Attorney General Alan Wilson announces candidacy for governor

LEXINGTON, SC (WOLO) — South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced his candidacy for governor Monday afternoon to a crowd of supporters at Hudson’s Smokehouse in Lexington.

The announcement party marked the first in the 2025 race to the governor’s office, pressing the gas pedal in what will most likely be a number of candidates vying to succeed Governor Henry McMaster.

“That is why today…I am announcing my candidacy to be the next governor for the great state of South Carolina!”says the Attorney General.

Wilson highlighted many of his efforts during his announcement from his time as Attorney General since 2010 — including pushing for state reform on domestic violence laws, creating the state’s human trafficking task force, and prosecuting drug traffickers and drug dealers, among others.

“We fought to protect children from dangerous predators by quadrupling the size of the internet crimes against children task force. Resulting in 1000s of predators being prosecuted,” he says.

Wilson also underscored his record as a conservative, saying, “We’ve defended parental rights, religious liberty, the 2nd amendment, free market capitalism, public safety, and the unborn.”

He continued by pointing out his ongoing support for President Trump, including attending his hush money trial in New York last year. “He’s had our back and I’ve got his,” Wilson says, also backing the president on his recent attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Recently, the Attorney General has faced heavy criticism from local politicians like Senator Tameika Isaac Devine, and the LGBTQ community as the SC Attorney General’s Office continues to push the City of Columbia to repeal its ban on conversion therapy — a practice deemed by medical and mental health organizations as dangerous, ineffective, and even deadly for children who are forced to endure it.

In an interview with The Post and Courier released on Monday, Wilson is quoted as saying “There are folks who have taken the position that, somehow, I am defending conversion therapy. I believe that any physical, mental, verbal or psychological coercion or any abusive behavior to anyone, whether you label it conversion therapy or not, is wrong, and I would totally and completely reject that.”

During his announcement, Wilson also laid out his plans for the future, should he be elected – including eliminating the state income tax, and deliver universal school choice.

“I’m ready to lead that fight, to turn the page from what our state could be to what our state will soon be,” he says.

Representative Nancy Mace has consistently attacked Wilson on social media saying at one point that he “lets predators off the hook.”

“I’m not running against someone I’m running for something — and that is to lead this state,” he says at Monday’s announcement when asked by a reporter about attacks by Mace.

And while the Attorney General may be the first to hold an official announcement party, he won’t be the last.

Senator Josh Kimbrell of Spartanburg announced he is running earlier Monday morning, and will hold an announcement party later in the week. Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, Representative Nancy Mace and Representative Jermaine Johnson are likely to run as well.

Elections for the next governor will be held in November of 2026.