5 months from SC primary, who has the campaign cash lead in the governor’s race?
With about five months until June 9 primary voters cast ballots to pick Democratic and Republican nominees for governor, the campaign cash battle rages on.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette raised more than $1 million during the fourth quarter from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, which includes the holiday season. It brings her hauls to about $2.4 million during her campaign from about 1,300 donors.
Evette ended 2025 with $1.1 million cash on hand.
“When I’m reaching out, I’m traveling around and hit all 46 counties, and people come out and say, we’re with you, and we love your message,” Evette said in an interview shortly before her campaign released its fundraising numbers.
Evette did not loan her campaign any money during the fourth quarter, after putting $300,000 of her money in the third quarter. However, in December she directly paid $3,700 for direct mail and $800 for lodging, records show. She would not say whether to expect another personal infusion of cash before the June primary.
“My husband, I have decided we’re very committed to this, and we’re going to do what needs to be done to win. So if need be, I will. But you know, I love the support I’ve gotten from everybody and on that, like I said, I’m just ecstatic that that support just continues to build and build.”
Evette had an early advertising blitz, but it remains to be seen when she’ll be back on the air. But the advertising blitz may have helped her increase her name identification across the state and her fundraising.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, raised $1 million, but it includes a second $500,000 loan from himself to his campaign. He also had nearly $1.9 million cash on hand at the end of the quarter, which gives him the lead in available dollars to spend on the Republican side.
The cash on hand advantage shows Norman hasn’t spent big yet. He hasn’t gone on the air, and instead has traveled the state to meet with potential primary voters.
“I watch my money like I watch the taxpayers’ money. It’s way too early,” Norman said in an interview. “My job is to get my name out there, to get my record out there, and that’s what I’ll do. I’m not planning to spend money. I’m going to hold it until I think the time is right, and then go from there.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Lowcountry Republican, led with the number of donations received, relying heavily on small donors and leveraging her ability to appear on cable news to generate contributions.
Mace campaign spokeswoman Piper Gifford said Mace’s bid is not relying on wealthy donors, but rather “building a coalition of everyday South Carolinians.”
Attorney General Alan Wilson, who announced state Sen. Mike Reichenbach as his lieutenant governor running mate, around the same time as fourth quarter reports were due, may have seen a bump in fundraising with the announcement, but that won’t be seen until April.
Reichenbach is a wealthy car dealership owner who put in $284,000 of his own money into his 2022 special election when he first was elected to the state Senate. It remains to be seen if he’ll put his own money into the Wilson campaign.
“There’s a lot of granularity that we’ll need to get our arms around in terms of what can be done, but my goal is to talk to voters and to talk to them and explain what the Wilson-Reichenbach ticket stands for — a ticket that stands for affordability for families, for profitability for businesses, for stability for the community,” Reichenbach said.
State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, trailed far behind in contributions to his campaign.
On the Democratic side, Charleston trial lawyer Mullins McLeod had more money than his primary opponent state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, but that was aided by McLeod putting in $1 million of his own cash. Johnson had more donors in a quarter where he became a declared candidate 28 days into the quarter. Johnson however had more individual donors.
4th quarter financials by the numbers
In-state donations
- Evette: 451 donations for $739, 514.75
- Kimbrell: 9 donations for $18,000
- Mace: 1,525 donations for $123,666.24
- Norman: 778 donations for $362,424.52
- Wilson: 306 donations for $405,365.52
- Johnson: 1,152 donations for $115,032.39
- McLeod: 37 donations for $1,024,075
Out-of-state donations
- Evette: 152 donations for $269,815.44
- Kimbrell: 0 donations
- Mace: 21,053 donations for $447,364.71
- Norman: 389 donations for $141,885.28
- Wilson: 105 donations for $131,159.21
- Johnson: 3,588 donations for $108,438.87
- McLeod: 9 donations for $2,195
Cash on hand
- Evette: $1,103,960.42
- Kimbrell: $12,671
- Mace: $861,937.15
- Norman: $1,884,462.25
- Wilson: $1,346,823.24
- Johnson: $109,890.40
- McLeod: $1,945,642.08
Total raised and spent in fourth quarter
- Evette: $1,010,896.05 raised; $434,895.44 spent
- Kimbrell: $18,000.00 raised; $12,127.10 spent
- Mace: $571,030.95 raised; $435,438.25 spent
- Norman: $1,004,309.80 raised; $241,567.81
- Wilson: $536,524.73 raised; $274,737.80 spent
- Johnson: $223,471.26 raised; $113,580.86 spent
- McLeod: $1,026,270.00 raised; $336,203.56 spent
Most common donation amount
- Evette: $3,500
- Kimbrell: $3,500
- Mace: $27.07
- Norman: $26.03
- Wilson: $3,500
- Johnson: $25
- McLeod: $25
Number of maximum donations ($3,500)
- Evette: 176
- Kimbrell: 4
- Mace: 32
- Norman: 75
- Wilson: 105
- Johnson: 11
- McLeod: 4
