South Carolina gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

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← 2022
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: Pending
Primary: Pending Primary runoff: Pending General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in South Carolina
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
South Carolina executive elections
Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Agriculture Commissioner Comptroller Superintendent of Education Treasurer

South Carolina is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2026.

In South Carolina, the gubernatorial nominee is selected in the primary. The gubernatorial nominee then chooses a lieutenant gubernatorial running mate, and they run together on a single ticket in the general election.

To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Governor

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Governor of South Carolina

Pamela Evette, Josh Kimbrell, Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, and Alan Wilson are running in the general election for Governor of South Carolina on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Pamela Evette (R)
		Josh Kimbrell (R)
		Nancy Mace (R)
		Ralph Norman (R)
		Alan Wilson (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mullins McLeod (D)
• Thomas Ravenel (R)

Lieutenant Governor

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Pamela Evette (R)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

• Josh Kimbrell

Voting information

See also: Voting in South Carolina

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	9/9/2025	9/2/2025	8/26/2025	8/19/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.

2022

See also: South Carolina gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of South Carolina

Incumbent Henry McMaster defeated Joe Cunningham and Morgan Bruce Reeves in the general election for Governor of South Carolina on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry McMaster (R)	58.0	988,501
		Joe Cunningham (D)	40.7	692,691
		Morgan Bruce Reeves (L)	1.2	20,826
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,174

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,703,192
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jokie Beckett Jr. (Independence Party)
• Michael Copland (Independence Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of South Carolina

Joe Cunningham defeated Mia McLeod, Carlton Boyd, William Williams, and Calvin McMillan in the Democratic primary for Governor of South Carolina on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Cunningham	56.4	102,473
		Mia McLeod	31.1	56,406
		Carlton Boyd	5.3	9,579
		William Williams	3.8	6,829
		Calvin McMillan	3.5	6,303

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 181,590
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of South Carolina

Incumbent Henry McMaster defeated Harrison Musselwhite in the Republican primary for Governor of South Carolina on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry McMaster	83.3	306,543
		Harrison Musselwhite	16.7	61,462

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 368,005
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Al BellaVance (R)
• Mindy Steele (R)

Independence Party convention

Independence Party convention for Governor of South Carolina

Jokie Beckett Jr. and Michael Copland advanced from the Independence Party convention for Governor of South Carolina on May 27, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Jokie Beckett Jr. (Independence Party)
✔		Michael Copland (Independence Party)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Gary Votour (Labor Party)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Governor of South Carolina

Morgan Bruce Reeves advanced from the Libertarian convention for Governor of South Carolina on June 18, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Morgan Bruce Reeves (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: South Carolina gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of South Carolina

Incumbent Henry McMaster defeated James Smith Jr. in the general election for Governor of South Carolina on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry McMaster (R)	54.0	921,342
		James Smith Jr. (D)	45.9	784,182
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,045

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,707,569
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Martin Barry (American Party)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Governor of South Carolina

Incumbent Henry McMaster defeated John Warren in the Republican primary runoff for Governor of South Carolina on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry McMaster	53.6	184,286
	Submit photo	John Warren	46.4	159,349

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 343,635
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of South Carolina

James Smith Jr. defeated Marguerite Willis and Phil Noble in the Democratic primary for Governor of South Carolina on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Smith Jr.	61.8	148,633
		Marguerite Willis	27.5	66,248
		Phil Noble	10.6	25,587

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 240,468
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of South Carolina

Incumbent Henry McMaster and John Warren advanced to a runoff. They defeated Catherine Templeton, Kevin Bryant, and John McGill in the Republican primary for Governor of South Carolina on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Henry McMaster	42.3	155,723
✔	Submit photo	John Warren	27.8	102,390
		Catherine Templeton	21.4	78,705
		Kevin Bryant	6.7	24,790
		John McGill	1.7	6,375

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 367,983
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2014

Republican incumbent Nikki Haley won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Governor of South Carolina, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Nikki Haley Incumbent	55.9%	696,645
	Democratic	Vincent Sheheen	41.4%	516,166
	Libertarian	Steve French	1.2%	15,438
	Independent	Tom Ervin	0.9%	11,496
	United Citizens	Morgan Reeves	0.5%	5,622
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	934
Total Votes				1,246,301
Election results via South Carolina State Election Commission

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Governor of South Carolina official website
• Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina official website

Footnotes

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