CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Extremely early polling shows South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette with a slight lead among likely Republican voters in the state’s 2026 governor’s race.
The Trafalgar Group, an Atlanta-based political research group, polled 1,127 likely Republican voters between March 8-10 and found 31 percent of voters said they would vote for Evette.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who represents South Carolina’s First Congressional District, locked in 29 percent while Attorney General Alan Wilson maintains a close third with 27 percent of the vote.
About 11 percent said they’d vote for Rep. Ralph Norman, who represents the state’s Fifth Congressional District.
While prospective candidates are starting to position themselves for a run at the governor’s mansion, no one has officially announced their intentions yet.
The same poll questioned voters on how they feel about a variety of issues, including the performance of the president, tort reform and changes to state income tax.
On President Donald Trump’s work in office so far, the poll showed 73.7 percent of South Carolina Republicans approve of how he’s handling the job.
The poll shows there’s strong support, nearly 65 percent, for House Bill H. 3497, which would reform liquor liability for bars and restaurants but less support for the current tort reforms in Senate Bill S.244. Nearly 55 percent of those polled said they view the bill unfavorably.
When it comes to eliminating the state income tax through House Bill 3733, more than 80 percent of people polled supported the idea. However, the question set sets up respondents to believe cutting state income tax would generate more revenue by spending cuts and making the state more competitive.
The polls also found strong support for an SC DOGE with about 75 percent of people saying they view House Resolution 3926 and Senate Resolution 318 favorably or very favorably. 44 percent said it’s their top legislative priority.Those who responded to the poll were primarily white and over the age of 65 with a near even split between men and women.
The group reports a 2.9 percent margin of error.
Click here to read the full findings.