|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
Fifth district United States congressman Ralph Norman appears to be the man on the move in the 2026 South Carolina governor’s race, having drawn a bead on lieutenant governor Pamela Evette in the battle for third place in this crowded Republican field.
Some say Norman – who just launched his first round of campaign advertisements – has already overtaken Evette in the polls and is now setting his sights on the race’s two frontrunners, four-term attorney general Alan Wilson and first district congresswoman Nancy Mace. The Rock Hill businessman – who ranks second in the field in terms of available resources – has gained momentum by effectively touting his opposition to proposed legislative pay raises.
As first reported by FITSNews last spring, most members of South Carolina’s so-called “Republican” supermajority awarded themselves an additional $25,500 apiece in taxpayer-funded compensation between May 2025 and November 2026. They did this in contravention of the unambiguous language of the S.C. Constitution (Article III, Section 19), which holds that “no General Assembly shall have the power to increase the per diem of its own members.”
Thankfully, this boondoggle – which would have totaled $4.3 million – was challenged by state senator Wes Climer and unanimously struck down by the S.C. supreme court. This year, however, a new bill – S. 933 – would more than double lawmakers’ base compensation from $22,400 to $47,500 annually (and include automatic pay hikes of up to 5% every other year).
***
Apparently these “conservative” lawmakers felt they deserved a reward for their reckless spending, anemic tax “relief,” neglect of core functions, rampant crony capitalism and unchecked corruption.
Yesterday (April 14, 2026), S. 933 cleared the S.C. Senate finance committee by a 14–9 vote and is now headed to the full floor of that chamber. On cue, Norman launched a petition against the pay raises.
“State lawmakers are once again coming for your pocketbook,” Norman wrote on his petition page, arguing the pay hike “punishes hardworking taxpayers who are already dealing with rising costs and increasingly unaffordability.”
Norman also blasted a member of his delegation in Washington, D.C. for doing the same thing.
“Several current and former members of Congress, including Democrat Congressman Jim Clyburn of the Palmetto State, are suing taxpayers for retroactive pay increases,” Norman added. “If they succeed, this lawsuit could lead to significant salary bumps and open the door for other former lawmakers to seek millions in taxpayer-funded pay raises for their ‘work’ in Washington, ballooning the national debt.”
***
Folks across South Carolina are sick and tired of the political games played by RINOs and corrupt politicians who care more about using their power to enact taxpayer-funded pay raises than ensuring families can afford the basics. I’m proud that over 500 South Carolinians are…
— Ralph Norman for Governor (@RalphNorman) April 14, 2026
***
A founding member of the Freedom Caucus, Norman has represented the people of the fifth district in Washington, D.C. since winning a special election in June 2017. He won his last reelection campaign with a whopping 63.5% of the vote. Prior to being elected to congress, Norman served five terms in the S.C. House of Representatives.
GOP voters will cast their first ballots in the partisan primary election on June 9, 2026 – fifty-five days from now. Assuming no candidate secures a majority on the first ballot, the top two vote-getters would face each other in a head-to-head runoff election two weeks later (on June 23, 2026).
The Republican primary is decisive in South Carolina, where a Democrat hasn’t won a statewide office in twenty years and hasn’t won a governor’s race since 1998.
On the issue of legislative pay raises, FITSNews has previously editorialized in favor of lawmakers receiving more money. As it stands now, the only people who can afford to run for office are either independently wealthy – or bought and paid for. There’s an important caveat, though: we’ve endorsed such pay increases if (and only if) they are accompanied by “the most draconian anti-corruption measures South Carolina state government has ever seen.”
Needless to say, lawmakers have been quick to seek more money… but slow to govern their corrupt conduct.
Until such stringent anti-corruption measures are adopted, we cannot support raising legislative pay under any circumstances.
Why not? Because absent such reform, raising legislative pay would simply mean increasing the cost of corruption…
***
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.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
2 comments
You really want change in this state? Pay legislators 90K to start, add a modest COLA each year, give the ones that live more than 50 miles from the statehouse a daily per diem for room and board BUT also pass legislation that PROHIBITS them from having any secondary employment. If you’re a legislator that is your full time job, you put in a full week year round like any other state employee. That arraignment would bring in some folks other than the independently wealthy to the legislature.
Refusing to give SC’ gas tax relief to residents, more and more each day hate their guts.