Published by TrenBuzz.com | June 10, 2026 | ELECTION NIGHT RESULTS
Key Points at a Glance – Nancy Mace Finishes a Distant Fifth
- Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette finished first with 29% and AG Alan Wilson second with 26% in the SC governor primary.
- Both advance to a June 23 runoff after no candidate reached 50% of the vote.
- Rep. Nancy Mace finished a distant fifth with just 12.2%, despite touting her Trump loyalty.
- Mace’s Epstein files vote directly cost her Trump’s endorsement and the race.
- Mace immediately endorsed Wilson after the results came in.
- Evette told supporters Trump personally called and said “We are going to fight, and we are going to win this runoff big.”
Nancy Mace once had the inside track to Trump’s endorsement. She once appeared at nearly every Trump event. But Tuesday night, 12 percent of voters was all she got. The Epstein files vote ended her governor’s race before it really began.
Mace wound up finishing a distant fifth in the primary, placing third or fourth in the counties within the congressional district she represents. Earlier in the campaign, Mace looked like she might have an inside track to Trump’s endorsement, enjoying a close relationship with him. But the relationship began to sour as Mace championed the release of the federal government’s files on the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mace Goes Down Swinging
“I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that. As a survivor, I chose to stand on principle and stand against the Epstein cover-up,” she said in her concession statement. Despite her crushing defeat, Mace immediately endorsed Alan Wilson, whom she was previously deeply critical of, after having made amends with him.
The Evette-Wilson Runoff and What It Means
Both Evette and Wilson have committed to a debate on June 16 in Conway, with the runoff election taking place the week after on June 23. Evette led the field with 29.3% of the vote, with Wilson at 26% when the runoff was called. “We are going to fight, and we are going to win this runoff big,” Trump told Evette by phone Tuesday night, and she relayed the message to cheering supporters.
South Carolina primary results 2026 Evette Wilson runoff Mace eliminated: The winner of the June 23 runoff will face state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, who ABC News projects will win the Democratic primary. This is the first open South Carolina governor’s race since 2010, with term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster unable to run again.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational and news reporting purposes only. All primary results are unofficial as of June 9, 2026, sourced from ABC News, NBC News, WLTX, WISTV, and the 19th News. TrenBuzz.com does not endorse any political candidate or party. Readers are encouraged to follow official South Carolina State Election Commission sources for certified results.