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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina’s gubernatorial hopefuls – and their dark money backers – are opening the saddlebags as we approach the first day of decision in the Palmetto State’s nationally watched 2026 GOP primary election.
Candidates and political action committees have shelled out more than $22 million on this race so far – with five (5) days left to go until the June 9, 2026 primary election. This massive total has been juiced by a trio of self-funders – most notably Lowcountry multi-millionaire Rom Reddy.
Since his entry into the race in mid-March, the Isle of Palms businessman has spent a staggering $5.85 million on broadcast, cable, satellite and streaming advertisements – an outlay that has thrust him in the mix for the GOP nomination, according to some polls. Reddy has exclusively self-funded his bid, meaning that entire total has come out of his pocket.
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Not far behind Reddy is Ralph Norman, a Rock Hill developer and fifth-term congressman who has dropped a cool $4.73 million on his broadcast, cable, satellite and streaming ads.
While Reddy and Norman – who have spent large portions of their war chests attacking each other – are at the top of the heap in ad spending, lieutenant governor Pamela Evette has actually had the most money spent on her behalf on these mediums. Evette’s campaign has spent $4.46 million on advertising, while a pro-Evette political action committee has dropped another $3.02 million.
All told, that’s a whopping $7.48 million spent in support of her 2026 bid, although as we previously reported Evette’s PAC – Patriots for South Carolina – has run into trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
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Four-term attorney general Alan Wilson – who has consistently led in the polls in this race – has spent the least of the five front-runners. His campaign has shelled out $1.63 million on ads – while $1.72 million has been spent by the S.C. Conservative Action Fund, a PAC supporting his candidacy.
All told, that’s $3.35 million in support of his bid, a value proposition based on his poll position.
First district congresswoman Nancy Mace hasn’t spent significant amounts of her war chest on broadcast, cable, satellite and streaming – but two third party groups have spent heavily both for and against her. A secretive Virginia-based group entitled American Measure has spent $2.79 million on ads attacking Mace, while a libertarian-leaning organization – the Protect Freedom PAC – has spent $1.44 million on ads touting her record.
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As this deluge of ads rains down, it’s worth noting a significant portion of the GOP electorate in South Carolina – between 15-30%, to hear some pollsters tell it – isn’t seeing or hearing any of the noise. With the evolution of subscription-based services that offer premium, ad-free content, there is a growing contingent of voters who cannot be served with ads – i.e. the so-called “un-reachables.”
Will they show up at the polls?
Partisan primary elections in South Carolina are scheduled for June 9, 2026. In the event no candidate claims a majority of votes on the first ballot – which is a likelihood in such a crowded GOP governor’s race – a head-to-head runoff between the top two vote-getters would be held two weeks later (on June 23, 2026).
For the better part of the past three decades, the GOP gubernatorial nomination in South Carolina has been the equivalent of punching one’s ticket to the governor’s mansion – as no Democrat has won a top-of-the-ticket statewide race since 1998. That streak is unlikely to break in 2026, although Democrats are poised for a much better election cycle than many suspect.
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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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