Isle of Palms millionaire Rom Reddy joins GOP primary for governor

A millionaire businessman who founded the political action committee DOGE SC, a name borrowed from the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, announced Monday that he’s running for governor.

Republican Rom Reddy said in a Monday news release that he’s self-funding his campaign and won’t be taking any donations, big or small.

“Money has corrupted politics, and it has to stop,” the Isle of Palms resident, known for running manufacturing companies, told the SC Daily Gazette. He bashed his opponents in the race as part of the “ruling class” due to their years of experience in politics and said he launched his campaign to give voters a better option.

Reddy will be spending at least $1 million of his own money on a two-week advertising blitz to kick off his campaign, according to his email announcement. 

At the start of this year, Reddy said, he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to make his first run for elected office. But he told the Gazette that working on DOGE SC, which has been pushing for change in how the state vets its judges, convinced him that the state has “weaponized government against the citizens.”

DOGE SC, which is not affiliated with the federal initiative, has been advocating for legislation that would give the governor total control over the panel that screens judicial candidates. Under the proposal, all 12 members of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission would be appointed by the governor, and none could be legislators. While the bill, which the House passed last month, would change the makeup of the screening panel, the Legislature would continue to elect judges in a joint assembly.  

South Carolina is among two states where the Legislature elects most judges.

Reddy is perhaps best known for suing the state after he was told to remove an illegal seawall built to protect his beachfront home and fined about $300,000. A judge said last week that the wall can stay up, at least temporarily, while litigation continues.

Reddy entered the race on the first day of filing for 2026 races, which runs through March 30. Less than three months remain until the 2026 primaries on June 9. 

“Nothing” makes him confident he can beat his five Republican opponents in the primary, Reddy told the Gazette – but he’s willing to invest a chunk of his fortune in the race anyway. “God has a plan for all of us; our job is to try the best at what we do, and not worry about the outcome,” he said. 

The first debate held by the state Republican party for candidates seeking its nomination for governor will be on April 1 at Newberry Opera House. 

The other Republicans in the race are Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell of Boiling Springs, U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and state Attorney General Alan Wilson. The Democrats running for the job are state Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Hopkins and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod.