The South Carolina Policy Council’s Summer Poll

With the first half of the 2025-26 legislative session in the rearview mirror, the South Carolina Policy Council is polling South Carolinians to see where they stand on the issues the legislature addressed last year and aim to address in 2026. 

With a gubernatorial race on the horizon and both parties' primaries coming up we also wanted to see where our state stood on speculative candidates for both Democrats and Republicans. This poll also covers the issues of taxes and spending, transparency, education, parental rights, judicial reform, and lastly public sentiment towards tech and infrastructure. 

Below you will find some of our key findings from our poll of 1,200 registered voters statewide, which was conducted by Targoz Market Research during the week of July 21 to 25. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 2.77%. 

Gubernatorial candidates and approval ratings 

To start let's look at where voters are on Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates.  

Republican-identifying voters were asked If the 2026 GOP primary for governor were held today, which of the following candidates would you choose? Their responses were as follows:  

• 16% selected Nancy Mace, U.S. Congresswoman  

• 15% selected Alan Wilson, Attorney General   

• 8% selected Pam Evette, Lieutenant Governor 

• 6% selected Ralph Norman, U.S. Congressman  

• 3% selected Josh Kimbrell, State Senator 

• 52% remain undecided 

Among individuals who identified as Democrats, when asked, if the 2026 Democratic primary for governor were held today, which of the following candidates would you vote for? Respondents answered as follows: 

• 5% selected Jermaine Johnson, State Representative   

• 5% selected Jeffrey Graham, State Senator 

• 2% selected Russell Ott, State Senator  

• 2% selected Ed Sutton, State Senator   

• 2% selected Mandy Powers Norrell, Former State Representative 

• 83% remain undecided 

Following the conclusion of the first half of the 2025-26 legislative session, 49% of South Carolina voters approve of the way the South Carolina State Legislature is handling its job, while 43% disapprove. This is a decline from 55% approval in January from our poll earlier this year. 

Taxes and spending 

States across the country are slashing taxes, and voters want to see South Carolina follow suit. across the board support eliminating income taxes. 73% of South Carolina voters support eliminating income taxes, while just 17% oppose the elimination of income taxes. 

74% of voters also believe that eliminating S.C.’s state income tax would make the state more attractive for businesses and job creation. 

SCPC has advocated for a spending limit to prevent spending increases year over year by population and inflation growth. Voters agree with this proposition. 68% of Voters would support a state law codifying a spending limit based on population plus inflation while only 16% would oppose the measure. 

Education 

When asked about their satisfaction with the way things are going in K-12 public education in South Carolina: 

• 47% were dissatisfied

• 42% were satisfied

A proposed Senate bill (S.537) would prohibit South Carolina public schools from adopting mandatory grading floors, which require teachers to assign minimum grades (e.g., 50 or 60 out of 100) for incomplete or low-quality work, and mandate zeros for assignments not submitted. 51% of South Carolinians support this proposal, while just 33% oppose.   

Additionally South Carolinians strongly favor parental rights in the classroom. When asked how important it was that parents have the right to review all school curricula, access their child’s educational records, and choose between public, private, or homeschool options without state interference, 72% said that’s important with 56% saying it's very important. 

Transparency 

South Carolina voters strongly support efforts to increase transparency in both legislative proceedings and state budget decisions. 

When asked whether all legislative committee and subcommittee meetings should be livestreamed and archived for public viewing, 80% of respondents expressed support, with 53% saying they "strongly support" the measure. 

Support was similarly strong for greater transparency around earmark spending. 81% of voters said they support a state law requiring full public disclosure of earmarks in the budget, including the name of the sponsoring lawmaker, the recipient, the amount, and the project’s purpose, before the budget is approved. 

Data centers and energy 

Temperatures on data centers remain mixed.  When asked if they support the construction of new data centers in their community, 43% expressed opposition, with 42% expressing support to the idea.  

However, enthusiasm declines when energy costs come into the equation. Of those 42% who supported, when asked if they would still support building data centers even if it led to higher utility bills to fund infrastructure upgrades, less than half of them would continue to support.  

Energy baseload is a critical component of that question, as the primary driver behind rising rates.  Increased consumption will come at a cost to consumers.  When asked if they supported expanding nuclear energy in South Carolina, 58% supported expanding nuclear energy, while only 27% opposed.  

Takeaways 

The first take away revolves around the gubernatorial primaries. Both races are wide open with plenty of room.  The majority of South Carolina voters on both sides of the isle are still undecided.   

Additionally, these poll results highlight several key policy issues in South Carolina. South Carolinians across political party lines support eliminating income tax, adopting spending limits, and share concerns about data centers. 

Evaluating these crosstabs should be a reminder that the partisan political divide is not all as it seems, and that voters are united on far more issues than they think.   

For the full crosstabs, see the links below:  

Crosstab Marginals 

Crosstabs Demographics

Crosstabs Party and Regions 

Crosstabs Generation, Income, Homeownership 

Transparency Initiative Disclosure

If you have questions about the poll or would like to arrange an interview, please email [email protected] or call 803-779-5022. 

Methodology statement: 

• Online poll of 1,200 registered voters in South Carolina conducted by Targoz Market Research. 

• Only respondents who passed our data quality checks were included in the final results and compensated for participating. 

• Sampling was stratified by demographics and geography. 

• Respondents were compensated for their participation. 

• Results were weighted by demographics, party, geography, and behavioral measures to properly reflect the profile of the state. 

• Estimated margin of error: +/- 2.77% 

• Fieldwork: July 21-25, 2025 

• Due to weighting and rounding, percentages may not always total exactly 100%. 

This report may be republished in whole or in part, provided that proper credit is given to the author(s) and the South Carolina Policy Council.