Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette announces her run for governor to a cheering crowd Monday night in Greenville.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette has officially entered the governor’s race.

Speaking to supporters at a Greenville event space, Evette said she has been with them from the beginning and with President Donald Trump from the start.

“I’ve been fighting for conservative values every single day — as a mother, as a businesswoman, and as your lieutenant governor," she said. “With President Trump in the White House and a proven conservative in the Governor’s mansion, there’s no limit to what South Carolina can achieve! We will show America how it’s done. We will be the example other states follow. We will prove that experience, courage, and conservative principles deliver real results.”

She laid out her first-day priorities as governor, saying she would continue the work she and Gov. Henry McMaster have been doing to cut income taxes.

She said she will create South Carolina’s own Department of Government Efficiency to cut waste in the government,“ she said. “We’ll sunset useless and outdated regulations that give too much power to bureaucrats, and for every new regulation proposed, we will get rid of ten. We will build on our success in efficiency and take it to the next level by following President Trump’s lead to slash waste, fraud, and abuse.”

She also said she wants to reform judicial selection, making sure judges are “not beholden to the people who elect them” and that they are “accountable to one thing: the law.”

She pledged full cooperation with President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement and making sure not one square inch of South Carolina becomes a sanctuary for illegals.

“We must continue to empower our South Carolina law enforcement to keep dangerous illegals off our streets and away from our children,” she said.

She also promised to continue pushing for full, universal school choice, saying every parent in South Carolina must have the freedom to decide what’s best for their children.

“As your Governor, I will never back down from defending your Second Amendment rights. We passed constitutional carry, and I’ll oppose any attempts to restrict gun ownership from my first day to my last,” Evette said. “I will defend religious liberty and Christian values. South Carolina families - mothers and fathers - will always have the freedom to worship and raise their children according to their beliefs, not the government’s mandate.”

She said she will follow Trump’s lead and appoint “proven, like-minded Conservatives at every level of our state government, boards, and commissions” and will “stand up to the woke corporations and radical left trying to transform the state.

“They’ll learn quickly, there’s a new sheriff in town, and she’s ready to fight,” she said to the cheering crowd.

The Republican first made the announcement with a video posted to her X account hours ahead of the gathering in Greenville. That video highlighted moments with Trump and McMaster praising her work as lieutenant governor. The video ended with text typing out the year 2026 and then “Pamela Evette for Governor.”

The video was posted to her X account hours ahead of a gathering in the Upstate at which she is expected to make what a news release described as a “major announcement.”

She is expected to speak shortly after 6 p.m. at The Smokestack at Judson Mill in Greenville. The release did not go into details on what she intends to announce, but Evette has long been expected to run.

“Lt. Governor Evette has long championed conservative and Christian values,” the release states. “She has stood by President Donald Trump since day one and worked alongside Gov. Henry McMaster to advocate for small businesses, promote economic growth, cut wasteful spending, increase public safety, and support South Carolina families.”

Evette has served as lieutenant governor since 2019, when current Gov. Henry McMaster started his first elected term in office. McMaster, who is now the longest-serving governor in state history, rose to the governor’s office in 2017 when then-Gov. Nikki Haley stepped down to serve in the first Donald Trump Administration as a United Nations ambassador. After completing the last two years of her second term, McMaster was elected with Evette to two terms of his own.

If Evette were to announce her campaign, she would be joining a Republican primary field that includes current South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Upstate Sen. Josh Kimbrell.

An early poll conducted in March gave Evette a slight edge over three other Republicans considered at that time to be likely gubernatorial contenders. Evette pulled a 31% lead among those surveyed, compared to Wilson’s 27% of the vote.

First District Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who has not officially announced a run but said she was considering one back in January, came in second place in that poll at 29%, while Fifth District Congressman Ralph Norman came in with 11%.