Ex-NBA Player Wins Shot at South Carolina Governor's Race

A former professional basketball player is taking his next shot at a much bigger arena.

Jermaine Johnson, a South Carolina state representative, won the Democratic nomination for governor on Tuesday. The millennial lawmaker, who once played in the NBA's G-League, launched his campaign just months ago but connected with voters across the Palmetto State.

Johnson's journey from the basketball court to the State House already broke barriers. In 2020, he ousted a longtime incumbent to represent parts of Richland and Kershaw Counties. Now he's aiming even higher.

During the campaign, Johnson stood out by showing up. He traveled to communities that other candidates ignored, bringing his message to places that had never seen a gubernatorial hopeful before. "I have been going to places where they have never seen a candidate before, and people are fired up," he said during a recent debate.

His path to politics came after playing college ball at the College of Charleston. The Reno Bighorns (now the Stockton Kings) picked him up for the G-League in 2009. Those years of teamwork and perseverance shaped how he approaches lawmaking today.

Johnson defended his track record of working across the aisle in a state where Republicans hold a supermajority. When a fellow Democrat criticized him for collaborating too much with the opposition, he fired back: "It's hard to throw rocks when you have not been in the fight." He pointed to environmental legislation he helped improve, moving bills from "horrible to a little bit better."

He faced two other Democrats in the primary: Mullins McLeod, a trial lawyer advocating for term limits and smaller government, and Billy Webster, a businessman with White House experience under both Bush and Clinton administrations.

Why This Inspires

South Carolina hasn't elected a Democratic governor this century, but Johnson's campaign shows what happens when someone brings fresh energy to old systems. His willingness to meet voters where they are, combined with real legislative experience, demonstrates that showing up matters just as much in politics as it does in sports.

Whether he wins in November or not, Johnson has already changed the conversation about who can lead and where campaigns should focus their attention.