EPISODE · Aug 10, 2026 · 7 MIN
Charlie James analyzes campaign finance data and talks primary voting.
from The Charlie James Show Podcast
In the second segment of Hour 4, host Charlie James recaps the show’s primary election candidate lineup, noting that every major candidate participated except Darlene Graham Nardone. James points out recent campaign finance disclosures on X showing that zero dollars of Nardone’s latest reported contributions originated from South Carolina. He then takes a call from Roger in Taylors, who pushes back on candidate Russell Fry’s assertion that out-of-state tourists bear the brunt of South Carolina's 28-cent-per-gallon gas tax. Frank in Pisgah Forest calls in to add that out-of-state drivers now avoid fueling up in South Carolina due to the tax, while Kevin in Morganton notes that even non-highway fuel carries the levy. Finally, Doug in Simpsonville calls to offer thanks to the show's team, prompting James to reiterate his advice for voters to check scvotes.gov to verify their primary polling locations before Election Day.
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What this episode covers
Charlie James: All right. Well, look, well, look, look what we had. Had Mark Lynch on the show. Russell Fry on the show. Ralph Norman on the show. Had Mark Sanford on the show. Had Danny Ford the Second on the show. Had all the major players on the show. Except for one. One, one was missing: Darlene Graham Nardone. Reached out to them weeks ago. Nothing. No answer, no answer whatsoever. Oh. Well, even though... So, pretty interesting. Something else that is very interesting: I just saw there's some folks online over on X. They did a little digging. They did a little digging to find out where her money was coming from. And there's, you know, like the last two 48-hour reports of—because they got to report campaign contributions— Do you know how much... What, JJ? What percentage of Darlene Graham Nardone's money has come from South Carolina in the last two reports, last two 48-hour reports? What percentage of the money came from South Carolina, do you think? Yeah. Give me a percentage number. What do you think? 9%? You said 9%? You're only off by 9%. Zero. Zero dollars came from South Carolina that they have reported. I find that to be very interesting. Let's go to Roger in Taylors. Roger, welcome. Roger: You were listing off all those names, Charlie, and I thought that was the intro to me coming on. Charlie James: (Laughter) Well, here you are! Roger: And now we got Roger in Taylors. Charlie James: And now we got Roger. That—that would have been a good intro, you're right. Yeah. What's up, man? Roger: So you changed me up. I was going to call in, I was going to say, "Charlie, I'm not a very smart man." (Laughter) And I love it when politicians tell me what to think. Did—did Fry say that this gas tax was on the backs of people traveling through our state? Charlie James: Yeah, didn't you realize that? Yeah, it's all the tourists. They're paying all the gas tax. They're paying all of it. Roger: So I just didn't hear that. He actually said that? Charlie James: Yeah. Yeah. Roger: Well, you know what job I retired from, and you know what I do for a living. Charlie, I'm at the gas station every day. Every day. And that's why—that's the reason why I say I love politicians telling me what I'm supposed to think. I'm paying that tax every day. Charlie James: Every day! 28 cents a gallon! 28 cents a gallon! Roger: Yeah, and I have to, to make money. Charlie James: Yeah, exactly! Roger: Yeah, and so when he was on his intro and he got to talking about the cost of living and the roads and the gas... Charlie James: And the tax climate! The tax climate was what got me. Roger: And my wife sitting next to me, I said, "Charlie's going to hit him, Dom. Charlie's going to hit him. He opened the door. He raised the gas taxes." And sure enough you did, I'm proud of you. Charlie James: Well, thank you. Thank you. I mean, that's—that's it. 28 cents a gallon, I appreciate it, Roger. Not only did he vote for it once, not only did he vote for it twice, he voted to override Henry McMaster's veto of the gas tax bill! He was—I mean, that was—it was part of the—the—the gas tax cabal. Pretty amazing. Let's go to Frank in Pisgah Forest. How you doing, Frank? Frank: I'm fine. How are you today, sir? Charlie James: Really good. What's up, man? Frank: Uh, I'm calling from a distance, obviously. Uh, I would like to say that I wonder how much money you guys have lost down there in South Carolina since you instituted the tax, because I live in Western North Carolina and I always look forward to going to South Carolina to buy my gas at 50 cents cheaper than what it is now. And your gas is more expensive than mine. So nowadays, I fill up before I go to South Carolina. Charlie James: Yeah, I know, right? Frank: So you got to think, that's—and the thing about it is that's North Carolina and Georgia that no longer come to South Carolina to buy their fuel. And nobody's made any comparison on how much money you've ac ...
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Charlie James analyzes campaign finance data and talks primary voting.
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