Voters Head to the Polls Tuesday for Republican Primary Runoff
June 22, 2026
Laurens County voters return to the polls Tuesday, June 23, to settle a slate of Republican primary runoffs, after 904 residents cast ballots during the county’s early voting period.
Early voting ran June 17 and 18 at the Laurens County Voter Registration and Elections Office at 105 Bolt Drive in Laurens, part of a two-day window offered in all 46 South Carolina counties. On Election Day, precincts across the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters must report to their assigned precinct rather than the central early voting site.
The runoff exists because several June 9 races ended without a candidate reaching a majority. Other contests were settled that night and will not appear again until the November 3 general election, including the U.S. Senate race, where Sen. Lindsey Graham captured the Republican nomination outright, and the Democratic contest for governor, claimed by state Rep. Jermaine Johnson.
On the Ballot
Laurens County voters will weigh in on three statewide Republican runoffs and one local race:
- Governor, Republican nomination: Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson
- Attorney General, Republican nomination: 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo and state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch
- Commissioner of Agriculture, Republican nomination: Cody Simpson and Danny Ford II
- Laurens County Council, District 4: Jimmy Poole and Lonnie Wilson
Governor’s Race Draws Late National Attention
In the governor’s race, Evette finished first in the June 9 primary with about 29 percent of the vote, with Wilson close behind at roughly 26 percent, neither reaching the majority needed to win the nomination. The winner advances to face Johnson in November as South Carolina prepares to elect a new governor for the first time since 2018. Gov. Henry McMaster is term-limited and cannot seek another term.
The contest took a notable turn in its closing days. President Donald Trump, who had endorsed Evette in late May before the primary, announced on June 19 that he was extending his support to both candidates. “I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the two “MAGA and America First all the way.”
Evette responded by reaffirming her standing as the president’s first-endorsed candidate. “I was proud to come in first as President Donald J. Trump’s endorsed candidate for Governor on June 9th,” she said. “Looking forward to doing it again on June 23rd.”
In the weeks between the primary and the runoff, Wilson, the son of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, also picked up endorsements from former primary rivals Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Ralph Norman, as well as Sen. Tim Scott. Wilson, who has served as attorney general since 2011 and holds the rank of colonel in the South Carolina Army National Guard’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, said he was honored by the president’s support and ready to “keep fighting for South Carolina.”
A Strong Lakelands Connection in the Attorney General Race
The attorney general runoff fills the open seat Wilson is leaving behind and carries a strong Lakelands connection. David Stumbo is in his fourth term as the 8th Judicial Circuit’s lead prosecutor over a jurisdiction that includes Laurens County, and he kicked off his campaign last fall with an announcement at the Laurens County Museum. Stephen Goldfinch represents a coastal Senate district that includes Georgetown and Horry counties.
Open Seat for Agriculture Commissioner
The agriculture commissioner runoff will also decide an open statewide seat, as longtime Commissioner Hugh Weathers steps down. Cody Simpson, a fifth-generation farmer endorsed by Trump, edged out a narrow lead over Danny Ford II, a farmer and the son of former Clemson football coach Danny Ford. The winner faces Democrat DeShawn Blanding in November.
The Lone Local Runoff
The County Council District 4 contest is the only local runoff. Jimmy Poole and Lonnie Wilson were the top two finishers in a three-way June 9 race, with Jimmy Poole drawing 879 votes to Lonnie Wilson’s 752, short of an outright win. The winner will fill the seat Councilman Brown Patterson currently holds. Only District 4 residents may vote in that contest.
Who Can Vote
Voters who chose a Republican ballot on June 9, along with those who sat out the primary entirely, may take part in the runoff. Voters who cast a Democratic ballot cannot vote in the Republican runoff.
A valid photo ID is required at the polls. Accepted forms include a South Carolina driver’s license, a state-issued identification card, a U.S. passport, a federal military ID, or a South Carolina voter registration card bearing a photo. A free photo ID is available from the county elections office or the DMV for anyone who needs one.
Voters with questions about their registration, sample ballot, or assigned precinct can contact the Laurens County Voter Registration and Elections Office at 105 Bolt Drive in Laurens, or look up their information at scVOTES.gov.
