BY: SEANNA ADCOX - JUNE 19, 2026 8:16 PM
COLUMBIA — President Donald Trump made a dual endorsement Friday in the race to be South Carolina’s next governor, saying voters can’t go wrong with either Republican in the runoff.
Trump’s additional backing of Attorney General Alan Wilson comes just four days before voters pick the GOP nominee.
It’s a score for Wilson and setback for Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, three weeks after Trump endorsed her in the race to replace Gov. Henry McMaster.
The endorsement gave Evette a boost heading into the June 9 primary, propelling her to the lead in what had been a six-way race — but just barely. With about 29% of the vote, she led by less than 3 percentage points over Wilson, who has since picked up the endorsements of three of their former opponents.
Trump’s combined backing means he won’t lose regardless of who wins Tuesday.
“There are two Highly Respected Candidates running to be your next Governor,” Trump wrote Friday evening on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Both have had amazing careers, and have been with me from the beginning. They are MAGA and America First all the way! These were the two that I was hoping would get into a Runoff, and they did. I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson! It’s a Wealth of Riches – With either one you can’t go wrong. Vote for Pam or Alan — They will not let you down!”
Thanking the president for the endorsement, Wilson pointed to the many times he’s gone to court and signed on to legal briefs supporting Trump’s agenda.
“As South Carolina’s Attorney General, I have been proud to stand with him,” Wilson wrote on X. “And I never backed down. When President Trump needed fighters, I was in the fight.”
Wilson’s campaign ads have featured a photo of him standing with Trump giving a thumbs up.
The dual endorsement takes away one of Evette’s key arguments that she’s the lone candidate with Trump’s “complete and total endorsement.” Her campaign ads have accused Wilson of abandoning Trump. That included an attack ad fully created with artificial intelligence with fictitious scenes of Wilson ignoring Trump’s phone calls. Saying the ad “disgusted” him, Wilson has called for rules over AI’s use in campaign ads.
The AI ad also falsely suggested Wilson backed former Gov. Nikki Haley over Trump in the 2024 presidential primary. Both Wilson and Evette supported Trump.
It was a different opponent in the governor’s race, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who backed Haley’s presidential bid. The former governor posted her endorsement for Norman less than an hour before Trump endorsed Evette.
Norman, who ultimately came in third in the June 9 primary, is among the former candidates for governor who’s thrown his support to Wilson.
Evette had been running as though she had Trump’s endorsement long before he officially backed her, causing her opponents to cry foul at her marketing campaign.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who came in fifth in the primary, blasted Evette as a liar only hours before Trump announced his endorsement.
“I was proud to come in first,” Evette wrote on X in response to Trump’s decision to back Wilson too.
Trump’s initial endorsement of her, however, came with controversy.
His May 29 post suggested Evette was going to pick the governor’s son, attorney Henry McMaster Jr., as her running mate, bringing criticism of a political dynasty and accusations of a quid pro quo that the governor repeatedly denied. A week later, the governor’s son publicly announced he would not join her ticket. She has not named a running mate.
Gov. McMaster, who endorsed his lieutenant governor in February, was the first statewide official to back Trump ahead of South Carolina’s 2016 presidential primary. At the time, he was lieutenant governor. When Trump became president, he asked then-Gov. Haley to be his first United Nations ambassador, clearing the way for McMaster to ascend to the governor’s office in January 2017.
The governor has remained a staunch supporter ever since. And Trump, in turn, has backed McMaster throughout his 2½-term tenure.
In a call-in rally on the eve of the primary, Trump praised Evette while saying, “You can’t get better than Henry.”
Trump’s losses elsewhere
South Carolina has voted for Trump every time he’s been on the ballot, including in the 2024 presidential primary over Haley.
He began his post Friday by again declaring how much he loves the Palmetto State.
“I love the Wonderful State of South Carolina for every reason in the book, including the fact that it is ‘loaded up’ with truly GREAT people and Political Leaders,” he wrote.
His added endorsement of Wilson comes three days after his pick in the Georgia governor’s race lost.
On Tuesday, Republican businessman Rick Jackson defeated Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who will face Atlanta’s former mayor, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, in November.
That followed a loss in the Iowa governor’s race. Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra just four days before he lost to businessman Zach Lahn to become the Republican nominee in the Hawkeye State. Trump later told reporters that Lahn was actually “much more Trump” than Feenstra.
Seanna Adcox is a South Carolina native with three decades of reporting experience. After covering the S.C. Legislature and state politics for 18 years. she launched the SC Daily Gazette in November 2023 as the 37th state affiliate under the States Newsroom umbrella. Her previous employers include The Post and Courier and The Associated Press.
Pay freezes and spending caps: A look at GOP candidates’ answers on eliminating income taxes
BY: JESSICA HOLDMAN - JUNE 19, 2026 1:44 PM
COLUMBIA — Asked about eliminating the state income tax, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette said on the debate stage that she’d start with a “wage freeze,” while Attorney General Alan Wilson said legislators already could have put $20 billion back in taxpayers’ pockets.
Eliminating South Carolina’s income tax has been a theme in the governor’s race, with the entire GOP field promising to make it happen. The tax is expected to generate $6.8 billion in the fiscal year that starts July 1, making up 45% of general fund revenues, according to state economic advisers’ projections in May.
One of the questions in Tuesday night’s debate at Coastal Carolina University put the runoff candidates on the spot for specifics: “What is the exact year you would make the tax rate 0% and which specific parts of government spending would you cut to make up for that lost money?” asked panelist Raphael James with WJBF.
Neither candidate suggested any cuts to services. Wilson came closest to giving a year.
In South Carolina, the governor can’t change state tax law or allocate taxpayers’ money. The governor’s role consists of making annual recommendations on spending and trying to persuade legislators to adopt those suggestions. On the back end of the budgeting process, the governor has veto power to strike spending, though the Legislature can — and usually does — override those strikes.
Here’s a closer look at the candidates’ responses.
Pay freeze
Evette, former CEO of a human resources outsourcing firm, began by pointing out she’s “an accountant by trade.”
After pledging to decrease spending, she said, “first of all, we’re going to put a wage freeze on everybody in Columbia until we can figure out what’s going on.”
She didn’t say whose salaries she wanted frozen. Asked about it later, a campaign spokesman said she was referring only to state legislators and statewide elected officers. She wants them to turn down any raises going forward until they “make sure spending is under control,” said spokesman Matt Goins.
Legislators are set to get an additional $1,500 a month starting in December, as per a state budget clause. While the 2026-27 budget isn’t finalized, the raise is already baked in because it’s in both chambers’ plans. But even if it unexpectedly falls through, a law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster last month guarantees legislators’ pay will rise after the 2028 elections to $47,500 annually. In all, the state would save just under $4.3 million in 2029 if all 170 legislators turn down those raises.
And there is a near-zero chance of that happening.
Under a separate law signed by McMaster in May, the salaries of South Carolina’s governor and lieutenant governor are set to rise in January for the first time in 32½ years.
If Evette’s elected, Goins said, she would turn down any raise approved by the commission that’s tasked with analyzing and resetting salaries for all constitutional officers. At $106,000 annually since 1994, the governor’s salary ranks 46th nationally, ahead of only Nebraska, Oregon, Arizona and Maine.
Beyond pay freezes, Evette called for an audit of all state agencies, “so we can find out where money is siphoning out to that we may not even know today because we’re pushing so much paper around.”
She also said the state needs to invest in technology upgrades, citing decades-old computing systems still in use at the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
“That’s what business owners understand. When you run efficiently, you impact the bottom line,” Evette said.
The effort to replace the DMV’s “ancient” technology is underway, and it’s expensive.
In the budget approved last year, the state drivers’ licensing office was allowed to raise its fees to cover the rest of the much-needed $100 million overhaul. The Legislature provided $26 million toward the project through taxes.
Also underway are technology upgrades in the state’s judicial branch. The Legislature provided $25 million last year. The state budget for the coming fiscal year puts an additional $10 million toward the project. It too is expected to cost $100 million total.
Returning billions to taxpayers
As for the attorney general, Wilson called for capping annual increases in state spending to the rate of population growth plus inflation.
“Had we brought down the raise in the rate of spending to the raise of population growth, we could have returned $20 billion to the people of South Carolina” over the last decade, he said.
Asked later how he arrived at that number, Wilson’s campaign pointed to calculations by Americans for Tax Reform, a Washington-based organization founded by Grover Norquist. According to its website, South Carolina’s current budget is $29 billion in “state funds” alone.
But the 2025-26 state budget allocated $15 billion in state tax collections.
The other $14 billion includes what budget spreadsheets sum up as “other funds,” which, among other things, lumps in tuition charged by public colleges and fees charged by various agencies to fund expenses, such as those DMV fees mentioned above. Courts and state parks, for example, have historically relied heavily on fees for operations. In all, “other funds” tallies more than $13 billion this year.
The difference could also include property tax relief for homeowners, which is subtracted from state revenues before the budgeting process begins.
“The devil is in the details to what counts as spending,” said House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister.
Amid criticism about state spending and calls for eliminating the income tax, the Greenville Republican has defended the state budget as “responsible governing” in one of the nation’s fastest-growing states. Countering accusations of a bloated government, he says there are 6,000 fewer state employees today than in 2000. And he points to various tax cuts passed in the years since that have collectively returned billions to taxpayers.
That includes a 2022 law that, now that it’s fully phased in, reduces income tax collections by more than $1 billion annually ($1.3 billion this year).
A bill signed by McMaster in March further reduces revenue by $300 million in the coming year and calls for continued incremental cuts to income taxes as the economy grows.
Capping spending at some arbitrary number won’t meet South Carolinians’ needs, Bannister said.
He notes it took years to catch up after deep cuts amid the Great Recession. Adding to needs that went unfunded for years is an influx of new residents, requiring greater investments, particularly in roads, bridges, and water and sewer infrastructure.
“Before saying ‘Y’all can’t spend any more money,’ we have to get our roads fixed,” he said.
Suddenly ending a tax that makes up 45% of the general fund, without firing all state employees, would require replacing the lost revenue with some other tax, such as a big hike in the state’s 6% sales tax, Bannister said.
“But that doesn’t get you elected governor,” he said, referring to candidates’ campaign pledges.
“You cannot end the income tax in one day,” Bannister said. “You have to do it over a period of time, because the economy has to be able to absorb it so that you continue to fund other core functions of government.”
Responding to the debate question, Wilson gave a range of six to 10 years for when he believes the state income tax could be eliminated.
But further complicating the ability to reduce revenues are the state’s rising costs to maintain services.
“It’s not as easy as saying we’ll just reduce (income tax) until it falls off,” Bannister said.
For example, rising health care costs requires about $100 million additional in the coming budget to cover the state’s share of Medicaid costs just to keep paying doctors and providing services at current levels.
The budget also includes an additional $34 million to cover the state’s share of administrative expenses in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
Starting in October, states must pay 75% of the cost to distribute the aid, up from 50%, as required under the massive federal tax package signed by President Donald Trump last July 4.
The state’s costs could balloon in future budgets.
Starting in October 2027, states will have to cover a portion of the grocery aid if their error rate tops 6%. How much depends on their record for correctly distributing payments.
In 2024, South Carolina’s error rate was 9.25%, according to data released last summer. That’s better than the 22.6% for 2023, which state officials called an anomaly. But it would still require South Carolina to contribute 10% of the costs. Last fiscal year, that would’ve been $136 million.
Editor Seanna Adcox contributed to this report.
Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the SC Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Senator Danny Verdin Trusts Cody Simpson to be SC Commissioner of Agriculture for the Next Generation
Home Branch, S.C. – On June 23rd, South Carolina Republicans will go back to the polls for the primary runoffs. On the ballot will be the important race for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture. Former House Agriculture Chairman Senator Danny Verdin, who represents Greenville, Laurens, and Union Counties, has made his choice clear: Cody Simpson is the right candidate for South Carolina farmers and South Carolina families.
“I’ve known and trusted Cody Simpson for nearly a decade, and am proud to endorse him as the next Commissioner of Agriculture. Cody shares a heart for public service and comes from a long line of farmers in South Carolina.” Senator Verdin said. “Agriculture is the backbone of South Carolina’s economy and it needs strong, dedicated leadership that Cody Simpson would bring to the office of Commissioner. As the next Commissioner I trust him to maintain the fantastic, fertile culture we have in South Carolina for the next generation.”
In addition to Senator Verdin, Cody Simpson - a fifth-generation farmer - is endorsed by President Donald J. Trump, Congressman Russell Fry, and other conservatives from across the state.
“Growing up on the farm instilled the values of hard work, faith, and service to my community and my state - and I’m running for Commissioner of Agriculture to take proven experience and dedication of service to make a positive impact for agriculture at the Department,” Cody Simpson said. "I’m humbly asking voters to consider casting their vote for me, Cody Simpson, a fifth-generation farmer who will have President Trump’s back and put South Carolina First. I will be an active, present leader for farmers across South Carolina.”
Simpson is a fifth-generation farmer and former State Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in South Carolina, where he worked directly with farmers and producers across the state.
The early voting period for the Republican primary runoff will be June 17th and June 18th with the Republican primary election day proceeding on June 23rd.
Appointed by President Trump to serve as State Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in South Carolina, Simpson worked directly with agency employees, farmers and producers across the Palmetto State by helping them navigate federal programs, disaster relief, and conservation initiatives. His leadership strengthened relationships between the Trump Administration and rural South Carolina and ensured farmers had a strong voice at the table.
Prior to his federal service, Simpson served as Agriculture Advisor and Chief Executive Assistant to Governor Henry McMaster. In that role, he helped shape state policy affecting farmers, forestry, wildlife management, and rural communities. He also served on the National Governors Association’s Land Management, Agriculture, Wildlife, and Rural Communities Advisory Network, the South Carolina Forest Recovery Task Force, and the Pee Dee Forestry Commission.
A fifth-generation farmer from Clarendon County, Simpson was raised on his family’s South Carolina Century Farm in the Home Branch Community. From raising livestock and planting row crops to managing farm finances, he learned firsthand the challenges facing today’s producers and the importance of stewardship, faith, and hard work.
Simpson is an active member of the Richland County Farm Bureau and supports conservation efforts through Ducks Unlimited and the Pee Dee Land Trust. He is also a Major in the South Carolina State Guard and has been recognized with multiple honors for his service to the state. For his contributions to defending the Second Amendment, Simpson is the recipient of the distinguished National Rifle Association’s Golden Eagle Award.
A graduate of Francis Marion University, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in business administration, Simpson has long been committed to leadership and service. His lifelong involvement in 4-H and agricultural leadership programs helped shape his passion for advancing South Carolina’s agricultural economy.
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