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by WILL FOLKS
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It’s been an eventful summer in South Carolina as the spring partisan primary season has shifted into overdrive (and gone into overtime) thanks to multiple competitive runoff elections – and now a special primary election for the U.S. Senate vacated by the sudden death of Lindsey Graham.
Palmetto politicos have had plenty of campaigns to keep track of as they prepare for the fall… and for the upcoming 2028 cycle in which South Carolina boasts the ‘First in the Nation’ (Democrat) and ‘First in the South’ (Republican) presidential primaries.
While we continue to investigate Graham’s passing, we’re also closely monitoring the special election to replace him on the GOP ballot… which will see its first big day of decision on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 (just ten days from now).
In this week’s episode, I briefly addressed the latest legal drama tied to South Carolina’s special U.S. Senate primary while also covering a major evidence battle related to the retrial of Alex Murdaugh – the next chapter in the ongoing ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga.
Murdaugh’s attorneys want independent testing of some potentially critical exculpatory evidence – but they also want investigators with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to refrain from doing further testing of their own, arguing the evidence could potentially be “degraded.”
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In this week’s second segment, I brought our audience up to speed on research director Jenn Wood‘s detailed reporting on the upcoming trial of accused quadruple murderer Rosmore “Ross” Vilardi – whose co-defendant (and wife) was convicted earlier this year for her role in these savage slayings.
A critical motions hearing was held this week in Anderson County to determine admissible evidence and testimony tied to Ross Vilardi’s trial – which has been docketed for October of this year.
What’s going to make it into the trial? What’s going to be kept out? We’re waiting on the judge’s orders…
In our final segment, chief photog and lead investigative reporter Andrew Fancher joined me to discuss his exclusive reporting on an alleged instance of police brutality (err, “excessive force”) in Anderson County – and the myriad of responses it has provoked.
To everyone who watches our show and subscribes to our media outlet… thank you. It’s your support that drives everything we do at FITSNews. The lights, the camera, the accountability… it’s all solely attributable to your views and your subscriptions.
If you appreciate our work, please subscribe today! And if you’re already a subscriber, please consider gifting a subscription to a friend… or grabbing some of our cool merch!
Thanks again and we’ll catch you next week…
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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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