AG Wilson picks up three endorsements for governor, addresses criticism from Rep. Mace, CA Governor Newsom

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Attorney General Alan Wilson continues to hit the campaign trail after entering the race for governor in June.

At a press conference inside the Statehouse Thursday morning, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon, Saluda County Sheriff Josh Price, and Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey say they’re endorsing Wilson.

“He’s been in the courthouses, he’s been here in the Statehouse trying to get laws passed and things to make our jobs easier, and that’s why I’m proud to be here today,” says Koon.

“He’s there when we have problems and he’s there to have our backs and get those problems fixed,” says Price.

“Alan Wilson has worked tirelessly throughout his career — as a public servant, as a military officer to bring resources to make our state safe,” says Dorsey.

They join four other sheriffs from Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley, and Greenville counties in their endorsements.

Wilson reiterated his efforts as SC’s Attorney General to create the state’s Human Trafficking Task Force — as well as the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

“Since that time (when Wilson took office), we have grown that task force in the low 40’s to around 125, 128 agencies that are supporting our network of agencies that are out there fighting exploitation of children,” he says.

As governor, Wilson says he plans to eliminate the state income tax, and use artificial intelligence to help track and deter fraud, waste, and abuse within state government.

Republican Senator Josh Kimbrell announced his candidacy last month as well, and Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette is expected to enter the race on Monday — with others sure to be on the way to joining.

However recent criticism has come from those not in the race — including attacks from Rep. Nancy Mace.

“Somebody can go back and look at the tens of thousands of cases and they can cherry pick cases that on paper look bad, and they can omit the context. For instance they can say ‘Alan Wilson only put a guy in jail for molesting a child for one day.’ Well prosecutors don’t put people in jail, judges do…People can go out there and say we take positions that are not pro family saying we’re pro predator or pro pedophile, these are categorically false and they’re slanderous…People out there are not just attacking me, they’re attacking the men and women who stand behind me in trying to protect victims and justice to families who so richly deserve it,” says Wilson.

He was also a part of a recent heated exchange on the social media app “X” with California Governor Gavin Newsom — who was joined in SC this week by Congressman Jim Clyburn and SC Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain.

ABC Columbia’s Lee Williams asked Wilson to respond to Newsom’s tweet addressing him — where Newsom says SC has double the homicide rate of California.

Wilson says nearly a million people have fled California and nearly half a million of them have come to SC.

“That’s a good question. He’s “Exhibit A” on what you don’t want to do as governor of a state. But when he talked about SC’s homicide rates, remember this, national homicide rates are determined by how well a state reports those rates at the federal level. Some states overreport; some states under report. I’ll let you guess as to what you think about California. Number two… nearly a million people have fled California and nearly half a million people have come to SC. So are they fleeing to SC because they feel less safe here or have less economic opportunity? I would offer to you that people are leaving California because they felt less safe in California. They felt less opportunities, and that’s why they left that state. So he can say what he wants about the statistics of SC’s crime rates, but people vote with their feet, and California is getting an F right now on that metric,” says Wilson.

The election for SC’s next governor takes place in November 2026.