Pamela Evette, South Carolina's lieutenant governor, will face state Attorney General Alan Wilson in a June 23 runoff for the Republican nomination to replace term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster. Neither candidate cleared 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary, forcing the matchup that will determine the GOP's standard-bearer in a reliably red state.
Evett's path to the runoff was paved by an endorsement from Donald Trump, which she has weaponized aggressively throughout the closing stretch of the campaign. Hours before the primary vote, Trump held a tele-rally for Evette and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Her campaign repeatedly blasted out statements highlighting Trump's support, including one posted Monday declaring he had "doubled down" on his backing. In her statement after advancing, Evette mentioned Trump by name three times, describing his endorsement as the "rocket fuel" that propelled her to first place.
Wilson, a 15-year veteran as state attorney general and son of Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, has built his candidacy on law-and-order messaging and his service record. He has emphasized endorsements from local law enforcement and his background in the South Carolina National Guard. In his statement after the runoff qualifier, he said voters want "a Governor who will fight for their families, lower costs, keep communities safe, and put taxpayers first."
The primary was always about landing Trump's blessing. What began as a wide field of heavyweight contenders quickly narrowed around securing his endorsement, the most valuable real estate in Republican politics in South Carolina.
Rep. Nancy Mace appeared positioned for that prize early on. She had worked for Trump's 2016 campaign and maintained a close personal relationship with him. After voting to impeach Trump following January 6, she rehabilitated that relationship by backing him during his 2024 primary battle against fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley. But her stock with Trump crashed when she championed the release of federal files on the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. One of her top staffers quit in frustration, saying Mace had "once again decided to turn her back on MAGA."
When the votes were counted Tuesday, Mace had collapsed to fifth place, even finishing third or fourth in the counties of her own congressional district. She quickly endorsed Wilson and released a statement explaining her defeat as the cost of conscience. "I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that," Mace wrote. "As a survivor, I chose to stand on principle and stand against the Epstein cover-up." She added: "I'm at peace with that. Because when a candidate is OK with corruption and cover-ups, something is broken."
Rep. Ralph Norman, who backed Nikki Haley during the presidential race, never had realistic hopes of winning Trump's blessing. Self-funding businessman Rom Reddy, a lesser-known candidate who refused traditional campaign donations and expressed opposition to building AI data centers in the state, also failed to gain traction.
The winner of the June runoff will almost certainly become the state's next governor, given South Carolina's heavy Republican lean and the weakness of any Democratic challenger in a general election contest.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Trump's endorsement proved to be the deciding factor in who advanced, and Evette's success shows that his grip on South Carolina Republicans remains iron-tight."
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