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by WILL FOLKS
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We reported a month ago on South Carolina lieutenant governor Pamela Evette‘s big dilemma: whether to continue chasing the elusive endorsement of U.S. president Donald Trump in her bid for governor of the Palmetto State – or to start chasing the votes she’ll need to potentially earn his support.
A month later, Evette’s basic calculus has not changed… which is becoming a problem.
Despite consistently outspending her rivals, Evette remains in third place in this crowded partisan race – trailing four-term attorney general Alan Wilson and third-term U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace. The wealthy Ohio transplant is now facing additional pressure as fifth district congressman Ralph Norman has recently began spending his money – and another independently wealthy candidate has also jumped into the race.
The only path to victory for Evette? Getting Trump’s imprimatur… which outgoing governor Henry McMaster has convinced her she can do so long as she picks his son, Columbia, S.C. attorney and political novice Henry D. McMaster Jr., as her running mate.
McMaster has a close relationship with Trump, although he has thusfar been unable to get him to come off the sidelines in this race to support his hand-picked successor.
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Meanwhile, Evette’s pollster – Tony Fabrizio – has reportedly advised her against such a legacy pick, urging her to focus instead on boosting her overall numbers (including choosing a more experienced, geographically advantageous candidate as her lieutenant gubernatorial nominee).
So far, it appears Evette is listening to McMaster… not Fabrizio. That’s a curious move considering Fabrizio’s numbers are likely to be far more influential in guiding Trump’s thinking than McMaster trying to call in yet another presidential favor.
Evette’s latest moves to try and secure Trump’s blessing have targeted Wilson, including a nifty artificial intelligence ad which portrays him as unsupportive of the president – and joined at the hip to former S.C. governor Nikki Haley, an avowed #NeverTrumper.
There’s just one problem with the ad… Wilson has been one of Trump’s staunchest South Carolina backers, and has never been especially chummy with Haley (who has made it abundantly clear she is supporting Norman in his bid for governor).
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Ralph Norman will bring some much needed sunlight to the Statehouse.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) March 24, 2026
No more backroom deals. No more politicians taking care of themselves while taxpayers are left in the dark.@RalphNorman will clean up Columbia, fight for term limits, and he’ll never forget who he works for… https://t.co/Inf5anLCZQ
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Also, a cursory review of campaign finance records reveals Evette was a donor to Haley long before she gave money to Trump. In fact, she and her husband (and their company) contributed to Haley’s 2014 gubernatorial bid a full ten years before she stroked her first check to Trump.
Evette also donated the maximum $3,500 in 2016 to… Wilson.
That’s right, South Carolina’s lieutenant governor financially supported the very rival she is now attacking – and the politician she’s trying to smear him for allegedly associating with – years before she ever contributed to Trump.
According to a source familiar with the jockeying for Trump’s support, the ad against Wilson has a “constituency of one.”
“She’s hoping the president sees it and it moves the needle toward her,” the source said.
Will it?
We’ve been reporting since last May that Trump has “no plans” to endorse a candidate in the upcoming GOP primary election. Should we receive word that’s about to change, we’ll be sure to keep our audience in the loop.
Filing for partisan primary elections closes at 12:00 p.m. EDT next Monday (March 30, 2026). At that point, barring any petition candidates, the field will be set for the election cycle. Partisan primary elections are scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, 2026. In the event no candidate wins a majority of votes on the first ballot, a head-to-head runoff election between the top two vote-getters would be held two weeks later (on June 23, 2026) to determine which candidate wins their party’s nomination.
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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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3 comments
Pamela would be at the bottom of my list. What has she ever done? Continuing with Foghorn Leghorn ideas is a terrible idea. Especially is she listens to him and picks his son. I was hoping a decent candidate would finally step up.
Evette, like Nikki Haley, has been courting that Jew money from Israel. Last year she was front and center to welcome a state level version of AIPAC to South Carolina. We certainly to not need this or her. The people, along with Trump, who got us into this Iran mess and its resultant skyrocketing gas prices, along with whatever other evils may spring up from it, are not for our state’s best interest.
Look outside the Republican Party. They have learned that they have no repercussions for bad decisions and shitty candidates. It is time that they learn different.
This kind of nepo baby crap has got to stop. McMaster…Wilson….go away all of you.
Nancy Mace is the barnburner of a choice. She’s going to go through the Governors Mansion with no agenda – except helping the people of the State that have had to put up with this good ole boy crap for too long.