South Carolina voters went to the polls Tuesday in a crowded Republican primary for governor that has turned into one of the day’s most closely watched June 9 Primary Results Updates, with Rep. Nancy Mace facing Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Sam Evette and three other Republicans in a five-person race. The winner would move into a general election campaign in a state where the governor’s office is open because Henry McMaster is term-limited.
The contest drew attention well beyond South Carolina because President Donald Trump’s choice has become part of the race itself. Evette got the endorsement, even though Mace is one of the strongest challengers in the field, and she has said Trump passed over her because she pushed to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein. That has made the primary a test not just of name recognition, but of how much weight Trump still carries with Republican voters on a day when four states were holding elections for Congress, governor and other offices.
The field also included Attorney General Alan Wilson, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and Ron Reddy, giving Republicans a rare five-candidate lineup in a race that stayed tight through the final two-month stretch. Polls during that period showed the contenders within striking distance of one another, a sign that no one entered Tuesday with a clear lock on the nomination. In late May, a Citadel poll showed 46% of Republicans backing Lindsey Graham in his separate Senate bid and 36% supporting Mark Lynch, underscoring how closely some GOP races in the state were being watched as the primary season moved into June.
Chase Meyer, who has been tracking the race, said early June primaries can serve as tea leaves for what may happen in November and called South Carolina’s five-candidate governor field highly unusual. He said it is rare to see a real five-person race in recent elections, adding that anyone can finish ahead. Meyer also said Trump’s impact has absolutely been felt in the state and that his endorsements matter to Republican primary voters.
The broader argument in South Carolina has been shaped by the state’s rapid population growth, which is putting pressure on housing, jobs and health care. Candidates from both parties have also been talking about the need for more teachers, with Republicans emphasizing school choice, along with better roads and infrastructure to handle the growth. That makes the governor’s race more than a personality contest: it is a fight over who can sell a fix for a state changing faster than many of its leaders have expected.
What comes next is simpler and harder at the same time. The nominee will step into the November campaign as the Republican standard-bearer in a state that has become more crowded, more expensive and more politically important, and the result on Tuesday will show whether Trump’s backing still decides the race when the field is this open.
