South Carolina Lede

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for July 7, 2026: we bring you part one of Pulitzer Prize winning author Jon Meacham’s recent speech and conversation at the two-day, Revolutionary Ideas symposium at Dock Street Theatre in Charleston on June 25, 2026.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for July 4, 2026: we take time to reflect on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America; we’ll visit a key battlefield and talk with veterans excavating another; we’ll also hear from Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian Jon Meacham; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 30, 2026: we give you an update on what happened in the statehouse last week when both the Senate and House came back for a day to take up conference committee reports.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 27, 2026: we take you on the final two weeks of the gubernatorial runoff primary trail; we also look at how Attorney General Alan Wilson won a decisive victory in securing the Republican nomination over Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 23, 2026: we have segments from host Gavin Jackson’s most recent interviews with Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and A.G. Alan Wilson; Gavin also caught up with Wilson moments after Pres. Donald Trump also endorsed him, in addition to Evette, just days before the runoff; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 20, 2026: we bring you some highlights from the Republican gubernatorial runoff debate between Lt. Gov. Pam Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson; we also have some cuts from the 1st Congressional District Republican runoff between Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt and state Rep. Mark Smith; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 16, 2026: we look at the ongoing endorsement game leading up to the June 23 runoff; we also continue to look at the runoff races in the First Congressional District; we have highlights from a May forum the Democrats participated in; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 13, 2026: we look at what happened on primary election night; we hear from folks on the trail, including the two republican gubernatorial candidates in the June 23 runoff; we also have analysis from Winthrop University political science professor Dr. Scott Huffmon and strategic communications consultant Rob Godfrey; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 9, 2026: host Gavin Jackson takes you through his last week on the 2026 gubernatorial campaign trail. 

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 6, 2026: we bring you highlights from the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial debates that Gavin Jackson moderated this week as we enter the sprint to the June 9 primary.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 2, 2026: we look at the last Republican gubernatorial debate; Lt. Gov. Evette got Pres. Trump’s endorsement, and he let the cat out of the bag on who her running mate MAY be; we look at new polling and early voting numbers: and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 30, 2026: we bring you the highlights from the attorney general debate that host Gavin Jackson moderated on May 27.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 26, 2026: the Senate kills the redistricting effort after the chamber failed to block a Democratic backed filibuster; 14 Republicans joined the 12 Democrats to kill the bill on the White House’s redistricting push to change South Carolina’s congressional map; we take you from where we last left off to how it died Tuesday afternoon; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 23, 2026: we talk with several Statehouse reporters about the latest redistricting action from the week as the House spent long days moving the new congressional map through to the Senate, where it’s currently being debated; we look at what else happened during this session; and more

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 20, 2026: we continue our focus on the congressional redistricting debate in the special session called by the governor; as of our taping, early Tuesday afternoon, the House is poised to give a key second reading to the new map this evening after a rules change was passed largely along party lines Monday evening; we also have analysis from Winthro...

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 16, 2026: we are post-sine die, but are in a rare extra session that has been called by the governor for lawmakers to continue the effort to change the state’s seven congressional districts at the behest of President Donald Trump. We, again, dedicate the pod to exactly what is happening because, unlike past redistricting efforts, the public has be...

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 12, 2026: we talk a little bit more about redistricting ahead of moves this week; we also bring you more of our candidate conversations with Republican Rom Reddy who’s looking to be the next governor of our fair state; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 9, 2026: we’re bringing you everything we have right now on an expedited redistricting push by Statehouse Republicans, all at the behest of the White House, with a week left in the legislative session.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 5, 2026: we continue our look at the Republican gubernatorial field with Attorney General Alan Wilson; we also talk with the new state election commission director Conway Belangia about the upcoming primaries; we look at the agreement the state has signed with the U.S. Dept. of Justice over sensitive voter information; and more! 

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 2, 2026: we look at what happened in this third-to-last week of the legislative session; will a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Louisiana’s congressional maps lead to mid-cycle redistricting here? We hear from Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and House Speaker Murrell Smith on the final six legislative days of session; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for April 28, 2026:we’re looking at two of the Republican candidates running for the party’s nomination on June 9 and for the win in November, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and 5th District Congressman Ralph Norman; while we are in a full sprint to sine die, we wanted to look at these two candidates as we start rolling out our profiles on several statewide candi...

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for April 25, 2026: we look at the second Republican gubernatorial primary debate that took place this week in Charleston.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for April 21, 2026: we have a bit of an econ pod as we discuss the economy with Dr. Joey Von Nessen; we have a Gavin Open Seas Maritime Report (GOSMAR) with SC Ports CEO Micah Mallace; we also visit Scout Motors’ newly opened training facility and talk costs and labor; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for April 18, 2026: we spoke with House Speaker Murrell Smith and Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey about what the final four weeks of session hold; we get the annual state of the judiciary update; we have a 2028 watch with another potential candidate visiting our state this week and another definitively ruling out 2028; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for April 14, 2026: we look at the Senate Finance Committee’s version for the budget and hear from the state’s chief economist on how healthy revenues are; we hear from SCDOT Secretary Justin Powell on a major groundbreaking for the I-95 bridge over Lake Marion; Sen. Lindsey Graham has one fewer challengers; and more!