South Carolina voters began shaping the state’s future political landscape on Tuesday, locking in a major Senate nomination while pushing both the Republican and Democratic races for governor into high-stakes summer runoffs.
Senate Nomination
In the state’s high-profile U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham clinched the GOP nomination as he campaigns for a fifth term in office. Graham, a close political confidant of President Donald Trump, secured the victory following an early endorsement from the president.
To bolster his 2026 re-election bid, Graham previously enlisted the state’s top Republicans, Senator Tim Scott and outgoing Governor Henry McMaster, to serve as his campaign chairs.
Gubernatorial Races
The general election remains a steep climb for Democrats in a state where Republicans historically dominate statewide races by double-digit margins. During his last re-election bid in 2020, Graham defeated Democrat Jaime Harrison by 10 percentage points, while Governor McMaster won his 2022 race by nearly 18 percentage points. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades.
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson have advanced to a runoff election scheduled for June 23. President Trump had heavily inserted himself into the primary, backing Evette over a field of challengers that included Representative Nancy Mace, coastal businessman Rom Reddy, and Representative Ralph Norman.
The Democratic primary for governor is also headed to a June 23 runoff, though confusion remains over the final candidate matchups. State Representative Jermaine Johnson, a three-term lawmaker from the Columbia area and a rising figure within the state party, successfully advanced to the runoff round.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
