By Andy Brack
You wouldn’t be alone if you felt South Carolina’s C teams are running for governor.
For years, Democrats controlled stuff throughout the Palmetto State, but they started fizzling in the mid-1980s when challenged with good leadership, new ideas and strong-arm politics by the late Republican Gov. Carroll Campbell.
By the time Republicans hogtied Democrats in a 1990s redistricting battle, the S.C. House changed to GOP, followed by the Senate a few years later.
What’s happened since is that the enthusiasm and dynamism of the 2000s-era GOP in South Carolina faded as early leaders aged out, the culture wars took on new significance and Trumpism transformed the party from seeming to care about governance to making sure people had enough red hats.
So now comes the 2026 gubernatorial race. At least five prominent Republicans – none possessing the caliber of a Campbell or the acumen of a Nikki Haley – are in the hunt for the mansion. On the Democratic side, there’s one declared candidate and another expected to announce soon. No one really stands out. There’s a lot of milquetoasts.
Republican candidates include:
— S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson, who seems to hit headlines mostly when joining others to sue to fuel the culture wars.
— U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, the aggressive Lowcountry congresswoman obsessed with finding television cameras so she can comment on anything.
— U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, the Rock Hill area congressman who touts how conservatively he’s voted for eight years in Congress, even though he was a stumbling block for some efforts pushed by Trump.
— Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, the Greenville businesswoman who is still introducing herself to GOP voters after seven years in office.
— State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, who is facing a civil lawsuit from a former business partner over company money.
If you believe the polls, Wilson and Evette appear to have a slight lead over the other candidates, despite lackluster campaigns so far. Evette is trying hard and burning through money early, but it’s not clear it’s really working. Meanwhile Mace, who blasted out of the starting blocks with lots of media presence, seems to have cooled – perhaps a sign that her negatives are starting to rise because of an obsession to talk about transexuals and other culture war issues.
With Kimbrell’s business problems hampering his serious consideration, that leaves Norman, who may be in the catbird seat for next year’s primary. He emphasizes he’s got the most money on hand and is building enthusiasm across the state.
“What I’m going to do as a businessman with a background is I’m going to fix the roads and the bridges,” Norman said this week. “It is unacceptable to have infrastructure in pieces in South Carolina.”
He’s got a pretty good bunch of lines, such as talking about getting rid of corruption and implementing term limits. But they don’t exactly sync with reality when you consider most of the people he would want to limit would be fellow Republicans, who have been in control for 25 years. And if there is corruption, whose watch would it be under?
Meanwhile on the Democratic side, the only candidate to date is Charleston lawyer Mullins McLeod, who is self-funding his race. But he’s facing calls to drop out by Democrats over a disorderly conduct arrest earlier this year. State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, R-Richland, is expected to announce soon.
So far, no candidates impress. What South Carolina needs is a moderate populist who would put a chicken in every pot and fight for the people on pocketbook things like growing jobs, boosting education, improving health care access and protecting the state’s special places.
Hmm, a good government populist. Remember former Gov. David Beasley? He could do it.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.
