COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Republicans Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Trump, and Attorney General Alan Wilson are headed into a gubernatorial primary runoff in two weeks after neither secured enough votes for a majority, according to a race call by The Associated Press.
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In 2017, Gov. Henry McMaster plucked Evette out of relative obscurity to be his 2018 running mate, launching her political career. His network and endorsement, as well as Trump's, helped raise her name identification.
"Pam has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" the president wrote on Truth Social on May 29.
In his endorsement, Trump also alluded to the idea that McMaster's son, Henry D. McMaster Jr., could be Evette's running mate. The mention sparked attacks from her rivals, who called it a backroom deal. She and McMaster Jr. deny she's tapped him so far.
Wilson was first elected state attorney general in 2010 and has been reelected three times. He also serves as a Colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps for the South Carolina Army National Guard, and is the son of 2nd District Congressman Joe Wilson.
Wilson has gained national notoriety through his office's work on the 2023 trial of Alex Murdaugh, though his double murder conviction was overturned by the state Supreme Court in May due to jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill. The case is set to be retried in the coming months.
There isn't much light between the two candidates when it comes to policy differences.
Neither Wilson nor Evette says they want to restrict abortion access further in the state beyond the current six-week law on the books—a move that polling bears out. Both are looking to make government more efficient through audits and to eliminate the state's 5.21% personal income tax, which has been gradually reduced.
A runoff was expected in the five-way race, with Evette and Wilson, both statewide elected officials, representing more mainstream ideological stances, while candidates further to the right, like 1st District Congresswoman Nancy Mace, 5th District Congressman Ralph Norman and Lowcountry businessman, rounded out the field.
Three Democrats: Columbia state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, Charleston lawyer Mullins McLeod and Greenville businessman Billy Webster are vying for their party's nomination.
A record number of South Carolinians voted early over the last two weeks—a period that started just as the Republican-controlled state Senate shot down a new congressional map. Trump and other Republicans sought to flip the 6th District, the sole Democratic-held seat in the state held by Congressman Jim Clyburn. Concerns over voter disenfranchisement and the rushed redistricting process led to the effort's failure.
South Carolina has open primaries, so voters can choose whether to vote in the Democratic or Republican race. The primary runoff election is June 23.
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