Heated snipes, raucous crowd & Evette’s running mate? 5 takeaways from gov debate
During Tuesday’s GOP debate Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson didn’t hold back any animus that built up over the last week since they advanced to a runoff election for the Republican nomination of governor.
Evette and Wilson sparred in their final televised debate appearance before two days of early voting for the June 23 runoff.
Here are five takeaways from the debate.
It got heated with more time to speak
The bickering between the Evette and Wilson campaigns this past week too center stage at the debate, as they argued over a 2023 pay raise, a 2024 judicial candidate and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
With only two candidates, Evette and Wilson each roughly split an hour of speaking time. Time to answer questions was extended from 45 seconds to 60 seconds with time for rebuttals.
Moderator Justin Dougherty of Fox Carolina News also had allowed some leeway on rebuttals, and supplemental rebuttals.
The format allowed both candidates to expand their answers and not rush in 45 seconds for a sound bite. But it also added time for them to take shots at one another.
Families of gun violence victims
Both Evette and Wilson each had family members of gun violence victims as their guests. Evette had family members of Scott Spivey, who was shot and killed by Weldon Boyd in street confrontation in 2023. The attorney general’s office initially chose not to prosecute Boyd because it was a stand your ground shooting. A judge has since denied stand your ground immunity to those chasing Spivey.
“We are speaking out today on behalf of Scott, who can’t speak for himself, and our message is simple: Attorney General Alan Wilson cannot be South Carolina’s next governor,” Jennifer Spivey Foley wrote on Facebook. “It is troubling and ironic to see Alan Wilson campaigning on being the ‘law and order’ candidate. That couldn’t be further from the truth based on our experience.”
After the debate, Foley said Wilson “held my family hostage and held my brother’s case hostage,” and hasn’t met with the family.
After the debate Wilson defended his office’s handling of the Spivey case, which is now being investigated by an Upstate prosecutor because of an investigation into the Horry County law enforcement who initially handled the case.
“When they’re attacking me, they’re attacking the men and women of the attorney general’s office who actually evaluated that case,” Wilson said, adding that his office sent the case to an independent agency because they relied on the initial investigation. “What’s really sad is they were politicizing that tragic situation on the roadside, and they don’t even understand all the facts, and I thought it was very unfortunate, but look, I have a great deal of sympathy for the Spivey family, and like I said, my prayers go out to them.”
In the audience in support of Wilson was Stephen Federico, whose daughter Logan Federico was killed while visiting Columbia. Her alleged killer, Alexander Dickey, had a history of arrests, but still was free when he allegedly committed a series of crimes that included Logan’s killing, police have said.
Wilson “showed much empathy and compassion for what happened to our daughter I feel that’s what this state needs,” Federico said.
So do they really like each other?
In the last question of the evening, before closing statements, Evette and Wilson were asked what they respect or admire about their fellow competitor.
Evette answered first.
“I do respect Alan Wilson’s service to our country,” Evette said. “I respect all veterans that put it all on the line to fight for our freedom. So, I have the utmost respect for our veterans all across the state. Thank you, Alan, for your service.”
Wilson also snuck a dig in at Evette in his response.
“I’ve known Pam now for over eight years, and I’ve seen her be an incredible wife to her husband, David. I think she’s an amazing mother to her children, and I think she’s a very strong family person, and I do believe Pam loves the state of South Carolina. She chose to move here from Ohio because she saw opportunity here, and I commend her for that,” Wilson said.
Crowd support
Wilson’s campaign has done well getting lots of supporters in the audiences at the previous GOP debates, and they have been adept at proving they have the largest collective lung capacity.
But this debate was in Horry County, where Evette carried 50.27% of the vote in the June 9 primary. Wilson received 15.51% of the vote.
But as the debate started, it seemed that crowd was evenly divided.
However, it was a raucous crowd, sometimes booing during answers at times almost drowning out the candidates.
“Lie after lie, after lie,” one audience member said as Evette spoke about James Smith and Planned Parenthood.
Another person shouted “Scott Spivey” five times during the debate.
The crowd even chanted “OHIO” at times, a repeated attack on Evette who moved to the Palmetto State from the Buckeye State 21 years ago.
Who did they speak to?
Stylistically, where to look was a challenge. Evette whose podium was situated facing the panelists at an angle would look at the panel and the audience during the debate.
Wilson, who was angled away from the panelists, looked directly into the camera in front of him several times directly speaking to viewers watching at home.
Evette running mate announcement coming?
After the debate, Evette again addressed why she hasn’t named a lieutenant governor running mate yet. Wilson has named state Sen. Mike Reichenbach as his running mate.
She repeated she would make a final decision only after if she wins the nomination. Evette finally gave a timeline for a hint of who would be her options.
“But within the next 48 hours, I promise the people of South Carolina, that I will put out a list, and those are going to be in my choices,” Evette said. “And let me tell you, that person is going to be a rock-solid conservative, somebody that has business acumen, so they can work hand in glove with me, like I did with the governor, and somebody that holds a strong Christian moral value.”
The State’s Joseph Bustos reported from Columbia and The Sun News’ Maria Elena Scott reported from Conway.
