Who's In the Race

Republican Alan Wilson and Democrat Jermaine Johnson face each other in South Carolina's governor's race on Nov. 3. The seat is open, with incumbent Republican Henry McMaster leaving the governor's office. Walid Hakim won the Green Party primary, and the Green Party is among the parties on the November 3 ballot. ​

In the June 9 primaries, Johnson won the Democratic contest with 60 percent of the vote, more than double the share of runner-up Billy Webster's 30 percent. On the Republican side, no candidate cleared the threshold needed to avoid a runoff: Pamela Evette led with 29 percent and Wilson finished second with 26 percent, forcing a June 23 runoff. Wilson won that runoff with 69 percent of the vote, defeating Evette by 118,342 votes. Hakim ran unopposed in the Green Party primary.

Endorsements

Wilson has drawn endorsements from Donald Trump and fellow statewide officials, including Kris Kobach, Liz Murrill, Mike Hilgers, J.B. McCuskey, and Patrick Morrisey.

Johnson has received endorsements from statewide officials Andy Beshear, Wes Moore, and Gavin Newsom.

The South Carolina Green Party has endorsed Hakim.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Polling

Every major race-rating service puts Wilson in the driver's seat. Cook Political Report rates the race Solid Republican, updated Oct. 28. Sabato's Crystal Ball also rates it Solid Republican, updated Oct. 28. Inside Elections rates it Solid Republican, updated Oct. 23. The 270toWin consensus rates it Likely Republican, updated Oct. 23. Three of the four services agree on the strongest possible rating in Wilson's favor, a level of unanimity that signals forecasters see little realistic path for Johnson to close the gap before Election Day.

Previous Elections

In the 2024 presidential election, South Carolina backed Donald Trump with 58 percent of the vote to Kamala Harris's 40 percent, an 18-point margin, based on the 2024 presidential vote figures.

In the last governor's race, in 2022, Republican Henry McMaster won with 988,501 votes to Democrat Joe Cunningham's 692,691, a margin of 295,810 votes. McMaster won roughly 59 percent of the two-party vote in 2022, counting only his total and Democrat Joe Cunningham's. Johnson would need to dramatically outperform Cunningham's 2022 showing to make the race competitive.

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