SC governor’s, local primary races in a runoff: What it means for Horry County voters

Several Republican primaries are headed to runoff elections in the Myrtle Beach area after candidates failed to secure more than 50% of votes in the June 9 races.

Three statewide party races will advance to the June 23 runoff, as well as one local race for Horry County School Board of Education District 10.

In addition to voters who cast Republican ballots in the initial primary, registered voters who skipped out on the June 9 election can vote in the runoff. However, voters who participated in the Democratic primary will have to wait for the November general election to vote.

Who’s on the ballot?

The local race

Horry County Board of Education District 10 runoff candidates:

• Jason Morgan
• Stephen Whisnant

Horry County Republican primary voters decisively decided three Board of Education primary races, but District 10’s three candidates split voters.

Retired state trooper Jason Morgan came out on top to advance to the runoff with nearly 39% of District 10 votes. Morgan first got involved with Horry County Schools to advocate for his son, who has a learning disability. The security company owner has also volunteered as an EMT and firefighter in Horry County. In his campaign, Morgan said his priorities would be making sure Horry County Schools is financially conservative and using his security background to help with safety in schools.

“I’m a parent of three students who attend Horry County Schools. I am a husband of a teacher in Horry County Schools, and I’ve been volunteering within the district on both district committees and local school committees for more than 10 years,” Morgan told The Sun News. “I’ve got a proven track record of service, and I’m hoping to continue that service to the people of District 10 at the conclusion of this election.”

Recently retired Horry County Schools employee Stephen Whisnant also made the cut, winning over about 34% of voters. Whisnant, who spent 32 years as a school band director, told The Sun News he would ensure rural schools aren’t forgotten by giving rural students access to the same sports as larger schools, keeping rural facilities up and giving rural schools the resources to bring in and keep on quality teachers. He also spoke about tightening school security and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy.

“I want to be an advocate for all the kids and all the teachers in Horry County schools. I think I’ve got the educational background and the administrative background, because being a band director is a bit about being an administrator as much as it is teaching and stuff like that,” Whisnant said. “I still want to be involved and still want to be a voice for the kids out here, and that’s, for me, that’s the best way to do it, to be able to speak out for them and fight for them on that level.”

The third candidate, David Warner took third place, with 26.98% of the vote, and won’t appear on the runoff ballot.

The statewide races

South Carolina Governor runoff candidates:

• Pamela Evette
• Alan Wilson

In the hotly contested Republican gubernatorial primary, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson took the lead to advance to the runoff.

Evette took the top spot with around 28.86% of votes across South Carolina. Wilson followed with 26.51% of the vote.

U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman came in third with 17.08%, then Rom Reddy with 14.16% of the vote and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace with 12.13% of the vote.

State Sen. Joshua Kimbrell and Jacqueline Hicks DuBose were both decertified and dropped out before the election, but remained on the ballot. Each garnered less than 1% of votes.

South Carolina Attorney General runoff candidates:

• Stephen Goldfinch
• David Stumbo

The three Republican candidates vying to be South Carolina’s next attorney general also failed to clinch the nomination in the initial primary. State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch and South Carolina Eighth Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo secured the first and second spots to move forward to the runoff election.

Goldfinch led the group with roughly 39.99% of votes, and Stumbo received about 35.66% of the vote.

South Carolina First Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe came in third, with around 24.34% of votes, and won’t appear on the runoff ballot.

South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture runoff candidates:

• Cody Simpson
• Danny Ford

Four commissioner of agriculture candidates competed for the Republican nomination, and the top two candidates advancing to the runoff ranked very closely.

Agriculture professional Cody Simpson took about 38.14% of the vote, and farmer Danny Ford received 37.25% of the vote.

Farmer Jeremy Cannon failed to advance, with roughly 13.72% of votes, as did agriculture professional Fred West, who got 10.89% of the vote.

How to vote

Election Day voting

Polls will open for the runoff election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As in the initial primary election and the November general election, voters in line by 7 p.m. must be allowed to vote.

On June 23, voters can only cast a ballot at their precinct’s polling location, which can be found online at MySCVotes.

Early voting

There will also be a limited, two-day early-voting window on Wednesday, June 17, and Thursday, June 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Unlike Election Day voters, early voters can vote at any of Horry County’s voting centers:

• Aynor Town Hall at 600 S. Main St., Aynor
• Carolina Forest Recreation Center at 2254 Carolina Forest Blvd., Myrtle Beach
• HGTC Business Center at 950 Crabtree Lane, Myrtle Beach
• Loris Public Safety Building at 3909 Walnut St., Loris
• North Strand Recreation Center at 120 Highway 57 S., Little River
• South Strand Recreation Center at 9650 Scipio Lane, Myrtle Beach
• Voter Registration and Elections at 1515 4th Ave., Conway