A new name has entered the South Carolina governor’s race with less than three months to go until the primary.Rom Reddy, a Republican, is known in South Carolina for spearheading DOGE SC, a South Carolina political action committee modeled after President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Reddy announced his campaign on March 16, which is the first day of candidate filing in the 2026 election cycle.
Reddy enters a competitive Republican primary against some of the biggest names in South Carolina politics. His competitors will be Attorney General Alan Wilson, U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace, District 1, and Ralph Norman, District 5, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, Spartanburg — whom he characterizes as a “ruling class” of career politicians.
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, and Charleston Attorney Mullins McLeod are also running as Democrats.”What do we have to lose to take a shot at something different?” Reddy said in a campaign announcement video.
The new Republican candidate has a long background in business and management. He boasts a master’s degree in finance from the Wharton School of Business and said he was able to turn a failing Exxon Chemical plant in South Carolina into a profitable enterprise.Reddy said that he will not accept any campaign donations or endorsements.”Money has corrupted South Carolina politics, so I won’t accept any,” Reddy said.
Reddy, like all of his Republican opponents, is running on a platform of eliminating the state’s income tax. The candidate proposed a three-year elimination plan to do so. He also wants to secure South Carolina elections by imposing limits on campaign donations and proof of U.S. citizenship for voting.
In his campaign video, he said is running against politicians who make the same campaign promises every campaign cycle but “do not deliver.” Reddy said he is in his “own lane” in the South Carolina Republican primary and offers something different to the voters.”They are part of the ruling class that got us here,” Reddy said. “I am someone who has never been part of that ruling class but has had great success in the very tough American private sector.”
