The 2026 Campaign Trail Cometh

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for July 12, 2025: state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch becomes the first Republican to jump into the attorney general’s race; California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s two-day swing through S.C.; where the Confederate battle flag is 10 years after it was removed from the statehouse grounds; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for July 8, 2025: we catch you up on the latest campaign trail moves from the U.S. Senate and S.C. governor’s race; several big-name Democrats and one Republican are heading to the state over the coming weeks; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for July 5, 2025: Gavin Jackson’s interview with PBS legend, award-winning documentarian Ken Burns. The two discuss Burns' latest project The American Revolution that he co-directed with Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for July 1, 2025: we catch up on some big news, including the latest on suspended Lexington Republican Rep. RJ May; we OFFICIALLY have 2026 gubernatorial candidates with Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson and Republican Spartanburg Sen. Josh Kimbrell; Maayan Schechter brings us up to speed on all this news; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 21, 2025: we bring you part two of our 10-year commemoration of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting featuring stories from our Voices Collected initiative, focusing on the downing of the Confederate flag, legislative issues like hate crimes, and gun reforms that have stalled in the state; and more.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 17, 2025: the first of two episodes dedicated to the 10-year commemoration of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting where nine black parishioners, including the pastor of the church state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, were murdered in a racially fueled massacre; we’ll share reflections from South Carolinians who participated in our Voices Collected initiative as well as from folks who participated in the Charleston Forum last week.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 14, 2025: our live event recorded Thursday, June 12 at Good Girl Brewing in Aiken featuring host Gavin Jackson, reporter Maayan Schechter, and special guest South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June10, 2025: we look at some action happening this week in the Statehouse; we hear about a new gas-fired energy plant that Duke Energy is proposing in the Upstate; we begin bringing you stories from our Voices Collected series commemorating the 10 year anniversary of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 7, 2025: state Democrats got a boost with a big special election House seat win; Lt. Gov. Pam Evette continues to test the waters; we look at some of the ramifications of the tariffs on businesses in our region; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 3, 2025: we recap the big state Democratic Party weekend which included big party names like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore; also, a development in the 2026 gubernatorial race as Richland Democratic Rep. Jermaine Johnson announces the formation of an exploratory committee; and more!