Evette and Wilson advance to runoff for South Carolina governor while Graham clinches nomination

For Evette, gaining a runoff berth in the governor’s race comes only a week after picking up Trump’s endorsement. She will face Wilson in the June 23 primary. Others in the race included U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.

Evette lost no time in attacking Wilson in front of cheering supporters Tuesday night with a runoff just two weeks away.

“We are going to stand up for conservative voices and conservative values. I have never, I will never back down to the woke mob. Over these next two weeks we’re going to highlight a very clear contrast between myself and a career politician, Alan Wilson,” she told her election watch party.

Wilson has served as the state’s top prosecutor since 2011, taking actions to support Trump’s political and personal moves. In 2024, Wilson traveled to New York to support Trump as he stood trial in a hush money case. He is the son of longtime U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson.

Alan Wilson praised all fellow candidates in the primary who didn’t win Tuesday and said they all can have a home with him, while urging voters to his side — even if he wasn’t their “first choice” on Tuesady.

“Hire me to be your next governor I will be a fighter for you,” he said.

Republican governor candidates have played largely to Trump

Competition among Republicans for Trump’s support seemed more intense than any other facet of the primary campaign.

Even before Evette received the president’s endorsement, she frequently featured photos and videos of herself with Trump in campaign materials. She was backed by McMaster, the term-limited outgoing governor, a longstanding ally of Trump whose support telegraphed the president’s own.

Mace also wanted Trump’s support, and he endorsed her congressional reelection in 2024 even though she criticized his actions of Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Norman, among the most conservative members of the House and a member of the Freedom Caucus, strongly supported Trump in the president’s first term. But in the 2024 campaign, Norman stumped for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley instead of Trump.

Rom Reddy, a coastal businessman who has eschewed campaign donations and self-funded his effort, had touted his lack of political experience as an asset, drawing comparisons between Trump and himself.

Graham, backed by Trump, gets GOP nod to seek a 5th term

South Carolina’s other top contest Tuesday saw Graham clinching the Republican nomination without need of a runoff.

Although their relationship has undulated through the years, Graham has remained close with Trump, who fulfilled the senator’s longstanding wish for direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Graham cheered Trump’s decision to strike nuclear sites last year and recently said he often speaks to the president about the ongoing conflict.

Among Graham’s primary foes was Greenville businessman Mark Lynch, who said Graham wasn’t conservative enough to represent the state. Calling himself an “America First” candidate, Lynch campaigned as a Trump supporter. However, the president has called him a “lunatic” and a “disaster for the Republican Party.”

Winning statewide in November remains a tall order for SC Democrats

Democrats haven’t won the governor’s office or a Senate seat in South Carolina for decades.

Andrews, the Charleston pediatrician, ran unsuccessfully against Mace in 2022. Now running for Senate against Graham, she’s challenged what she’s characterized as Graham’s waffling positions over the course of his political career.

She is among the Democrats hoping to capitalize on dissatisfaction with Trump this year.

In the governor’s race, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson won the Democratic nomination in the South Carolina governor’s race.

Johnson has represented a district in the Columbia area for three terms. Seen as a rising star in the state party, Johnson was tapped to give this year’s Democratic response to McMaster’s state of the state address. McMaster has been in office since Nikki Haley left her term early to join the first Trump administration.

Democrats have not won a general election for governor in South Carolina since 1998, and Republicans have controlled all statewide-elected offices in the state for more than a decade.

In other results, James Clyburn clinched the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House in South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District while Joe Wilson — Alan Wilson’s father — won the Republican nod for the U.S. House in South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District.

Also Tuesday, in other U.S. House primaries, Eunice Lehmacher won the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District; John Peterson won the Republican nod in the 6th district; William Timmons secured the GOP nomination in the 4th district, and Mallory Dittmer won the Democratic nomination for the 5th district.

Additionally, David Stumbo and Stephen Goldfinch advanced to a Republican primary runoff for attorney general in South Carolina.

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This story has been corrected to show Jermaine Johnson won the Democratic nomination outright for South Carolina governor and is not entering a runoff.

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Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Meg Kinnard And Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Evette and Wilson advance to runoff for South Carolina governor while Graham clinches nomination

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