The former state lawmaker and professional basketball player believes South Carolina voters are ready for change as he seeks to become the state’s first Black governor.
Jermaine Johnson speaks with confident energy when discussing his historic campaign for South Carolina governor.
“I think we have the real opportunity to do something amazing here in November…my winning will create a new SC. It’s going to create a new America,” said Johnson, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the Palmetto State.
The former professional basketball player, 41, is seeking to do what no Democrat in South Carolina has done since 1998, when the state elected Jim Hodges as governor. Hodges served only one term, followed by more than 20 years of Republican dominance in both the governor’s mansion and the state legislature.
But Johnson, who, if elected, would become South Carolina’s first Black governor, sees a ray of hope for a new day in South Carolina for Democrats.
“When they elect me as the next governor in South Carolina, other states are going to say, man, if they can do it in South Carolina, we can do it here,” the former South Carolina state representative told theGrio days after meeting with Wes Moore, who made history in 2022 as the first African-American governor of Maryland and remains the nation’s lone Black governor.
“I’ll start a movement across the country, and I think that’ll be good for all of us,” opined Johnson, who is running against Republican gubernatorial nominee Alan Wilson, the state’s attorney general.
The former South Carolina state representative’s self-assurance about his race doesn’t just stem from optimism. Johnson sees political cracks among Republicans in South Carolina, a trend evident in states across the country where the GOP has lost support from voters, who, reeling from a soaring cost of living, have grown increasingly frustrated with President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.
“A lot of these people are fed up,” Johnson, who is running on “affordability,” “infrastructure,” and “families,” said of South Carolina voters he’s spoken to while campaigning across the state. “I think we need to look at all South Carolinians, and I’m not here to carry the White House’s water. I’m here to do what’s right for the people of South Carolina.”
Rising costs, including gas, energy, housing, and health care, have steadily increased since Trump returned to the White House. While the president promised to bring down costs when he ran for re-election in 2024, he instead started an ongoing war in Iran and issued tariffs on foreign imports that have skyrocketed the costs.
Trump has focused a great deal of his presidency on executing his aggressive immigration policies, prosecuting his political enemies, and resurrecting grievances and conspiracy theories over his 2020 election loss. Trump’s fixation on elections also resulted in him calling for the redrawing of election maps in Republicans’ favor, teeing up a political battle that was followed by the U.S. Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Republican states in the South eliminating majority-Black voting districts.
Unlike states like Tennessee and Alabama, South Carolina rejected a plan to redraw their congressional map, which would have ousted longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the state’s only Democrat serving in Congress.
“They can see the writing on the wall,” Johnson said of Republicans, noting that Republican state Sen. Shane Massey, who advised against redistricting in South Carolina because it would “motivate Black turnout” across the state.
“They knew that if they did what they did, they were going to create three swing districts, and we would’ve essentially gone from one Democrat in Congress to three, and they would have had nobody to blame but themselves,” Johnson told theGrio.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate is also feeling good about his chances due to turnout trends during the primary election, in which he garnered more votes than his Democratic opponents and the top two Republican candidates. Johnson said he’s met voters of all ages who said they registered to vote just to support his campaign. The Democrat also touted that 31,000 newly registered voters cast their ballots in June.
Johnson believes he’s the better gubernatorial candidate for governor because, unlike his opponent, he can relate to the economic hardships many South Carolinians are experiencing. Before he played in the NBA G League and made history as the first Black and the youngest person to represent his district, Johnson navigated many challenges, including being unhoused during college, losing a brother to gun violence, and substance abuse in his family.
“I was able to overcome a lot of those obstacles and go from no house to the statehouse,” Johnson told theGrio. “The people of South Carolina understand that I am them, and I understand their struggle.”
Johnson’s candidacy is meaningful for Black South Carolinians, who especially see themselves in him.
“They can see what’s possible. They can see the hope. They can see the future, and that’s why a lot of elder African Americans in South Carolina are protecting me with everything they have,” he shared. “Everywhere I go, they are praying over me to make sure I’m protected and make sure that we have what we need here in South Carolina.”
Ultimately, voters in South Carolina are “motivated,” said Johnson. He added, “They want to see something different, and I’m just proud to be on this ride with them.”