With 1st SC GOP governor’s debate done, questions arise over next one’s lineup
With one GOP governor candidates debate in the books, who will appear on the next debate stage remains to be seen.
Wednesday’s debate included state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and Attorney General Alan Wilson. But that lineup will at least slightly change for the April 21 debate at the College of Charleston.
Kimbrell, Norman and Wilson are slated to be joined by businessman Rom Reddy, who didn’t attend Wednesday’s debate because of a previous family commitment.
Mace says she might skip it because the U.S. House may have votes April 21.
Mace complained about the schedule of the next debate, which is set to take place in Charleston where she is from. She took aim at the party accusing the SC GOP of trying to keep her from attending.
“I work very hard and to see the establishment try to rig the debates so that the leading candidate for governor cannot attend. Is pretty ugly and pretty offensive,” Mace told reporters after Wednesday’s debate.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who decided to skip Wednesday’s debate, said she hasn’t decided if she’ll show up to the College of Charleston. She told a reporter Thursday she did not watch the first GOP debate and her team will look at her schedule to see if she will attend.
“I have been very clear and articulate about why I didn’t show up. I just did not think it was. It was right to our grassroots people. I don’t know who was in the audience. I don’t know if they were big donors to candidates. I don’t know if there were empty seats,” Evette said.
Evette said she will do a debate hosted by SC ETV, but a date has yet to be scheduled. In addition to the April 21 debate, the SC GOP and Gray Media are planning another debate for May 26.
“We’re going to do one of the other two debates. The schedulers will figure out what works best with our schedule, and we’ll make an announcement about it. I mean debates are a rite of passage. I’m going to do them,” Evette said.
In the interim, several forums for candidates for governor have been set up, including two next week. South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce is hosting a forum Tuesday with candidates from both sides the aisle scheduled to be there: Evette, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, Kimbrell, Norman, businessman Billy Webster and Wilson.
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, R-Surfside Beach, is hosting a forum with Evette, Kimbrell, Mace, Norman and Wilson.
SC GOP Chairman Drew McKissick said the party communicates with campaigns, who received the initial dates in December as well as when the party adjusted the debate schedule.
“I communicate with all campaigns, I have an open door to all campaigns with our office, free to talk to us anytime they’ve got a question,” McKissick said.
McKissick said the congressional calendar came out after the debate schedule was set, which includes booking venues, making sure they are open and coordinating with television channels to make sure they have time slots available.
“We’ve been in contact with every campaign for governor, multiple times. Multiple times. And have the email receipts to show for it,” McKissick added pushing back on comments that the party has not reached out to campaign teams.
How to qualify to get on the stage may also change.
The party’s debate committee initially required candidates to have an average of 2% in independent state polls of likely Republican primary voters. Candidates also must have raised at least $100,000 for their campaigns, from at least 250 unique donors contributing at least $50 each. But the debate committee decided to waive those requirements for April 1. Those requirements were put in place to make sure viable candidates appeared on stage. The party also will revisit the qualification requirements for the next debate.
McKissick said the donor requirements are not coming back for the future SC GOP debates, which will allow Reddy to be on stage as he says he is self-funding.
But, the polling requirements may come into play again.
“That’s why the debate committee voted that they will reassess on a debate by debate basis,” McKissick said.
And McKissick had a message on why he believes it’s important to participate in the debates with the governor’s office wide open for the first time since the 2010 election.
“I hope that all of our candidates are going to want to show up and speak to our primary voters. I mean, this is the biggest stage Republicans ever had in the history of gubernatorial politics in South Carolina. We’ve never had debate with this many eyeballs watching,” McKissick said.
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "With 1st SC GOP governor’s debate done, questions arise over next one’s lineup."
