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Ongoing story / South Carolina

The 2026 South Carolina governor race: Alan Wilson vs. Jermaine Johnson

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson won South Carolina's 2026 race for governor, defeating Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, and will succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster.[1][2] Wilson had won the Republican nomination by defeating Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in a June runoff; President Donald Trump first endorsed Evette and later backed Wilson too.[3]

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Wilson had won the Republican nomination by defeating Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in a June runoff; President Donald Trump first endorsed Evette and later backed Wilson too.[3]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-08-04 (UTC): 11%, 22 of 194 tracked outlets (5 left, 6 center, 11 right)Week of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 200 tracked outlets (2 left, 1 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): 2%, 7 of 415 tracked outlets (1 left, 3 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 2%, 10 of 471 tracked outlets (1 left, 5 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 1 more outlet off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (4 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 202615410 of 4712%
Jun 22, 20261337 of 4152%
Jun 8, 20262125 of 2003%
Aug 4, 2025561122 of 19411%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 4, 2026 · first reported · Headline from WCBD News 2

    Dr. Jermaine Johnson reflects on South Carolina Governor's race defeat

Background

Rep. Nancy Mace entered the Republican primary for South Carolina governor in August 2025, joining a crowded field seeking to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster.[2] In the June 2026 primary, Evette and Wilson advanced to a runoff, while Mace did not.[4]

Reporting on primary night put Evette at about 29.1% and Wilson at 26.5%, with neither winning a majority.[4] Trump subsequently endorsed Wilson as well as Evette. Wilson won the June 23 runoff and the Republican nomination.[3]

Supporting stories (4)
  1. Alan Wilson wins South Carolina governor's race
  2. Rep. Nancy Mace is latest Republican to announce bid for South Carolina governor
  3. Attorney General Alan Wilson wins runoff in South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, CBS News projects
  4. Trump-backed Pamela Evette advances to GOP primary runoff against Alan Wilson in South Carolina governor’s race

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 5 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Dr. Jermaine Johnson reflects on South Carolina Governor's race defeatHeadline from WSPA Greenville-Spartanburg · 2 outlets
  2. Alan Wilson wins South Carolina governor's raceHeadline from The Hill · 10 outlets

June 2026

  1. Attorney General Alan Wilson wins runoff in South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, CBS News projectsHeadline from CBS News · 7 outlets
  2. Trump-backed Pamela Evette advances to GOP primary runoff against Alan Wilson in South Carolina governor’s raceHeadline from NBC News · 5 outlets

August 2025

  1. Rep. Nancy Mace is latest Republican to announce bid for South Carolina governorHeadline from Roll Call · 23 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →