By admin 
Primary night came and more than 855,000 South Carolinians cast ballots in Tuesday’s election to pick Democratic and Republican nominees for November’s general election.
Read more SC GOP establishment moves forward, wealth didn’t win. 7 primary night takeaways
But what did voters choose?
Here are seven takeaways from Tuesday night.
Wealth didn’t win
In the race for governor, the campaigns raised a combined $26.5 million through May 20, according to state Ethics Commission reports. However, five people put in more than half of that money.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, businessman Rom Reddy, attorney Mullins McLeod and businessman Billy Webster, combined to contribute or loan their campaigns $14.9 million, or more than 56% of the money raised by campaigns.
But only Evette advanced to a runoff, and she contributed the least out of those five candidates by loaning her campaign $1 million through May 20.
Evette, who started her own business before entering the public eye, could be at a financial advantage in the next two weeks if she can write her campaign another large check. Attorney General Alan Wilson will have to fundraise quickly as both campaigns are expected to spend cash as soon as it comes in.
Trump’s 3 statewide endorsed candidates finished first. Only 1 was victorious
President Donald Trump endorsed three statewide candidates: Evette in the governor’s race, Cody Simpson for commissioner of agriculture, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
All three finished in first place in Tuesday’s primary, but only Graham, who some said was vulnerable after being booed at Trump rallies, clinched a nomination.
Evette and Simpson both have to go to runoffs, and neither had large leads over their runoff opponents.
In the race for governor, Evette received 136,390 votes or 28.86% of the ballots cast in Tuesday’s primary. Wilson received 123,559 votes or 26.15%.
In the race for commissioner of agriculture, Simpson received 163,973 votes or 38.14% of the ballots cast. Danny Ford II made the runoff too with 160,137 votes or 37.25%.
Receiving Trump’s endorsement can be key in GOP primary contests as the president holds a grip on the Republican Party. Most of the candidates he backs go on to win nominations.
June 23 will be another test of Trump’s influence.
Black candidates successful in Democratic primary
In statewide constitutional officer races that had contested Democratic primaries, a Black candidate won.
The Black voting bloc is the key demographic of the of Democratic coalition in South Carolina.
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson defeated McLeod and Webster in the governor’s race, who are both white.
Jason Belton defeated Edwina Winter for the nomination for Secretary of State.
Vincent Coe defeated former S.C. Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson to take on Treasurer Curtis Loftis in the general election.
Sylvia Wright defeated Lisa Ellis for the Democratic nomination for state superintendent of education.
Tiffany Boozer will be Democratic nominee for comptroller general after defeating fellow Black candidate Bruce Cole.
The Democratic Party’s only two white candidates for statewide office in November are Annie Andrews, who is running for U.S. Senate, and Richard Hricik who is running for attorney general.
Andrews defeated Brandon Brown and Kyle Freeman. Hricik was unopposed for the nomination for attorney general.
Nancy Mace and Alan Wilson buried the hatchet
When U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace and Wilson started maneuvering for the Republican nomination for governor early in 2025, the two had lots of animus between each other.
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Mace called Wilson a pedophile protector, criticized him for plea deals, and said he wasn’t prosecuting a case against her ex-fiance. That case is still under investigation by SLED and has not been referred to a prosecutor.
Wilson from time to time shot back and was critical of her treatment of law enforcement at the Charleston Airport when she berated officers who were providing her with security.
But in recent months, especially on debate stages where they appeared together, Wilson and Mace have been cordial toward each other. Wilson even called Mace to offer his condolences after her father died.
Mace endorsed Wilson’s campaign Tuesday night.
GOP voters reject outsiders in statewide elections
In the governor’s race Mace, Norman and Reddy all portrayed themselves as fighting against political insiders or the establishment.
In the attorney general’s race, 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, who was elected to that office as a Democrat but switched parties ahead of the 2026 election, said he would go after corruption in the State House.
Mark Lynch ran to oust Graham.
None of those candidates made the runoffs Tuesday night.
“For all the talk of anti-establishment, anti-incumbent sentiment … South Carolina is a pretty establishment Republican state,” CNN political analyst John King said Tuesday night.
What if Sanford stayed in the race
Former S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, who served two stints as the Lowcountry congressman, finished fourth in the Republican primary in the 1st Congressional District. The GOP primary in that race had 11 candidates.
But Sanford dropped out of the race one month after launching his bid for a second political comeback.
He had nearly $1.5 million cash on hand as of March 31, and has strong name recognition in the district.
It leads to the question, what if he stayed in the race and campaigned for the job? How well would he have performed? In a race where 67,034 ballots were cast, Sanford received 8,101 votes, or 12.08% of ballots, according to unofficial results. Charleston County Councilmember Jenny Costa Honeycutt finished first with 14,803 votes, or 22.08%. State Rep. Mark Smith received 12,058 votes for 17.99% of ballots.
Good night for most state House incumbents
All 124 seats in the state House of Representatives are up for election this year, and 34 incumbent members had contested primaries.
After Tuesday’s primaries, 30 of those incumbents secured their place in the November general election.
Two members lost, one is headed to runoff and one appears to be headed to an automatic recount.
State Rep. Luke Rankin, R-Laurens, lost in House District 14 against Rick Shealy. Rankin, who is in his first term, had replaced former state Rep. Stewart Jones, who was a member of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus. But Rankin didn’t join the group.
Rankin tried to shore up his conservative bona fides this year. He successfully pushed a resolution to rename a road in Laurens County in honor of Charlie Kirk. Rankin also was the lead sponsor of the congressional redistricting bill.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough for voters in the district.
In House District 121 in the Lowcountry, State Rep. Michael Rivers, D-Beaufort, who has held the office since 2017, lost to Shannon DeLoach.
Rivers is a 67-year-old minister. DeLoach is a 41-year-old pastor.
In the Upstate House District 8, state Rep. Don Chapman, R-Anderson, finished in first place, but with only 44.98% of the vote. Sherry Hodges was in a close second place with 42.53% of the vote.
Chapman, who is in his second term in the House, only led by 133 votes.
Patrick Orr, who finished in third, received 678 votes or 12.5% of the ballots cast.
In House District 36, state Rep. Rob Harris, R-Spartanburg led challenger Adam Crisp by 35 votes, which is less than 1 percentage point, according to Tuesday’s unofficial results. That margin is close enough for an automatic recount. However, provisional ballots may still come in to change the margin.
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