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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina lieutenant governor Pamela Evette and four-term attorney general Alan Wilson pulled away from the rest of the Republican field on Tuesday evening (June 9, 2026) – qualifying for a head-to-head runoff election in the race for governor of the Palmetto State.
That race will be held in two weeks time…
Evette – buoyed by the endorsement of president Donald Trump – finished first overall in the five-person field. With all precincts reporting, she had garnered 136,390 votes (or 28.9% of ballots counted).
“I am honored and humbled by our first-place finish,” Evette said. “This victory would not have been possible without President Trump’s complete and total endorsement and the strong support of governor Henry McMaster. No doubt President Trump’s strong support was the rocket fuel that propelled us to first place. Thank you, Mr. President, for your trust and support. Now, back to work!”
Trump called Evette to congratulate her on her victory, which he touted on his Truth Social page…
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Wilson was right on Evette’s heels, however, drawing 123,559 votes (or 26.1% of ballots counted). Because neither candidate received a majority of ballots on the initial vote, both advanced to a head-to-head runoff election on June 23, 2026.
“South Carolina families sent a clear message: they want a governor who will fight for their families, lower costs, keep communities safe, and put taxpayers first,” Wilson told his backers.
“Conservatives said this office must be earned, not arranged,” vowing to appeal to his former rivals in the hopes of earning their support.
“I will fight for you, your family, and the conservative values we share,” Wilson added. “Together, we can lower costs, keep our communities safe, put taxpayers first, and bring a new era of conservative leadership to South Carolina.”
As the results were being reported, Wilson’s campaign received the endorsement of one of his former rivals – first district congresswoman Nancy Mace.
“Tonight, I want you to know that I’m going to endorse Alan Wilson for governor,” Mace told her supporters. “I want a law and order governor, and that law and order governor is going to be Alan Wilson.”
Mace had been one of Wilson’s most aggressive critics, but indicated she and the state’s top prosecutor had “buried the hatchet.”
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While polling had long shown Evette and Wilson leading the field, Lowcountry multi-millionaire Rom Reddy and fifth district congressman Ralph Norman both were expected to challenge for a spot in the runoff.
Ultimately, neither came close…
Norman drew 80,722 votes (or 17.1% of ballots counted) to finish a distant third place, while Reddy drew an anemic 66,922 votes (or 14.1% of ballots counted) to finish in fourth.
Norman did not immediately say whether he would endorse Wilson or Evette, while Reddy indicated he was staying out of the runoff election.
“I do believe that endorsements are an assault on self-governance,” Reddy said. “We should not have one elected official tell a citizen how to vote for another elected official, so I will not be endorsing anyone on this race. I think it’s for the citizens to decide.”
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Reddy spent a staggering $6.2 million of his own money on broadcast, cable, satellite and streaming advertisements during his three-month campaign – which he launched after abandoning the DOGE SC movement he supposedly founded to challenge the Palmetto State’s corrupt legislative tyranny.
Reddy’s campaign appeared to be breaking into the top tier of the GOP field during early voting, with polls indicating he trailed only Wilson among those who cast their ballots before election day.
To the extent it ever existed, though, his momentum collapsed once it came time to count ballots…
Speaking of counting ballots, while Republicans trailed Democrats by a sizable margin during the pre-election voting, they stormed back on election day. A whopping 468,120 South Carolinians voted in the GOP partisan primary for governor – compared to 368,074 who voted in the Democrat gubernatorial primary.
Stay tuned to FITSNews as we unpack the results from Tuesday… including a record 25% voter participation level (besting 2010’s high-water mark for the millennium).
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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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1 comment
I’m shocked that the carpet bagger did so much better than Wilson. I underestimated support for Reddy and Norman. It will be interesting to see how the voters go in the runoff. I still think Wilson will ultimately come out on top but I’m not sure I’d put more than a dollar on the bet.
The eventual Republican candidate will beat a surprisingly good dim candidate (Johnson) for gubernor (after he handily defeated the second most flawed candidate in this year’s primaries (McLeod)(Lynch is the most flawed candidate).
Josh and a wannabe nobody named Webster ought to get together and start the “irrelevant redundant party”. Glad we’re rid of Pasco (until next time). We’ll miss Crazy Train if only for the entertainment value…