Aiman Tariq – Regional News Editor
Greenville, SC –

South Carolina Republicans settled one major race Tuesday night and extended another.

According to the Associated Press, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson advanced to a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor, while U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham won his primary outright as he seeks a fifth term in November.

That means the governor’s race now moves into a shorter, sharper phase. Evette and Wilson have less than two weeks to consolidate support, win over voters whose candidates were eliminated, and make the case that they are the stronger Republican nominee in a state where the general election still favors the GOP.

The Senate race is simpler on paper. Graham won the Republican nomination and will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November. But even that result says something about the state of South Carolina politics: Trump’s endorsement still matters, but the way it works depends on the race.

Evette and Wilson Move to a Runoff

Evette and Wilson emerged as the top two candidates in a crowded Republican primary for governor, setting up a June 23 runoff.

Neither candidate received the majority needed to win the nomination outright. That left U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, along with businessman Rom Reddy, outside the final round.

The result gives Evette a second stage after receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement late in the campaign. It also gives Wilson, who has served as South Carolina’s attorney general since 2011, a chance to argue that experience and statewide office matter more than a late presidential boost.

That contrast is likely to define the runoff.

Evette is running with the advantage of Trump’s backing and the support of outgoing Gov. Henry McMaster. Wilson enters the runoff with a long record as the state’s top prosecutor and a family name familiar to South Carolina Republican voters.

The next two weeks will test which of those advantages matters more.

Trump’s Endorsement Helped — But Did Not End the Race

The Republican governor’s primary was shaped heavily by Trump’s influence.

According to AP, competition among candidates for Trump’s support was one of the defining features of the race. Evette had already featured photos and videos with Trump in her campaign materials before he formally endorsed her. McMaster’s support for Evette also signaled where much of the state’s Republican establishment was leaning.

Still, Trump’s endorsement did not clear the field.

Wilson advanced anyway. Mace, who had also sought to connect herself to Trump’s political base, did not make the runoff. Norman, a Freedom Caucus member and one of the more conservative candidates in the field, also fell short after having supported Nikki Haley during the 2024 presidential campaign rather than Trump.

That does not mean Trump’s influence is weak in South Carolina. The primary result suggests the opposite. But it does show that even in a Trump-aligned state party, endorsements are not always enough to settle a multi-candidate race in one round.

This is the difference between influence and automatic control.

Trump can still lift a candidate. He can still shape the conversation. But in a crowded race, local networks, candidate history, money, voter familiarity and late campaign movement still matter.

Graham Wins Without a Runoff

Graham avoided the uncertainty facing the governor’s race.

The senator won the Republican nomination outright, giving him a clear path into the general election as he seeks a fifth term. AP reported that Trump endorsed Graham early, despite the two men’s complicated political history.

That history has always been part of Graham’s profile.

Graham was once a sharp Trump critic. He later became one of Trump’s more visible allies in the Senate, especially on foreign policy and judicial nominations. In South Carolina Republican politics, that evolution has made him both durable and frequently criticized.

His primary challengers tried to argue that he was not conservative enough for the state. Greenville businessman Mark Lynch, one of Graham’s opponents, campaigned as an “America First” candidate. But Trump did not back Lynch. He backed Graham.

That mattered.

Graham’s win suggests that, at least in this race, Republican voters were not looking to replace him with a less-established challenger using Trump-style messaging. They stayed with the incumbent who had the president’s endorsement and the backing of leading South Carolina Republicans.

Why the Governor’s Race Is Different?

The governor’s race is less settled because it is an open-seat contest.

McMaster is term-limited, which created a rare opening for ambitious Republicans in a state where statewide offices are usually difficult for Democrats to capture. Open seats attract more candidates, and more candidates make it harder for any one person to win outright.

Evette’s pitch is built around continuity with McMaster and alignment with Trump.

Wilson’s pitch is built around his prosecutorial record and long presence in statewide politics.

Mace brought national attention but also political volatility. Norman brought strong conservative credentials but entered with baggage among Trump loyalists because of his support for Haley. Reddy presented himself as an outsider and self-funded candidate.

In a smaller field, any one of those profiles might have performed differently. In this field, the vote fractured enough to send Evette and Wilson to a runoff.

That is why the runoff will not simply be a repeat of Tuesday’s primary. It becomes a new contest, with fewer choices and more direct comparisons.

Democrats Still Face a Difficult Map

On the Democratic side, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson won the party’s nomination for governor, according to AP.

Johnson has represented a Columbia-area district and has been viewed as a rising figure in the state party. But statewide math remains difficult.

Democrats have not won the South Carolina governor’s office since 1998. Republicans have also controlled statewide elected offices for more than a decade.

That does not make the Democratic race irrelevant. It does mean the Republican runoff is likely to draw most of the attention because the eventual GOP nominee will enter November with a structural advantage.

The Senate race follows a similar pattern.

Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician, will face Graham in November. Andrews has criticized Graham’s shifting positions over his long political career and is likely to campaign against both Graham and Trump-aligned Republican leadership.

But no Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades. Graham defeated his Democratic opponent in 2020 by a 10-point margin.

That history does not decide the 2026 election by itself. But it explains why Republicans remain favored statewide unless the national environment changes dramatically.

The Mace and Norman Results Matter Too

The candidates who missed the runoff may still shape what happens next.

Mace’s defeat is especially notable because she has been one of South Carolina’s most visible Republican figures in Congress. Her political career has included several sharp turns, including criticism of Trump after Jan. 6 and later efforts to reconnect with his base.

AP described her political future as uncertain after the primary loss. That may be right.

A defeat in the governor’s race does not necessarily end a political career, but finishing outside the runoff in a major statewide contest changes the conversation.

Norman’s result also matters because it shows that ideological intensity alone did not carry him into the final round. In a Republican primary where nearly every major candidate tried to claim conservative ground, being one of the most conservative candidates was not enough.

That is a useful reminder about primaries. Voters are not only choosing ideology. They are choosing familiarity, alliances, temperament, electability and trust.

What the Runoff Will Test?

The Evette-Wilson runoff will test several things at once.

First, it will test whether Trump’s endorsement can push Evette across the finish line now that the field has narrowed.

Second, it will test whether Wilson can consolidate voters who did not choose Evette the first time.

Third, it will test whether South Carolina Republicans want a nominee framed mainly around loyalty to Trump and McMaster’s political network, or one framed around law enforcement and prosecutorial experience.

That does not mean the candidates are far apart ideologically. In most major ways, both are running as conservative Republicans in a heavily Republican state.

The difference is less about party position and more about political identity.

Evette is the Trump-backed lieutenant governor trying to inherit the McMaster lane.

Wilson is the attorney general arguing that his statewide record gives him the stronger claim.

Other South Carolina Results

The primary also produced expected outcomes in several congressional races.

Rep. James Clyburn won the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District as he seeks an 18th term. Clyburn remains one of the most nationally recognized Democrats in the state and a senior figure in his party.

Rep. Joe Wilson, Alan Wilson’s father, won the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District. He is seeking a 14th term.

Those results were less surprising than the governor’s race, but they add context to the state’s broader political map. South Carolina remains a place where established names can hold deep political advantages, especially when their districts or statewide lanes are already strongly aligned with their party.

What Happens Next?

The Republican runoff for governor is scheduled for June 23.

Evette and Wilson now have a short campaign window. The candidates will likely spend the next two weeks courting supporters of Mace, Norman and Reddy while sharpening their arguments against each other.

Graham, meanwhile, turns toward the general election against Andrews.

For Democrats, the challenge is to nationalize the races enough to make Republican incumbency and statewide dominance less decisive. For Republicans, the challenge is to avoid internal divisions lingering after the runoff.

That is often easier said than done.

A runoff can unify a party. It can also deepen the split if the contest turns personal.

The Bottom Line

South Carolina Republicans chose Lindsey Graham again, but they did not settle their governor’s race.

Graham won his Senate primary outright and moved toward a November matchup with Democrat Annie Andrews.

In the governor’s race, Pamela Evette and Alan Wilson advanced to a June 23 runoff after neither candidate cleared the majority threshold.

Trump’s endorsement helped define both contests, but the results were not identical. Graham converted Trump’s backing into a clean win. Evette converted it into a first-place finish and a runoff.

That makes the next two weeks important.

The runoff will show whether Trump’s support, McMaster’s network and Evette’s late momentum are enough to secure the nomination — or whether Wilson can build a coalition from the rest of the Republican field and turn the race into a test of experience over endorsement.

For now, South Carolina’s Senate race has a nominee. Its governor’s race still has one more round.