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by WILL FOLKS
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A political action committee supporting the 2026 South Carolina gubernatorial candidacy of Pamela Evette – the Palmetto State’s lieutenant governor – yanked a television advertisement off the air last weekend after it engendered significant controversy.
As FITSNews exclusively reported last week, Patriots for South Carolina – a political action committee whose wealthy donors are supporting Evette’s campaign – ran a thirty-second ad in which South Carolina governor Henry McMaster appeared to endorse Evette’s 2026 bid to succeed him.
Take a look…
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“She’s smart, hard-working and has the experience we need,” McMaster said in the spot, which was originally posted to YouTube on November 28, 2017, months ahead of the 2018 GOP primary election.
“Pam is what South Carolina is all about,” the governor continued. “I believe in South Carolina – and I believe in Pam Evette.”
The pro-Evette political action committee launched the ad in an apparent attempt to fool voters into believing McMaster had endorsed Evette in her 2026 election against first district congresswoman Nancy Mace, fourth-term S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson and veteran fifth district congressman Ralph Norman.
Both Mace and Wilson called on Evette to remove the advertisement from the airwaves, with Wilson referring to it as “not honest” and “not fair” and Mace’s spokesperson, Piper Gifford, calling it “false advertising.”
“Pamela Evette can’t run on her record, so she’s resorted to lies,” Gifford said in a follow-up statement after the ad was pulled. “This is proof Evette knows she got caught. Neither president Donald Trump nor governor Henry McMaster has endorsed her. Governor McMaster has clearly stated he is not endorsing anyone in this race, including his own lieutenant governor.”
McMaster did not approve the message – nor was he even aware the ad was being released, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to FITSNews. When he learned it was running, he was reportedly “seething.”
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According to our sources, McMaster issued an ultimatum to Evette – remove the advertisement or find herself on the receiving end of an incendiary statement from the governor’s office. The advertisement was removed mere hours after our report was published.
As noted in our prior coverage, this wasn’t the first time Evette’s supporters have played fast and loose with high-profile endorsements… or rather non-endorsements. Previously, Evette and her allies had privately suggested an endorsement from U.S. president Donald Trump was “in the works” or, alternately, a “done deal.”
When last we checked, however, Trump’s political shop indicated he had “no plans” to issue an endorsement in the race…
At the time the McMaster advertisement dropped, Evette was enjoying a surge of momentum – storming to the head of the pack in the 2026 race, if the results of a new survey from Co/efficient are to be believed.
The formal filing period for next spring’s partisan primary elections begins in March, with the primary itself scheduled for June 9, 2026. If no candidate wins a majority of votes in the primary, a runoff election would be held two weeks later (on June 23, 2026). As noted, the GOP primary is the race to watch in South Carolina. Democrats haven’t won a gubernatorial race in the Palmetto State since 1998 – and haven’t won a statewide election since 2006. In other words, the GOP nominee is all but assured of prevailing in the general election next November.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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3 comments
Hmmm, was it a true statement when Ol’Foghorn Leghorn said it? If so, is it still a true statement or has he detected some flaw in her intelligence, work ethic or viability?
She should work on that Downtown Batman endorsement from Greenville, hes out there endorsing and handing out water. He just endorsed Tina Belge for Greenville city council.
I received an interesting text regarding Pammy and her HR company. There is a thirty second video explaining how her company coached businesses and CEO’s on how to promote DEI in the workplace to make their companies “look progressive” and reap government benefits for being steeped in DEI.
While I have no proof of its veracity, she looks like the kind of airhead who would be involved in such.
This might be a good topic for FitsNews to investigate.