Ten years ago, South Carolina voters helped shape the trajectory of modern American politics. Our state did more than participate in a presidential primary. It played a defining role validating a movement that would reshape the national debate.
In 2016, I committed to hosting a series of public forums for Palmetto state conservatives to meet all of the candidates, and it was clear one stood head and shoulders above the rest. More than 5,000 people showed up in Aiken, S.C. in 2015 to meet Donald Trump. We were all blown away, but South Carolina has always been Trump Country.
Many voices doubted him. Party insiders resisted him. Commentators dismissed his campaign. South Carolinians, however, recognized something different: a leader speaking with clarity, challenging political conventions, and refusing to shy away from the issues voters believed Washington had long ignored.
That conviction carried him to a historic victory in our state. Ten years ago, Trump approached the South Carolina Presidential Primary, the First in the South state, neck and neck with Ted Cruz. He lost in Iowa, won in New Hampshire, and all eyes were on the Palmetto State.
South Carolina families sent a resounding “Yes!” that Donald Trump should be president, and his victory sent shockwaves. It was the turning point not only for the 2015 primary campaign, but arguably the history of the world.
The years that followed demonstrated why the Make America Great Again movement mattered. I watched President Trump govern with the same resolve that defined his campaign. He fought for American workers, made border security a central priority, rebuilt our military strength, and forced Washington to confront problems it had ignored for decades. His leadership style was not shaped by consultants or political tradition–his actions were driven by promises made directly to voters. We defended and advanced his agenda in South Carolina and supported him against national Democrats, and he won big.
Then in 2020, President Trump again won South Carolina, this time against Joe Biden. Voters reaffirmed their confidence in his leadership and agenda. While fighting against blue states and Radical Left actors trying to change election law through bureaucrats instead of legislation, he won a record number of votes here in South Carolina.
After the election, questions emerged regarding late, and I’d argue unlawful, last-ditch changes to election laws in several states. At my direction, South Carolina joined Texas’s original-jurisdiction case before the United States Supreme Court, raising challenges involving election law changes in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
It was, without question, a politically consequential decision. But it was the right decision. I believed it was my duty to lead South Carolina’s effort because election integrity is of utmost concern, and President Trump and the millions of people who voted for him deserve no less. These are foundational principles for the public trust and stability of our republic, but people wanted me to stand down.
The backlash was both swift and severe. More than 30 ethics complaints were filed directly against me, challenging my professional conduct and costing thousands of dollars for my legal defense. For me, though, this was about courage under fire and defending what’s right even at my own expense.
Just like President Trump, I was not going to back down from my convictions because leadership should never yield to political pressure or intimidation.
Through it all, one truth remained unmistakable: the movement President Trump sparked here in South Carolina in 2016 was never temporary or fragile. It was built on courage. It endured because families refused to allow political elites or media narratives to dictate their choices or their future.
That reality was tested again in 2024. President Trump returned to South Carolina and faced a well-funded challenge from former Gov. Nikki Haley, who was supported by establishment forces and out of state donors determined to close the door on the Trump movement. South Carolina voters, however, stood up once again and rejected them. We decisively reaffirmed our support for Donald Trump.
Against unprecedented sustained legal and political opposition, Donald Trump secured another presidential victory, underscoring his popularity, the durability of his coalition and the staying power of the MAGA movement itself. His return to the White House was not simply a personal triumph but reflected the determination of conservative voters who refused to abandon their principles or their belief in the country’s direction.
South Carolina stands firmly at the heart of that story.
For a decade, our state has demonstrated independence, clarity, and resolve. South Carolina voters have consistently shown they are guided by conviction rather than news cycles or political pressure.
Ten years later, the lesson is clear: President Trump and his America First agenda have forever shaped history, and that started here in South Carolina.
Alan Wilson is South Carolina’s Attorney General, serving since 2011. A career prosecutor and combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Wilson has spent his career fighting violent crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and government overreach while defending the rule of law and the Constitution.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
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