Affordability takes center stage in South Carolina governor race
Affordability has become the central battleground in the South Carolina governor race, with Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson and Democratic State Rep. Jermaine Johnson offering competing tax, wage, and housing plans as voters grapple with soaring groceries, rent, and insurance costs.
After June primary runoffs set the November matchup, both campaigns are sharpening pitches around kitchen-table economics rather than culture-war fights—a shift analysts say reflects polling that shows most Palmetto State residents struggling to afford basics.
Key Takeaways
- Wilson and Johnson will face Green Party candidate Walid Hakim on the November ballot after Wilson won the GOP runoff in June.
- Both major candidates promise tax relief, but Wilson favors eliminating the state income tax while Johnson would exempt 70% of income taxpayers.
- Winthrop Poll data shows 67% of S.C. residents find groceries difficult to afford, with home prices up 68% since 2017.
- Economists say national inflation limits gubernatorial power, though housing supply and property taxes remain key state levers.
- Johnson has also pitched a data-center construction moratorium, linking energy and infrastructure costs to affordability debates.
Who is running to be South Carolina governor?
Republican Alan Wilson, the state's four-term attorney general, secured his party's nomination after the Associated Press called June's GOP runoff for him less than 30 minutes after polls closed. Wilson told supporters in Columbia that he would always put you first and promised to audit state agencies, address infrastructure, and end costly bad corporate deals.
Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson has represented Richland County in the state House since 2020. He swept the Democratic primary and will join Wilson and Green Party candidate Walid Hakim on the general-election ballot. Republicans have held the governor's office since 2003, making Johnson's path steep in a state Wilson is widely viewed as favored to win.
What are the candidates' plans to lower costs?
Wilson's pitch centers on shrinking government: eliminate the state income tax, reform property taxes by fixing Act 388, cut waste through the Families First Audit Initiative, pursue tort reform to lower insurance premiums, and expand energy production. "My number one goal is going to be making our economy more affordable for South Carolina families," he told reporters in April.
Johnson would remove 70% of income taxpayers from the rolls, cut property taxes, and establish a livable minimum wage. His campaign also backs the South Carolina Resource Independence and Resilience Act, insurance accountability measures, and small-business tax relief. Johnson argues full income-tax elimination mainly helps the wealthy—a contrast he raised as early as February when he said voters want focus on mental health, roads, health care, and education.
On housing, Johnson supports larger investments in subsidized affordable housing. Wilson favors lawsuit reform to reduce homeownership costs. Both back additional property-tax relief.
Why are South Carolina voters feeling squeezed?
Winthrop political scientist Scott Huffmon, who surveyed residents on affordability in May, said he was not surprised the issue dominates the race. According to the Winthrop Poll, 67% of South Carolina residents find groceries difficult to afford, 59% say the same about health care and housing, 61% cannot comfortably eat out, and 72% say a week-long vacation is beyond reach.
Data from the Urban Institute shows average monthly grocery prices and health insurance premiums each rose nearly 40% in South Carolina since 2017. Rent and child care climbed more than 46%, while home prices jumped 68%. University of South Carolina economist Joseph Von Nessen noted U.S. inflation at 4.2% outpaces wage growth at 3.4%, meaning people are losing purchasing power.
Can a governor actually fix the affordability crisis?
Von Nessen told the Charleston City Paper on July 7 that it is largely national forces that are driving affordability challenges as a whole, limiting what any single governor can do about broader consumer prices. Housing, however, is one arena where state leaders can act—especially by boosting supply amid rapid population growth through zoning, permitting, and infrastructure coordination with local governments.
Johnson's call for a moratorium on new data-center construction also connects affordability to energy and water policy debates unfolding across the state—topics that overlap with broader technology and infrastructure coverage in our Future Tech & AI Wonders section. For full policy details, the campaigns maintain websites at wilsonforsc.com and johnsonforsc.com.