South Carolina draws attention with competitive GOP primary for governor

ATLANTA — The Republican primary for governor in South Carolina has emerged as a closely watched contest to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster (R).

The open race in the reliably conservative state has drawn a crowded field of high-profile GOP candidates, including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Nancy Mace, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Rep. Ralph Norman.

The site 270toWin aggregated polling shows the race a toss-up: Evette and Mace around 18 percent, Wilson not far behind around 17 percent and Norman at 15 percent.

President Trump put his finger on the scale in Tuesday’s primary, endorsing Evette in May, spurning Mace in particular. 

Evette has emphasized her private-sector experience as she campaigns in the six-way race.

“You’re going to love the next chapter even better with Pamela Evette as your governor,” she told “Raising America.” “We have to worry about a whole lot of other things, right? We have to focus on energy because the industries of tomorrow are going to be using a lot of energy. How do we get our children educated to be the workforce of tomorrow for those industries? It’s a whole new set of issues that are going to have to be tackled. And who better yet to tackle them than a businessperson who’s done that before? I want........

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