Story perspectives

South Carolina Record Early Voting Spurs Evette-Wilson Runoff

6/10/2026

Center

Evette Leads Runoff

South Carolina’s June 9 primary recorded a historic early-voting turnout and marked the first open governor’s race in 16 years.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson finished first and second in the Republican primary, prompting a June 23 runoff.
President Donald Trump and Gov. Henry McMaster endorsed Evette while former Rep. Nancy Mace backed Wilson.
Early voting hit 151,670 ballots in week one, surpassing the 2024 primary’s total early-vote turnout.

Right

Mace Concedes

Rep. Nancy Mace publicly conceded the governor’s race at her watch party and endorsed Alan Wilson.
Pamela Evette and Alan Wilson both secured spots in the Republican primary runoff for South Carolina governor.
Lindsey Graham captured the statewide Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina recently.
Rom Reddy officially withdrew from the South Carolina GOP governor race now.

Blindspot

Center coverage emphasized the record-breaking early-voting turnout, noting 151,670 ballots in the first week and the first open gubernatorial race in 16 years.
Right coverage did not include those early-vote figures or the Trump and McMaster endorsements of Pamela Evette.

History

Historical Context

In 2016 Trump first won SC GOP primary, showing strength among evangelicals. The state’s “first in the South” contest grew in importance, and by Feb 24 2024 the primary allocated 50 delegates, with Trump breaking the vote-total record set by George W. Bush in 2000. This historic surge fuels current GOP mobilization and the June 9 governor race.

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Evette Leads Runoff

South Carolina’s June 9 primary recorded a historic early-voting turnout and marked the first open governor’s race in 16 years.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson finished first and second in the Republican primary, prompting a June 23 runoff.
President Donald Trump and Gov. Henry McMaster endorsed Evette while former Rep. Nancy Mace backed Wilson.
Early voting hit 151,670 ballots in week one, surpassing the 2024 primary’s total early-vote turnout.

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