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by WILL FOLKS
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One of the most coveted potential endorsements of the 2026 South Carolina Republican runoff election… is not endorsing. At least not yet, sources close to him have confirmed to our media outlet.
Fifth district congressman Ralph Norman – who finished in third place in Tuesday’s GOP partisan primary election – is inclined to stay out of the head-to-head battle between lieutenant governor Pamela Evette and attorney general Alan Wilson, our sources say. Some of Norman’s high-profile backers – potentially up to and including his choice for lieutenant governor, former state representative Adam Morgan – could weigh in, but Norman himself is leaning against getting involved, we’re told.
Sources close to the Freedom Caucus leader told us his calculus could certainly change based on unforeseen events, but that an endorsement from him of either candidate at this point is highly unlikely.
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Evette and Wilson finished first and second in Tuesday’s GOP primary, respectively – but because neither won a majority of votes they are scheduled to face off against each other on June 23, 2026. Evette received 136,480 votes (28.9% of ballots cast) while Wilson drew 123,643 votes (26.1% of ballots cast) to advance to the runoff election.
Norman came in third with 80,790 votes (17.1% of ballots cast), which was roughly in line with his pre-election polling. While Norman finished behind the two frontrunners statewide, he won vote-rich Greenville County – narrowly edging Wilson – while also carrying four counties in his congressional district (Cherokee, Chester, Union and York).
Those five counties represent solid gold real estate for Wilson and Evette as they crisscross the state over the coming twelve (12) days in their mano a mano battle.
Norman supporters are also hardcore, movement conservatives – meaning they are highly likely to return to the polls in two weeks time if one of the surviving candidates speaks to their issues (i.e. judicial reform, term limits and cracking down on corruption in state politics).
With the runoff having early indications of a slugfest, the battle for Norman’s backers will be ferocious… and initial returns would point to Wilson having the advantage in securing them.
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Add this to the list of reasons our family will be supporting @AGAlanWilson in the runoff as well as encouraging all our friends and neighbors to do the same. https://t.co/NiTmvnBn79
— StacyShea (@TheStacyShea) June 11, 2026
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Wilson previously received the endorsement of sixth-place finisher Josh Kimbrell, an embattled state senator who suspended his campaign the week before the election. He also received a surprise endorsement from his erstwhile bitter rival, first district congresswoman Nancy Mace – who finished in fifth place on Tuesday with 57,380 votes (12.13% of ballots cast).
“I want a law and order governor, and that law and order governor is going to be Alan Wilson,” Mace told her supporters on election night.
Fourth-place finisher Rom Reddy – who spent millions of his personal fortune to secure just 66,992 votes (14.16% of ballots cast) – has previously said he is not endorsing in the runoff. However, the diminutive and mercurial Indian-Italian has been making posts on social media about who he plans to vote for in other statewide runoff races – so we’d be surprised if he didn’t offer some thoughts on the two finalists prior to June 23.
As for Norman, we’ll keep an eye on him in the coming days to see if anything changes his mind, but for now it would appear he is staying above the impending fray…
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UPDATE |
Well, well… are things changing?
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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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5 comments
Just illustrates the “what’s in it for me” attitude that drives Norman’s politics.
Fair statement, but isn’t that the case for all Trump Republicans? They think personal gain is the entire reason to be a politician. Just like Trump.
How does Reddy put himself out there as a reformer and back Goldfinch?? Obviously, he is not as astute as we were made to believe or a back room deal was cut?
You are totally correct, the AG election is much more important than a powerless Governor who can’t do anything. If Goldfinch is elected he will effectively give the legislature control over the AGs office while doling out lucrative contracts to his trial lawyer donors. The AG has the largest staff of lawyers of any prosecutor in the state yet they prosecute only a fraction of what the various solicitors do. They could easily hire civil attorneys to handle lawsuits instead of outside firms. Goldfinch is another Wilson. Neither has tried any cases and neither has the ability to.
But good riddance to Nancy Mace and her flash-for-cash style.
There is such thing as a willing prostitute; and some, perhaps most, do it for sheer greed or to feed addictions.
As far as we know, NONE of Jeffrey Epstein’s “victims” was kidnapped or PHYSICALLY coerced into “service.”
NOT a defense of Jeffrey Epstein, but a realistic analysis of the whole sordid saga and of Nancy Mace’s cynical and hypocritical pushing for the release of the Epstein files under false pretext of defending his “survivors.”
Realistically, it appears that Jeffrey Epstein was more of a cold-eyed spy master than a compulsive pedophile.
The use of sex to extract one warrior’s secrets for the benefit of the opposing camp is as ancient as Delilah pillow-talking Samson into revealing the secret of his strength; and no state intelligence agency of ANY country ever disavowed it.
Perhaps those miffed at Nancy Mace’s obsession with release of the Epstein files were more worried about revelations of spy rings than sex rings.
And the release of the call wherein Nancy Mace tries to recruit a woman who never thought of herself as raped or as videotaped while being raped after being drugged COMPLETELY eliminates the idea that Nancy Mace is herself a rape survivor who is trying to protect other rape survivors.
A TRUE rape survivor would NOT be pushing other women to confabulate rape stories knowing that it inevitably CHEAPENS the suffering of REAL rape victims and prevents other rape allegations from being taken seriously.
And look at how quickly Nancy Mace threw herself at the feet of Alan Wilson, whom she had accused of being a pedophile-enabler.
That taped phone call trying to manufacture rape cases against Nancy Mace’s former fiance’s business associates is CLEARLY criminal and NOT protected by the speech-and-debate clause. The revelation of that call IF there really is NO VIDEO of the other woman being raped should, in an honest system, subject Nancy Mace to a criminal probe and to expulsion from Congress.
And who, in an honest world, would lead such efforts? Alan Wilson while still SCAG and Joe Wilson while still functioning in Congress after his stroke.
Is it any wonder that Nancy Mace’s concession announcement was preceded by her call “burying the hatchet” with Alan Wilson?
Nancy Mace is not a courageous survivor-protector; she is a cowardly and opportunistic survivor manipulator.