Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette enters South Carolina governor’s race

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) — South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette launched her campaign for governor on Monday, ending months of speculation over whether she would enter the 2026 race.

The Upstate Republican teased her bid in a social media video posted hours before she was slated to make a “special announcement” in Greenville.

“Lt. Governor Evette has long championed conservative and Christian values,” a news release ahead of the July 14 announcement read. “She has stood by President Donald Trump since day one and worked alongside Gov. Henry McMaster to advocate for small businesses, promote economic growth, cut wasteful spending, increase public safety, and support South Carolina families.”

Gov. Henry McMaster chose Evette as his running mate in the 2018 gubernatorial election, and she has served as the lieutenant governor since 2019. She is the second woman and first Republican woman to hold the office.

Before assuming office, Evette founded Quality Business Solutions, Inc., a payroll, human resources, and benefits services company headquartered in Travelers Rest, S.C. She also previously served on the state’s Small Business Regulatory Review Committee, a group tasked with examining the impact of proposed regulations on small businesses.

Evette joins a growing field of Republicans vying to succeed McMaster, who cannot run again due to term limits. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Upstate Sen. Josh Kimbrell are seeking the GOP nomination already, and others like U.S. Reps. Ralph Norman and Nancy Mace have also said they are considering running.

A Winthrop University poll released this spring found that about one-third of South Carolinians said they were very or somewhat familiar with Evette, tying Norman on name recognition. Mace had the highest name recognition among potential contenders, followed by Wilson.

All are expected to jockey hard for an endorsement in the primary from President Donald Trump, who remains a wildly popular figure in ruby-red South Carolina.

Whoever wins the GOP nomination next June will be heavily favored heading into the general election, as no Democrat has won a statewide office in decades.

State Rep. Jermaine Johnson (D-Richland), who recently launched an exploratory committee, is the only person on the Democratic side to express interest in the office publicly.

This story is developing and will be updated.