SC’s Ralph Norman picks running mate. Here’s who he wants as lieutenant governor
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, in his bid to be the next S.C. governor, named former state Rep. Adam Morgan as his running mate.
The announcement came in Greenville at Majesty Music, where Morgan serves as president, with a little more than a week before the June 9 primary, which features five other Republican hopefuls.
Morgan was the original chairman of the hard-line conservative S.C. House Freedom Caucus, which has been at odds with the House GOP Caucus since 2022.
Norman’s choice of Morgan is a signal that he wants to push the ticket as the most conservative in state history. It also positions Morgan as the next to carry the mantle of hard-line conservative movement, if Norman wins the governor’s office.
“South Carolina doesn’t need another maintenance team for the status quo. We need strong conservative leadership willing to challenge the political insiders and focus on real, tangible results,” said Norman who is a member of the Freedom Caucus in the U.S. House.
Morgan said he and Norman are offering a different path for the state as they are they Freedom Caucus ticket.
“For too long, the same politicians have made the same promises while Columbia becomes further and further disconnected from South Carolinians,” Morgan said.
On social media in recent weeks, Morgan has served as an attack dog most recently leveling criticism at Isle of Palms businessman Rom Reddy. Morgan also had been a vocal supporter for middecade redistricting and was critical of Republican state senators who stood in the way of the effort.
“Candidates too chicken to debate will never hold the line for you when it matters,” Morgan posted Sunday after Reddy and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette opted not to participate in an SC ETV debate. “Backbone is near extinct in politics.”
Norman has been battling with Reddy over who will be the leading candidate in the outsider lane for the Republican nomination for governor.
“Rom, no one thinks you’re ‘a plant’ colluding with RINOs and burning your millions knowing you will lose,” Morgan recently said in an X post replying to Reddy. “We think you’ve been encouraged to run by RINOs so you will take votes from Ralph and keep a conservative out of the runoff.”
Morgan, who served three terms in the state House, has been out of office for almost two years.
Instead of running for reelection to the state House in 2024, Morgan challenged U.S. Rep. William Timmons in the Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District. Morgan lost in the primary by 3 percentage points.
The Rock Hill congressman also has said he would assign his lieutenant governor to be his road czar and work as chief liaison between the governor’s office and the state’s Department of Transportation.
Norman is the second candidate in the GOP race to name a running mate. Attorney General Alan Wilson picked state Sen. Mike Reichenbach, R-Florence, to be his lieutenant governor.
President Donald Trump in his endorsement of Evette’s campaign said the Travelers Rest resident was getting ready to name Henry McMaster Jr., the current governor’s son, as her running mate. However, Evette’s campaign has not named a running mate and declined to answer questions about McMaster Jr.
This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 10:08 AM.
