax came from two rural Democrats – senator Russell Ott and representative Justin Bamberg.
Despite this bipartisan push, “Republican” supermajorities in the S.C. House and State Senate have not budged on the issue – refusing for weeks to let it come up for a vote. Conversely, Republicans in neighboring Georgia suspended their state’s 33 cent gas tax from March 20 through May 18, 2026 – providing Peach State motorists with tens of millions of dollars in relief as gas prices skyrocketed.
South Carolinians? They’ve been hung out to dry as prices surged…
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Wilson’s proposal, part of his campaign’s broader focus on affordability issues, would pause the gas tax for thirty days – tapping state reserve funds to “keep critical road projects moving and ensure savings are passed directly to consumers,” per his campaign.
In urging lawmakers to suspend the tax, Wilson took note of their recent votes to grow government.
“We need affordability-focused leadership that will cut taxes, eliminate waste, and act decisively to lower costs,” Wilson said “South Carolinians are tired of rising prices while government spending grows. Today, I call on all our state legislative leaders to act before this session ends at the end of this week. Now is the time to act.”
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in South Carolina stood at $4.148 on Sunday – up a staggering $1.37 (49.5%) from the onset of Trump’s ill-conceived war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
As FITSNews has frequently pointed out, Palmetto State gas prices tend to be among the nation’s lowest – although South Carolinians have historically spent higher percentages of what they earn on fuel due to their chronically low income levels. Currently, South Carolina’s gas prices are 11th lowest nationally, while their income levels ranked No. 43 in the nation per the latest annual data.
Last week, the GOP-controlled House finally took its first vote on suspending the levy – but it failed 65–32.
Lawmakers have until this Thursday (May 14, 2026) at 5:00 p.m. EDT – i.e. their day of adjournment – to either suspend the gas tax or amend their adjournment resolution to permit discussion of the issue when they return to Columbia later this year to address unfinished legislative business.
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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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