The South Carolina Republican gubernatorial debate was held at the Newberry Opera House, in Newberry, SC, Wednesday April 1, 2026. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
CONWAY — The two remaining Republicans vying for governor exchanged accusations in a boisterous debate Tuesday as they differed on questions about punishing South Carolina State University and casino gambling, while seeming to agree on legalizing medical marijuana for people suffering from debilitating conditions.
Cheers and jeers from the crowd at times drowned out Lt. Gov. Pam Evette and Attorney General Allen Wilson as they squared off on the debate stage at Coastal Carolina University in Conway. Two days of early voting opens Wednesday ahead of the June 23 runoff.
Each accused the other of lying as they staked out their positions. One question where they clearly diverged was over South Carolina State’s decision in late April to disinvite Evette as the commencement speaker following a student-led protest: Did they support an effort by nine Republicans — most of them members of the uber-conservative House Freedom Caucus — to strip $5 million from the public college’s funding in response?
Evette, who responded first, gave an immediate “yes.”
Students at South Carolina’s only public historically Black university pointed to Evette’s politics in asking for a different speaker. Their complaints as they walked around campus included that she’s a “Trump conservative,” is “anti-abortion” and “doesn’t support DEI,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. That’s true, Evette said.
“For far too long conservative voices have been silenced, on our college campuses and our schools, and that can’t continue,” Evette said in response to the question, noting that one of her three children is in college. “The indoctrination that happens on our college campuses is terrible.”
If conservative voices aren’t welcome on college campuses, Evette continued, “then neither is our money. We will take it away.”
Wilson, while agreeing he’d support withholding funds if a college was indeed suppressing speech, said that’s a separate issue from what happened in this case.
The revocation followed Evette’s combative responses on social media.
While telling reporters her prepared speech was inspirational and not politically charged, she suggested the opposite on X, as she repeatedly challenged her opponents to “bring it on,” referred to them as “woke mobs” and promised “they are really going to hate my speech.”
In his announcement to students, President Alexander Conyers indicated it was how Evette responded that got her disinvited. Differing viewpoints are important, but graduation is not the time for debate, he said, as he extended a different invitation for “constructive dialogue” on campus.
SC State University disinvites Lt. Gov. Evette from commencement after outcry
On the debate stage, Wilson said he was disappointed in Evette for “getting down in the mud, mixing it up with college kids.
“I would never support taking tax dollars because a bunch of kids who didn’t like me or didn’t like my politics protested on a campus,” he said. “If we’re going to protect conservative speech, then we should be conservative in protecting all speech, even speech which we don’t agree with.
“A governor has to rise above it,” he said. “Yes, we can oppose suppressing conservative speech on campuses, but stripping kids of money because they don’t like you or disinvited you — that’s not what a governor is supposed to do.”
Asked to respond, Evette said Wilson “missed the whole point” because “the only speech stopped on college campuses is conservative speech.”
The University of South Carolina provides a recent example of a public college that withstood criticism for not shutting down controversial speakers, though that didn’t involve graduation. The college did not cancel a student-sponsored event in September 2024 featuring a pair of intentionally provocative far-right political commentators, including the founder of the Proud Boys, despite outcry from alumni and students.
On legalizing medical marijuana, the two Republicans seemed to agree.
Efforts to approve cannabis for debilitating conditions have failed repeatedly over the last decade. Over his tenure, Gov. Henry McMaster’s opposition to legalization has softened, but he continued to say he wouldn’t go against law enforcement. And the opposition of South Carolina’s leading officers hasn’t changed.
Evette suggested she’s more open to the idea due to personal experience.
“My dad died of lung cancer; it was a horrible death,” Evette said. “If I could have given him something that would have eased his pain in the last few days of his life, I would have done it.”
She’d consider signing legislation allowing marijuana use by “people who medically need it, people who have tried everything,” without opening the door to recreational use.
Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort, the Republican leading the effort, has long argued that’s precisely what his bills would do, though opponents countered that’s impossible.
Evette did not address the specifics of what’s required to get her support but said, “Nobody should have to watch their loved one die in pain.”
Wilson said he agrees with the Trump administration’s decision in April to downgrade medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, which recognizes healthcare uses for cannabis and allows for medical research. The reclassification applies to state-approved medical marijuana programs. Federal hearings on a broader rescheduling are set to begin later this month.
Wilson, too, cited personal experiences in explaining his position.
“I have met with so many veterans who are suffering from PTSD, people that I’ve actually served with in Iraq,” he said. “I have met with people suffering with seizures, people suffering with chronic illness, people who are terminal, and if there is a possibility that we could derive some use from the medical application of that, and have clearly defined laws and regulations that prevent it from being abused, I would be open to the medical use of it.”
Asked to explain their position on legalizing a casino in South Carolina, Wilson reiterated his hard opposition, while Evette said voters should decide.
The odds of SC legalizing more gambling could change with next governor
“If a development came to South Carolina that was five stars … we should look at it and see what economic impact it plays,” she said. “But before we make any decisions, it should be put on the ballot, and the people of South Carolina should be voting on it, because nobody should have to live with industry in their backyard that they don’t want.”
The governor can’t put a question on ballots. Only the Legislature can do that through two-thirds approval in each chamber. The governor has no official role in that process, as referendum questions bypass the governor’s desk altogether.
Wilson hammered the lieutenant governor for not taking a stand, while saying he expects his stance will attract opposition ads paid for by the gambling industry.
“As the governor, you have to be honest with people. You have to tell people what you feel, and not hide behind, ‘I’m going to give it to the people,'” he said.
He noted that the last time a casino question was asked on the debate stage, Evette wasn’t there — a comment that drew cheers and jeers from the audience. In April, Evette explained her absence from the first debate as due to the GOP rules limiting how many of her supporters could get a free ticket.
Evette dismissed Wilson’s criticism as the “rantings of a true career politician” and went on to needle him for accepting a “126% pay increase.”
Wilson’s salary did jump from $92,000 to $208,000 in January 2023. His pay was hiked along with five other constitutional officers by the 11-member Agency Head Salary Commission, as per a 2021 law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster.
The law required the panel to evaluate and re-set salaries that hadn’t risen since July 1994. The only constitutional officers left out of that law — at McMaster’s request — were the governor and lieutenant governor. McMaster didn’t want to sign a law ahead of the 2022 elections seen as giving himself and his running mate a raise.
At the end of the bruising night, candidates were asked to share something they respected or admired about the other.
Evette said she respected Wilson’s military service as a National Guardsman who was deployed to Iraq. “Thank you for your service,” she told him.
Wilson said he admired Evette’s commitment to family as a wife and mother of three, before ending on a note that brought laughter and boos: “I do believe Pam loves the state of South Carolina. She chose to move here from Ohio, because she saw opportunity here.”
Evette, in her closing statement, called the attorney general out for his backhanded way of saying she’s not from South Carolina.
“I didn’t hit the lottery to be born in South Carolina, but I raised my family here, I grew my business here, I created jobs here, and I left a thriving business to be your lieutenant governor,” she said. “So, to all the people like myself who didn’t hit that lottery of being born here, you just heard the attorney general tell you you’re really not a South Carolinian.”
In one of the nation’s fastest-growing states, lots of voters weren’t born in South Carolina.
Evette moved to Travelers Rest from Ohio 20 years ago. Her husband took the helm of Quality Business Solutions, an outsourcing payroll and human resources firm, after she joined McMaster’s team in November 2017.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
