Alan Wilson, South Carolina's four-term Republican attorney general, enters 2026 governor's race
LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Alan Wilson, the four-term Republican attorney general of South Carolina, kicked off his bid for the state's first open gubernatorial race in 16 years, setting up a 2026 GOP primary contest that's likely to be a heated competition for President Donald Trump's endorsement.
Wilson held his debut campaign event at Hudson's Smokehouse in his hometown of Lexington, a barbecue restaurant that has long been a mainstay for both presidential and state-level candidates stumping in South Carolina.
Ahead of that official launch, Wilson sat down for a wide-ranging, hourlong interview with The Associated Press, in which he laid out his vision for the gubernatorial campaign, including reforming South Carolina's education system, growing the economy and cutting wasteful spending, in the mold of the Department of Government Efficiency that Trump stood up in his administration's earliest days.
'I'm going to DOGE all of South Carolina government, from the bottom to the top and back down again,' Wilson told the AP on Saturday. 'I want as much sunlight and transparency and accountability injected into the operation of government.'
Official filing for the state's 2026 elections doesn't open until March, but several other Republicans have already made moves toward running in South Carolina's first truly open governor's race in 16 years. State Sen. Josh Kimbrell is set to kick off his bid on Saturday.
Other likely entrants include Lt. Gov. Pam Evette and Rep. Nancy Mace, who told the AP earlier this year she was 'seriously considering' a run.
These potential Republican hopefuls have supported Trump in his own campaigns — although Kimbrell initially backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — and while Trump's role in 2026 races is yet to be known, it could have sway in the state where he's remained popular since his 2016 South Carolina GOP primary win helped cement him as the party's nominee.
In 2018, Trump helped Gov. Henry McMaster secure a primary runoff win that set him on the path to becoming South Carolina's longest-serving governor.
'He has been transformational,' Wilson told the AP of Trump, to whom he said he last spoke in December during an event at Mar-a-Lago, saying he would 'absolutely' seek Trump's endorsement.
As South Carolina's top prosecutor, Wilson has taken actions to support Trump's political and personal moves. In 2020, he was lead signatory on a letter decrying impeachment proceedings against Trump as 'fundamentally flawed as a matter of constitutional law.' Last year, Wilson traveled to New York to support Trump as he stood trial in a hush money case.
Republicans have in recent decades dominated South Carolina's statewide-elected positions, including governor, meaning that some of the most intense political competition has taken place in GOP primaries. McMaster is term-limited.
As attorney general, Wilson has been part of dozens of lawsuits against Democratic presidents, suing the Biden administration over issues including vaccine mandates and environmental regulations.
Wilson has served three times as chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association and has spearheaded other national efforts, including wrangling top prosecutors in all 50 states to urge Congress to craft legislation to guard against the use of artificial intelligence in exploiting children through pornography.
He was in the national spotlight throughout 2023, as his office prosecuted Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced attorney currently serving two life prison sentences for the 2021 murders of his wife and son at the family's rural home. Attention on the six-week trial swirled into cultlike status, with daily events livestreamed, and true-crime influencers giving regular updates to their followers from the environs near a small-town courthouse in South Carolina's Lowcountry.
'I wanted the world to see me sitting there owning the success or the failure of that trial, and so whether or not that helps me or hurts me in the next governor's race, I'll let the people decide that answer,' Wilson told the AP, when asked about the case. 'I have stood on the world stage. … And I believe that under the brightest lights and under the most scrutiny, we've acquitted ourselves very well, and that is something that a governor needs to be able to do in South Carolina.'
The son of Rep. Joe Wilson, a longtime South Carolina congressman, Wilson, his wife and their two children live in Lexington, South Carolina. First elected attorney general in 2010, he has served for nearly three decades in the Army National Guard, with the current rank of colonel.
___
Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Trump holds out Israel-Iran ceasefire deal as validation for his gamble of US airstrikes
President Donald Trump speaks from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 21, 2025, after the U.S. military struck three Iranian nuclear and military sites, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens. Carlos Barria/Pool via AP flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
U.S. Border Patrol is increasingly seen far from the border as Trump ramps up deportation arrests
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Immigration arrests seen on video are showing an emerging trend: More Border Patrol agents are doing their jobs far from the borders with Mexico or Canada. A Border Patrol agent was seen hitting a Southern California landscaper on the head and neck as he was pinned to the ground during an arrest Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security said the man swung his weed trimmer at agents. The man's son, Alejandro Barranco, a Marine veteran, said his father was scared but did not attack anyone. With border arrests at the lowest levels in about 60 years, the roughly 20,000 Border Patrol agents are showing up elsewhere. Here are things to know about the trend: Why is the Border Patrol working away from the border? President Donald Trump's House-approved 'big, beautiful bill' proposes $8 billion to increase U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff by 10,000 people. Until then, the agency primarily responsible for interior enforcement is relying on other federal agencies as it struggles to meet a daily arrest target of at least 3,000 set by Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and chief architect of immigration policy. ICE, with only about 6,000 deportation officers, has found a ready partner in the Border Patrol, which is also part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It comes at a time when border arrests plunged to an average of 282 a day in May after peaking at more than 8,000 a day in December 2023. Agents in the Border Patrol's Yuma, Arizona, sector assisted ICE officers last week in Philadelphia, Justin De La Torre, the sector chief, said in a social media post. His sector averaged only four arrests a day on the Arizona border last month after peaking at more than 1,100 a day in May 2023. Greg Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol's El Centro, California, sector, appeared alongside U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference this month in Los Angeles during which U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla was forcefully removed, pushed to the ground and handcuffed. 'We're here and not going away,' Bovino said, introducing himself to reporters as his agency's top representative during ICE-led operations in Los Angeles. Few see any reason to doubt the Border Patrol will remain. 'So long as the border remains relatively quiet, we will continue to see the Border Patrol deployed to act almost as if they are ICE agents,' said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, an advocacy group. What is the 100-mile border zone? Agents are granted by federal law the ability to stop and question people within 100 miles (161 kilometers) of the border, including the coasts. They have heightened authority to board and search buses, trains and vessels without a warrant within the zone. That encompasses vast swaths of the country that include about two-thirds of the U.S. population, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Los Angeles is well within 100 miles of the Pacific Ocean. Beyond that zone, agents are still authorized to work within the United States. 'The Border Patrol can still operate fully in the interior. It's just that they have less authority to stop and question people,' said Reichlin-Melnick. What can the Border Patrol do beyond the 100 miles? Past the 100-mile enforcement zone, Border Patrol agents, like officers working for ICE or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations, are classified as immigration officers who are authorized to carry out arrests and detain people on suspicion of violating immigration law. There are some limits. 'They could only search somebody's car on probable cause that the person has violated the law,' Reichlin-Melnick said. 'And so people have somewhat heightened rights against search and seizure outside of the 100-mile zone than they do inside of the 100-mile zone. But each individual case will vary depending on the specific circumstances.'
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Trump announces a ceasefire in Iran-Israel war; Iran to halt its fire if Israel stops its strikes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said that Israel and Iran had agreed to a 'complete and total ceasefire' soon after Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites. Iran said that as long as Israel stopped its attacks early Tuesday morning, it would halt theirs. Israel did not immediately acknowledge any ceasefire, but there were no reports of Israeli strikes in Iran after 4 a.m. local. Heavy Israeli strikes continued in Tehran and other cities until shortly before that time. Israel in other conflicts has stepped up its strikes just before ceasefires took effect.
