Alan Wilson wins Republican nomination for SC Governor
by Alexander Thompson
(orginally published by the SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA – Attorney General Alan Wilson took a major step toward becoming South Carolina’s chief executive Tuesday, handily winning the runoff for the Republican nomination for governor over Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 22: South Carolina Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Alan Wilson, with support from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), speaks to a crowd at Doc’s Barbeque on June 22, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. A runoff election for the Republican primary for SC governor, among other races, is on June 23. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images).
When The Associated Press called the race at 7:27 p.m., Wilson had 65% of the vote. Only 8% of the vote had been counted less than a half hour after polls closed.
Wilson will face Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Hopkins, in the November general election. But it’s been 28 years since South Carolina sent a Democrat to the Governor’s Mansion.
In the first wide-open race for governor in 16 years, Wilson emerged the victor among six Republicans heading into the June 9 primary, though state Sen. Josh Kimbrell’s withdrawal days earlier officially made it a five-way race.
Wilson, who’s ending his fourth term as the state’s chief prosecutor, publicly launched his campaign exactly a year ago. But he’s arguably been gearing up for a gubernatorial bid for years.
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 22: South Carolina Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Alan Wilson, left, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), greet voters at Doc’s Barbeque on June 22, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. A runoff election for the Republican primary for South Carolina governor, among other races, is on June 23. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images).
Still, victory was no sure thing.
Even before the race officially began, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace sought to discredit Wilson with frequent, fiery accusations he had to keep denying. Then, as Evette sought to gain ground, she went after Wilson as a “career politician” and accused him of being disloyal to Trump.
Her attack ads intensified after President Donald Trump gave Evette his “complete and total endorsement” on May 29, propelling her 11 days later to a first-place finish in the primary’s first round.
But it wasn’t a runaway. Evette led with 29% of the vote to Wilson’s 26%.
That’s partly because Trump, in his endorsement, suggested that Henry McMaster Jr. would be her running mate, bringing accusations of nepotism and a backroom deal, which the governor denied. Evette largely stayed silent until his son announced on social media that he would not join her ticket.
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 22: South Carolina Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Alan Wilson speaks on the phone during a campaign stop at Doc’s Barbeque on June 22, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. A runoff election for the Republican primary for South Carolina governor, among other races, is on June 23. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images).
Then last Friday, Trump took away Evette’s primary argument by adding Wilson to his endorsement, telling voters they “can’t go wrong” with voting for either of them. Wilson couldn’t be in the “Never Trumper” camp, as Evette alleged, with Trump’s endorsement.
The rare dual endorsement from a president who doesn’t like to lose bolstered Wilson.
Trump’s endorsement back-and-forth was “strange,” Beth Carter, a 59-year-old employee at a hospital near Florence, said after casting her ballot on Tuesday.
“That didn’t sway me even though I did vote for President Trump,” she said. Carter decided to vote for Wilson before the endorsement due to his strong Christian faith.
Wilson gained the support of three of their former opponents — including Mace, who ultimately called the prosecutor she spent months bashing the law-and-order candidate.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman announced his endorsement of Wilson one day before the state GOP runoff debate — only the second of the party’s four Evette agreed to participate in. With Norman’s backing, Wilson picked up support from the uber-conservative, Freedom Caucus side of the GOP spectrum.
GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 9: South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, with her husband David, right, and Gov. Henry McMaster, left, speaks to a crowd during an election night watch party on June 9, 2026 at the United Community Bank building in Greenville, South Carolina. Evette advanced to a runoff against state Attorney General Alan Wilson. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Evette tried to bring some of those voters into her camp by releasing a list of potential running mates, who included Norman’s running mate — the founding chair of the Freedom Caucus in the state House — as well as the caucus’ current chair. But that announcement too hit a snag when both hard-line legislators told the press they were surprised to be among her nine potential, wide-ranging picks.
Evette’s defeat continued the state’s historic trend of lieutenant governors unable to make the leap to governor. The one exception in the last 56 years was Henry McMaster, who ascended into the office in 2017 when then-Gov. Nikki Haley joined the first Trump administration. McMaster was the incumbent when voters elected him to the role in 2018.
In her first-ever solo run, Evette branded herself as an outsider businesswoman while simultaneously touting her Statehouse experience over eight years — even taking credit for laws as signed “by the McMaster-Evette administration.” But she tied her campaign to her relationship with Trump, constantly referencing the president until his surprise co-endorsement.
Wilson, a 52-year-old Army veteran who worked in the state attorney general’s office under McMaster before voters elected him to head the agency in 2010, had been eyeing a bid for governor.
The attorney general worked for years to build relationships with the state Republican Party’s grassroots, regularly visiting county GOP groups, while showing a willingness to buck the Legislature with calls for changing how the state elects judges.
Wilson has regularly touted his leadership on culture war issues.
He’s gone to court repeatedly over his tenure to combat the Obama and Biden administrations and support the Trump administration. Last year alone, Wilson’s office announced joining other Republicans or declared victory on more than 60 multi-state lawsuits.
His defense of Trump included traveling to New York City in 2024 to support the president as he faced charges of falsifying business records in paying an adult film star.