by Gavin Jackson, originally published June 7, 2025 on SC Public Radio
On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 7, 2025: state Democrats got a boost with a big special election House seat win; Lt. Gov. Pam Evette continues to test the waters; we look at some of the ramifications of the tariffs on businesses in our region; and more!
by Andrew Brown, originally posed by My Horry News on June 4, 2025
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette hasn’t announced a run for governor, but she’s moving and speaking like a candidate.
Her most recent stop in the Palmetto State brought her back to Horry County — where she and her family own a home — for a townhall at Veterans Cafe and Grille in Myrtle Beach on Tuesday evening, June 3.
Speaking to a packed crowd of approximately 100 Republicans — many sporting President Donald Trump themed apparel and spilling out the doors of the cafe — Evette shook hands, posed for photos and delivered a message heavy on economic growth and conservative values.
“I’m excited for South Carolina because we have a lot of great things happening,” Evette said.
She fielded questions from the audience, touching on core conservative issues — including cracking down on illegal immigration, backing law enforcement and cutting taxes. But no issue got more of a reaction from the crowd than the idea of eliminating South Carolina’s state income tax.
“I’ll be very clear. We can and will get South Carolina to a zero state income tax. We are U-Haul’s number one drop off state. The secret’s out, people, we can’t turn on a ‘closed’ sign,” Evette said. “We are now competing against other states: Tennessee, Florida, Texas. They’ve done it, and we can do it.”
Evette said her and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster have worked closely with the Trump administration during their tenure. McMaster was sworn in as Governor in 2017 following former Gov. Nikki Haley’s appointment as Ambassador to the United Nations, and Evette was elected Lt. Gov. in Nov. 2018. Both McMaster and Evette were re-elected to four-year terms in 2022.
“I think we have had a great legacy. We’ve seen amazing growth and change within our state, lots of amazing things are happening, and there’s still a lot left on the docket left to do,” Evette said. “I think the key part is just our amazing relationship with the Trump administration and being able to work with them hand in glove. So, I’m really excited about things to come.”
by Adam Benson, originally posted by WBTW News 2 June 4, 2025
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Pamela Evette is among the handful of big-name Republicans whose names are tied to next year’s gubernatorial race, and she spent time in Myrtle Beach on Monday touting her record of success.
The Ohio native has been in office since 2019, when Gov. Henry McMaster selected her as a running mate.
Evette hasn’t formally said whether she’s planning a run for the state’s highest office, but has been linked to the job along with other contenders, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Mace, in particular, has launched attacks against both.
“Gov. McMaster has said that I’m the best lieutenant governor in the country. President Trump said I was doing a great job, so I’ll take their compliments over Nancy Mace’s criticisms any day,” Evette said following a town hall meeting at Veterans Cafe and Grille. “I’m going to continue to do what I do. I’m going to help business, I’m going to work on school choice.”
Evette said she hasn’t yet committed to running for governor, but hinted at the likelihood as she spoke with reporters.
“Now that session is over, this is the time to start to think about what’s going to happen but I do believe this legacy that the governor and I have had does need to continue on. I think it’s been very successful, and it’s worked very well for the people of South Carolina.”
Earlier in the night, Evette said building up technical college systems is the best way to build an employee pipeline for manufacturers.
“We can do better creating a workforce for tomorrow, and we can do that by ‘let’s start reappropriating some of this money going to big colleges, and let’s give it to our technical college system,’” she said. “It is something that I’ve been talking about for the seven years that I’ve been in office.”
by Andrew James, originally posted June 3, 2025 by ABC 15 News
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette fielded questions in front of Myrtle Beach residents during a town hall meeting on Tuesday night.
Although Evette has not officially announced her candidacy for South Carolina Governor, discussions within the county and state Republican Party suggest she may be considering a bid to succeed Henry McMaster.
Evette, who has served as lieutenant governor for nearly seven years following a career in accounting, shared her vision for South Carolina’s future.
She emphasized the importance of expanding school vouchers, eliminating the state income tax, and leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance government efficiency.
“We are now competing against those other states, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas. They’ve done it. We can do it. We’re going to implement DOGE here in South Carolina,” Evette said. “We can cut taxes and be more efficient, and we’ve got to take a broad, comprehensive look at taxes in general.”
A majority of the town hall involved Evette’s views on Trump’s policies and whether she would support seeing those practices on the state level. Evette envisioned a push for more government efficiency and suggested lawmakers set sunset dates on all state regulations required to be reformed after a certain threshold of time for every regulation at the state level.
“We’re never going to be able to hire enough people to outpace the growth we have in our state,” Evette said. “If you do things more efficiently, there’s more money at the end of the month.”
Evette also shared her support for the state to send more support to technical colleges to promote building upon the need for stronger cybersecurity and a blue-collar workforce.
“When we do that, we’re going to see educational outcomes soar,” Evette said. “When you have hope, nothing will stop you. And that’s what I see. That’s what I’m excited about. That’s what I like to talk about.”
The town hall event was not part of Evette’s formal schedule as lieutenant governor. She is expected to return to Myrtle Beach later this week for the 10th Annual Carolina Country Music Fest this weekend.
By Crysty Vaughan, originally published June 2, 2025 by ABC Columbia
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)–At the SC State House today, Lt. Governor Pamela Evette, along with Palmetto Pride, kicked off the “Zero Tolerance Litter Campaign” for the summer.
The campaign aims to keep our roadways clean by creating awareness of South Carolina’s litter laws.
According to a release from Palmetto Pride, with the start of summer travel, an estimated 20% of roadside litter originates from unsecured loads, June is Zero Tolerance for Litter Month in conjunction with National Secure Your Load Day on June 6.
Buy Meghan Gonyo, originally posted May 29, 2025 by ABC News 4
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — South Carolina has taken a significant step in addressing the growing issue of explicit images shared online, including those created with artificial intelligence. Governor Henry McMaster signed the Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act into law on Thursday, making it a felony to distribute real or AI-generated intimate images without consent.
The new legislation aims to tackle the problem of revenge porn and deep fakes, which have become increasingly prevalent. State Representative Brandon Guffey, who lost his 17-year-old son, Gavin, to an online sextortion scheme, was a strong advocate for the law. “If he knew that there was a way to ensure that these images would not stay out there, than maybe he wouldn’t have ended up taking his life,” Guffey said.
The law, which took three years to pass, updates a previous statute from 1996 and imposes stricter penalties. First-time offenders could face up to five years in prison, while repeat offenders may receive up to ten years. “The important thing was to sit there and see my other two sons while the bill was being signed and for them to know their brothers’ loss was not in vain,” Guffey added.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette emphasized the state’s commitment to enforcing the law. “Law enforcement, our Solicitors, they are looking for you, if you choose to do bad acts that hurt people in South Carolina, you will not get away with it,” she said.
The legislation is part of a broader effort to protect individuals online, with similar federal measures like the Take It Down Act also being enacted. These laws aim to remove exploitation from the internet, with federal penalties including up to three years for offenders targeting minors.
State leaders, including Attorney General Alan Wilson, are committed to keeping pace with digital threats. A separate measure aimed at accelerating the process of catching child predators was also signed into law recently.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster held a signing Thursday morning of a bill designed to protect South Carolinians from deepfake and revenge pornography.
House Bill H.3058, the Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act, creates a felony offense for individuals who share intimate images with the intent to cause physical, mental, economic, or reputational harm to the person depicted.
That includes AI-generated images made to look like real photos of an identifiable person.
“As technology advances, so too must our laws to keep pace with emerging threats and protect personal privacy,” McMaster said. “This legislation sends a clear message that those who harm others by sharing explicit images without their consent will be held fully accountable.”
The governor noted that while a right to privacy is not found in the United States Constitution, it is mentioned in South Carolina’s Constitution.
“So we have a basis for these kinds of laws,” he said. “It can’t be challenged and that’s good news for the people of South Carolina.”
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Attorney General Alan Wilson and Rep. Chris Wooten, R-Lexington, the bill’s primary sponsor, joined McMaster for the signing.
“It’s taken a lot of work and the help of our friends in the Senate to get this passed,” Wooten said. “This is a great day in South Carolina, as we are now not the only state that does not have a revenge porn statute. I am proud to have helped mend this together.”
A first offense carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to five years in prison. A second or subsequent offense carries a maximum fine of $10,000 and a prison sentence of one to ten years.
The law also establishes penalties for individuals who share intimate images without the intent to cause physical, mental, economic, or reputational harm to the person depicted. A first offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to one year in prison. A second or subsequent offense is classified as a felony, punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to five years in prison.
The legislation defines “digitally forged intimate images” to include images that are created by AI or other computer or machine-generated means.
It also clarifies that a person’s consent to create or privately share an image does not imply consent for the wider distribution of the image.
Thursday morning’s signing was ceremonial because McMaster officially signed the bill on May 12 at which point the law immediately went into effect.
But before that signature earlier this month, the Palmetto State stood alone in the country as the only state that had no law on the books targeting revenge porn.
By Matthew Christian, originally posted by the Aiken Standard on May 28, 2025
AIKEN — A potential Republican gubernatorial nominee supports changes to how most judges are elected in the Palmetto State and efforts to make South Carolina’s government more efficient.
Lt. Governor Pamela Evette was asked about both topics during a question-and-answer session at a May 27 Aiken Republican Republican Club meeting at Newberry Hall.
“Do you support changing the election of judges by the legislature and can it be done in South Carolina,” an anonymous person asked Evette via an index card.
The 170-member South Carolina General Assembly elects South South Carolina Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Court and Family Court judges. The governor nominates and the Senate confirms magistrate judges and masters-in-equity. Probate court judges are elected by popular vote.
Evette said she supported a system in which the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Court and Family Court judges would be nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.
“The governor should appoint and the Senate should confirm and when you do that it pretty much falls on the back of of one person,” Evette continued.
If implemented in the Palmetto State, the nomination-and-confirmation process would mirror how federal judges are selected.
“Like the governor has said… I believe the federal system is really, really good,” Evette said.
There are concerns that the lawyer-legislators serving in the South Carolina General Assembly — in 2023, 46% of the state’s senators and 27% of the state’s representatives were lawyers — could slow or stall the process to preserve the current system.
“Well, we said tort reform couldn’t be done, but it got done this year,” Evette continued. “So, I think anything can happen.”
Another anonymous question writer asked Evette about the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving Medicaid.
“Medicaid was never meant to give to non-U.S. citizens and that’s what they’re stopping,” Evette said.
Evette added that she’s a huge fan of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“I’m an accountant by trade for all of you who don’t know,” Evette said.
Evette and her husband, David, founded Quality Business Solutions, an Upstate firm that helps businesses with accounting and human resources.
“I used to call it efficiency when I was in public accounting,” Evette said. “I worked with companies to learn how to be efficient… and utilize the money that they had to grow their businesses. That’s what President Trump is doing now. That’s what Elon Musk is doing now.”
The state of South Carolina is constitutionally mandated to have a balanced budget — expenses are equal to revenues — unlike the federal government, Evette continued. And the state’s rainy day fund is as big as it’s ever been, she added.
“I don’t believe that we are sending money to foreign entities to do Sesame Street and some weird language that I don’t even know,” Evette said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development provided $20 million to fund an Iraqi version of the popular children’s program, Musk said earlier this year. The DOGE team has eliminated that grant but there are still several legal challenges to DOGE’s actions ongoing.
“But can we be more efficient? Yes,” Evette said. “The best of companies will tell you they can always run more efficiently. Should we leverage AI? Should we leverage technology? Absolutely we should. Because that’s how you save money.”
Making the state more efficient is part of the path to lower and eliminate the state’s income tax rates, Evette said.
“I have said forever, I want to see South Carolina be a zero-state income tax state,” she added. “But you have to be able to do that by being efficient, right? You have to be able to walk and chew your gum at the same time.”
Evette is one of several candidates considering a bid for the 2026 Republican nomination.
Other potential candidates include S.C. Sens. Sean Bennett and Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Filing for the nomination will open next March. The primary and any needed runoffs will be held next June.
By Carl Dawson, originally published May 27, 2025 by Aiken Standard
AIKEN — Ground was ceremonially broken May 27 on the campus of USC Aiken for the S.C. National Guard Cyber Integration Center and Readiness Center, two facilities costing a total of nearly $45 million.
Maj. Gen. Robin Stillwell, adjutant general of the S.C. National Guard, called it “the greatest single investment in one location in the history of the South Carolina National Guard.”
“That’s a big deal, but really the biggest deal about all of this is the investment that we are making with our collaborators and our partners here today,” Stillwell said, listing local, state and federal authorities, members of the Department of Defense and other federal entities, USCA and other academic institutions.
“This project promises to be a platform for human and technological advancement focused on education, workforce development and prototyping. It also promises to be a platform into the future, nested in national security priorities,” he said.
“We are very excited across the river that this extension of the energy across the CSRA is happening,” said Maj. Gen. Ryan Janovic, commanding officer of Fort Eisenhower in Augusta and of the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence located there. He said $1.4 billion in construction is underway at Fort Eisenhower.
“Never do we think about the building as something unto itself. It’s always about the team within it. The building and its network and team and the innovative spirit that happens within the walls of these types of facilities are the magic,” Janovic said.
He called the cross-border collaboration “something unique and something that is significantly contributing to our national security.”
The CSRA is rapidly emerging as a hub for cybersecurity and STEM development, with Aiken and USC Aiken playing an integral role in this transformation through “leveraging the power of proximity” with its centralized location bridging cyber assets in Georgia, to the midlands, the upstate and the coast of South Carolina, said Dr. Daniel Heimmermann, chancellor of USC Aiken.
“As we know, the menace of cyberattacks is undeterred by state boundaries or geographical features like rivers, or the gates of a university or college,” he said. “As is true of the mission of this university, the South Carolina National Guard facilities that we celebrate today are truly regional and national assets that will be a service to us all.”
He said the projects are the culmination of more than a decade of work and collaboration between the S.C. National Guard, USC Aiken, political leaders and others, and that more than $145 million was being invested in regional cybersecurity assets.
“The goals that have inspired the key partnerships between USC Aiken and the S.C. National Guard and the Savannah River National Laboratory and others very much align with the national priorities in areas such as advanced manufacturing, cyber protection of our critical infrastructure, AI, energy resilience and grid protection,” Heimmermann said.
“USCA’s partnership with the guard’s Cyber Integration Center will synergize the opportunity for accelerated economic growth, educational opportunities and workforce development,” he said.
“The governor and I … are very excited to see what is happening here. Thank you to all our partners in the statehouse for seeing how critical this all is,” said S.C. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
“The governor and I have been very forward focused on looking at what is going to be the workforce of tomorrow, and how do we continue to inspire young minds to know that these are the careers that we need?” she said.
Evette called the project “another example of how here in South Carolina we communicate, we collaborate, and we cooperate together to get great things done.”
S.C. Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken, said teamwork by the legislative delegation and the leadership of Aiken County government leadership secured the funding for the project in June 2022.
“Our delegation is so proud that we could be part of this game-changing investment that will bring cyber security opportunities and workforce development to generations of South Carolinians and people in this region for years to come,” Young said.
“This cyber issue couldn’t be more important. We recognize now that sadly we are in a war that we did not choose,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. “We have to face it.”
“With this in mind, for peace through strength, this command is going to be so important,” Wilson said.
“We live in an idyllic community, but Aiken is not immune,” said S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, listing the Savannah River Site, the Savannah River National Lab, the SRS Plutonium Pit Production Facility, Meta and AGY as likely targets of cyberattack.
“Thankfully, the South Carolina National Guard Cyber Integration Center will help protect our nation, our state, the critical infrastructure and all of the businesses that I just talked about,” Taylor said “The partnership and the collaboration with USC Aiken, SRS and the business community will pay dividends for decades to come.”
By Elizabeth Husted, originally posted by The Post and Courier North Augusta on May 26, 2025
NORTH AUGUSTA — The breezy sunshine of a Wednesday morning at SRP Park had a couple dozen kids out playing ball with the lieutenant governor, a couple of the GreenJackets athletes and pro staff with Major League Baseball.
“They love coming here and what better way to learn?” Aiken’s Danielle Hand said, admitting she pulled her 6-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter out of school for it, something she wouldn’t normally do. “But today, this is hands-on learning, so I thought, let’s take advantage of this.”
Major League’s Play Ball event wasn’t meant to be on a school day, not originally. But then, a near hurricane wasn’t supposed to hit the day before, either. The kids’ baseball clinic that was held May 21 had first been set for the day after Helene.
So, there was Hand’s daughter, out there on left field, going through some drills and making friends already, Hand observed – a lot of socializing, but she is interested in trying softball, she said. And her son, two days after his sixth birthday. “He loves all the sports and if he can run – even better.”
The Play Ball initiative started 10 years ago, with a first event in the Bronx. It was just six months after Rob Manfred assumed office as commissioner of Major League Baseball.
“It really kind of emanated from his new administration at the time, having a focus on growing the game at the youth level, at the grassroots level,” Bennett Shields said.
Shields is senior manager of baseball and softball for MLB and was on the field at SRP Park this week.
MLB has brought its youth baseball clinics to minor and major league parks, to community rec centers and high school gyms, “from Alaska to Japan to North Augusta, South Carolina,” he said.
Play Ball, at its core, he said, is meant “to introduce young children to the game of baseball and softball, to diamond sports; to provide a non-competitive, accessible opportunity for them to come try the sport; re-invigorate their love for the game if they’re already playing; and give them an opportunity to work with professional athletes at times and our staff of professional coaches.”
Or to kick it with the lieutenant governor, South Carolina’s Pamela Evette saying she was “all in” when she heard about this new partnership between MLB’s Play Ball and states’ seconds in command.
“Getting our kids outside, getting those cell phones and computers and Gameboys out of their hands and [giving them] a bat and a ball and getting them running and playing… that is really the secret to having really healthy, well-adjusted children,” she said.
Evette played second base for softball growing up.
“It was a few years back,” she laughed – then recalled riding her bike to the rec enter for both the softball and the rec ball and then going on to play in middle school.”
“It was fun; it was great relationships,” she said. “It was learning how to work with a team and work as a team. Great life lessons are learned right here, in organized sports.”
Lisa Reeves, of North Augusta, brought her grandson, now 5, to SRP Park for the morning’s fun.
“He was very excited; I told him this morning,” she said, eying him from the stands, a Red Sox cap on his head as he readied himself for a swing at the T-Ball.
