SouthernWorldwide.com – South Carolina Democrats have selected a former professional basketball player and current state lawmaker as their nominee for governor.
The Palmetto State has historically leaned Republican in its gubernatorial elections. The last Democrat to hold the office was Gov. Jim Hodges, who was defeated by Republican Mark Sanford in 2002.
Despite the state’s Republican leanings, three Democrats from different ideological backgrounds competed for the opportunity to become the first Democratic governor elected this century.
State Representative Jermaine Johnson, who represents portions of Richland and Kershaw Counties, was declared the winner by the Associated Press. He launched his gubernatorial bid only a few months prior to his victory.
Johnson, a millennial Democrat, previously unseated longtime incumbent Jimmy Bales in 2020. His successful campaign that year was supported by CNN commentator and former South Carolina lawmaker Bakari Sellers.
Johnson’s basketball career included playing scholastically at the College of Charleston. He went undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft but was later signed by the Reno Bighorns of the NBA’s G-League, a team that has since relocated and is now known as the Stockton Kings.
During a recent primary debate, Johnson highlighted his campaign’s outreach efforts, criticizing his fellow Democrats for a perceived lack of presence in certain areas of the state.
“I have been going to places where they have never seen a candidate before, and people are fired up,” Johnson stated during the debate, emphasizing his connection with voters in underserved communities.
When fellow candidate Mullins McLeod questioned Johnson’s collaboration with the Republican supermajority in the state legislature, Johnson responded by saying, “It’s hard to throw rocks when you have not been in the fight.”
He further elaborated on his legislative work, citing an environmental bill where he contributed to improving it from a less favorable state to a more acceptable one.
McLeod, a trial lawyer from Walterboro with a practice in Charleston, comes from a family with a long history in state government. His campaign platform focused on a fundamental critique of the existing system.
“The system in Columbia does not just need new leadership like my opponents would have you believe. The system is not working the way it was intended — we must go break it to fix it,” McLeod articulated on his campaign website, advocating for systemic change.
McLeod’s policy proposals included advocating for term limits, ending what he termed “crony capitalism,” and reducing the size of government by returning unspent annual budget funds to taxpayers.
The third candidate in the Democratic primary was Billy Webster, a businessman with connections to both the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations.
Webster served as a White House Fellow during the Bush administration. Prior to that, he was the president of the largest Bojangles franchisee in the country, according to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, before moving on to work under deputy chief of staff Erskine Bowles.
Webster, who hails from Greenville, explained his commitment to community engagement by stating that he used to organize voter registration drives out of his Bojangles restaurants because he believed that “if a community supported your business, you owed something back.”
In the primary debate, Webster emphasized his extensive business background and advocated for a pragmatic approach to governance. He positioned himself as a problem-solver focused on key areas such as economic growth, infrastructure development, and fostering consensus.
