State executive race · November 3, 2026
Governor
The governor is South Carolina's chief executive, who proposes the state budget, signs or vetoes legislation, and appoints the heads of many state agencies.
4-year term. Open seat: no incumbent is running. Open seat: Gov. Henry McMaster (R) is term-limited. Governor and lieutenant governor run on a joint ticket. Alan Wilson won the June 23, 2026 Republican runoff with 68.6% over Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette; Jermaine Johnson won the June 9 Democratic primary with 59.7%. The Green and United Citizens parties also have nominees, so four tickets are printed on the ballot. The S.C. Workers Party nominee, Gary Votour, withdrew and endorsed Johnson. No certified write-in candidates were identified.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Michael Addison
Medical director (per campaign)Running mate: Candace Brewer (Lieutenant Governor)
Addison is the United Citizens Party nominee for governor. His campaign describes him as a medical director, a licensed asbestos inspector and property damage analyst, and a community organizer with R.A.C.E., a group working on foreclosure prevention and job training. His campaign themes include health care, environmental accountability, property rights and community economic support.
Walid Hakim
U.S. Marine Corps veteranRunning mate: Arnold E. Karr (Lieutenant Governor)
Hakim is the Green Party nominee for governor. Born in Kuwait to an American mother, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and he has previously been affiliated with the Republican and Democratic parties and briefly explored the Libertarian Party. His proposals include a statewide high-speed rail system, year-round schooling, a government-backed insurance program and audits of every state agency.
Jermaine Johnson
State Representative, S.C. House of Representatives (since 2020)Running mate: Sam Skardon (Lieutenant Governor)
Johnson has represented parts of Richland and Kershaw counties in the S.C. House since December 2020, and he played professional basketball after playing at the College of Charleston. He won the June 9, 2026 Democratic primary with 59.7% of the vote; his running mate is Sam Skardon, a Charleston nonprofit lender and former Charleston County Democratic Party chair. His campaign focuses on affordability, including income and property tax relief for working families, Medicaid expansion, infrastructure and public safety.
Alan Wilson
South Carolina Attorney General (since 2011)Running mate: Mike Reichenbach (Lieutenant Governor)
Wilson has been South Carolina's attorney general since January 2011 and is a colonel in the South Carolina National Guard who served in Iraq. He won the June 23, 2026 Republican runoff over Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette with 68.6% of the vote; his running mate is state Sen. Mike Reichenbach of Florence County. His campaign centers on eliminating the state income tax, auditing government spending, public safety and school choice.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Michael Addison United Citizens | Walid Hakim Green | Jermaine Johnson Democratic | Alan Wilson Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care | Says "a healthy state starts with healthy people." | Proposes a government-backed insurance program, with most plans free or low-cost. | Supports Medicaid expansion and funding new rural hospitals. | Opposes Medicaid expansion, citing its cost to the state budget; supports rural clinics, telemedicine and incentives for medical workers in underserved areas. |
| Energy & Environment | Calls for "environmental accountability." | No public position found yet | Supports a moratorium on data centers and says communities should have the final say on whether they are built. | Opposes a moratorium on data centers; favors local control and state rules requiring data centers to generate their own energy. |
| Abortion | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports protecting reproductive rights, saying medical decisions "are best left to families and their doctors." | Describes himself as "unequivocally pro-life"; says he would veto S. 1095, a bill that would remove exceptions for rape, incest and fatal fetal anomalies. |
| Economy & Jobs | Highlights job training and community-level economic support. | No public position found yet | Proposes a labor advisory council to recommend a state minimum wage and steps against "dishonest corporate wage theft." | No public position found yet |
| Education | No public position found yet | Proposes a year-round approach to public education. | No public position found yet | Supports fully funding public schools and universal school choice. |
| Housing | Highlights foreclosure prevention and relief for people experiencing homelessness. | No public position found yet | Proposes grants so municipalities can "convert existing structures into affordable housing units." | No public position found yet |
| Immigration | No public position found yet | Opposes the militarization of agencies such as ICE and says they do not "have a place in South Carolina," arguing the state does not have an immigration problem. | No public position found yet | Supports denying state benefits to people in the country illegally and state and local help with federal immigration enforcement. |
| Infrastructure | No public position found yet | Proposes a statewide high-speed rail system for passengers and cargo. | Proposes letting municipalities use state transportation funds to "fix their own roads and bridges." | No public position found yet |
| Public Safety | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports higher pay and more hiring for police, mental health response teams, and a statewide ban on license-plate reader cameras, citing privacy concerns. | Supports tougher penalties for fentanyl and violent offenders; views license-plate reader cameras as a useful law enforcement tool while seeking more information on data use. |
| Taxes | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Proposes raising the share of families who pay no state income tax to 70% and working with local governments to lower property taxes; opposes eliminating the income tax, saying it would mainly benefit the wealthiest. | Proposes eliminating the state income tax and eliminating vehicle property taxes for seniors and veterans. |
| Guns | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Calls himself a "fierce defender of the Second Amendment." |