COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson will be on the ballot this November as the state elects its first new governor in nearly a decade.
Wilson decisively defeated Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in Tuesday’s runoff election in the South Carolina Republican primary.
“I will always have the courage to fight for you,” Wilson told supporters in downtown Columbia. “I will always tell you the truth. So I want to say thank you to everyone in here sweating with me. I want to thank all of you out there watching this. Join the movement. It is real, and it’s going to change South Carolina forever.”
The race was called in his favor within half an hour.
Wilson led Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in early returns.
Wilson held a watch party at the Marriott in the state capital, where he addressed supporters in a crowded ballroom.
Earlier in the afternoon, Wilson told WIS he was optimistic but stopped short of predicting a victory.
Signs at the entrance to the Marriott ballroom reading “victory party” proved accurate.
Wilson has served as the state’s top prosecutor since 2011.
He ran on eliminating the state income tax, cutting waste, improving roads and bridges, making government more accountable and making life more affordable.
Wilson thanked those who endorsed him, including 80 percent of Republican sheriffs. In recent weeks, several statehouse leaders and three former rivals also backed him.
Those in attendance included members of his family, his father, Rep. Joe Wilson, and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
President Donald Trump initially backed Evette wholeheartedly in the primary, but threw his support behind Wilson too after early voting ended.
Wilson said earlier that the most important endorsement he sought was from voters.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I aspire not to be a transitional governor, but to be a transformational governor,” he said. “People are skeptical in South Carolina about their government and have become cynical. They’re tired of the status quo, tired of elected officials saying whatever they can say to get elected. Folks, I’m telling you that is over.”
Wilson also thanked Evette for her eight years of service to the state and for being “a woman in the arena.” He said the two spoke Tuesday night after an at times contentious runoff.
He said earlier that he would welcome a debate with Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson.
The pair will now face off in the Nov. 3 general election.
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