STATEHOUSE REPORT | ISSUE 23.37 | Sept. 13, 2024
BIG STORY: 10 Statehouse races to watch in 2024
MORE NEWS: S.C. Supreme Court strikes voucher law
LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Enjoy it while you can
COMMENTARY, Brack: S.C. GOP pretty quiet on Trump
SPOTLIGHT: AT&T
MYSTERY PHOTO: Fall scene
FEEDBACK: Charter district responds
10 Statehouse races to watch in 2024
By Jack O’Toole, Capitol bureau | Palmetto State Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much, but they’re of one mind on this: Ruby-red South Carolina, where the GOP holds every statewide office and enjoys supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, isn’t destined to turn blue in 2024.
But with Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket and no statewide offices to contend with, Democrats believe they have a clear shot at retaking four historically blue seats in Greenwood, Clarendon, Charleston and Hampton counties that flipped unexpectedly in 2022 – the first step, they say, in a long road back to competitiveness.
“We’re running a very targeted effort where we know we can win,” S.C. Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain told the City Paper. “And the top priorities for us are to get back those state House seats – those Democratic seats – that we lost in 2022.”
Republicans, on the other hand, see several possible pick-ups in the S.C. Senate due to changing demographics and former President Donald Trump’s strength in rural areas. But they also say they aren’t taking anything for granted, even in South Carolina.
“There’s only two ways to run a race – unopposed or scared,” S.C. Republican Party Chair Drew McKissick said. “We have to do the things that we need to do. That’s how you keep winning.”
That’s the playing field in this year’s Statehouse races. And according to Democratic and Republican insiders, these are the races to watch.
House District 12 (Greenwood)
Republican Rep. Daniel Gibson, the first of the four incumbents Democrats have targeted in 2024, defeated long-time Democratic Rep. Anne Parks to flip the seat in 2022. In his first term, Gibson co-sponsored legislation to ban abortion and voted to allow permitless carry of handguns.
This year, he’s facing Dr. Jumelle Brooks, a health care administrator and member of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. Brooks describes equitable resources, protecting public education and gender equality as the top issues in the race.
House District 64 (Clarendon)
The second of the four Democratic targets, Republican Rep. Fawn Pedalino, sent first-term Rep. Kimberly Johnson packing in 2022. Like Gibson, Pedalino supported the state’s six-week abortion ban and was a primary sponsor of an election bill to limit the number of ballots that a single voter could witness.
She’s being challenged this cycle by former Clarendon 2 School Board member Quadri Bell. He says he’s running to improve public education, expand Medicaid and create jobs in the district.
House District 75 (Richland)
Two years ago, Democratic Rep. Heather Bauer unseated 10-year Republican Rep. Kirkman Finlay in a tight 51%-49% contest. Now, Finlay is fighting to take the seat back in a race Democratic and Republican observers think will be close again.
With two popular and previously successful candidates, the wildcard, both sides agree, is Harris’s potential to turn out additional Democratic votes at the top of the ticket.
House District 116 (Charleston)
The third of the four targeted seats by Democrats, this district is currently represented by GOP Rep. Matt Leber, who narrowly defeated then-Democratic incumbent Chardale Murray in 2022 and is now the GOP nominee for Senate District 41.
This year’s House race pits Republican businessman and Navy veteran James Teeple against Democratic nominee Charlie Murray, who serves as pastor to the First Baptist Church of James Island.
House District 122 (Hampton)
Freshman incumbent GOP Rep. Bill Hager is the last of the four targeted Republicans. He beat Democratic Rep. Shedron Williams two years ago. A retired engineer, Hager supported permitless carry and the six-week abortion ban.
Opposing Hager this cycle is businesswoman and Town of Gifford official Audrey Williams. Her Democratic campaign stresses Williams’s strong business background and dedication to community development.
Senate District 41 (Charleston)
In what may be the most high-profile Statehouse race of the cycle, Democratic Charleston businesswoman Rita Adkins is squaring off with Holy City Republican Rep. Matt Leber, following Leber’s bitter primary fight with incumbent GOP Sen. Sandy Senn of Charleston.
First elected in 2016, Senn was one of three Republican “sister Senators” who voted in 2023 against the state’s six-week abortion ban, all of whom were defeated in this year’s primaries. In a primary race decided by just 31 votes, Leber defeated Senn largely on the abortion issue, despite charges of domestic violence and alleged ties to a radical right-wing militia.
Political observers describe Adkins and Leber as hard workers, and partisans on both sides tell the City Paper they expect their candidate to win.
Senate District 17 (Fairfield)
Two-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Mike Fanning is seen as highly vulnerable after Republican voters were added to his district in the most recent redistricting process. This cycle, he’s running against GOP attorney Everett Stubbs, who says he supports small, efficient government and school choice.
Last year, Fanning told the Associated Press, “I’m a Democrat. It’s what I believe in. I think it matches what other people believe, too, if they’ll listen and give me a chance.”
Senate District 26 (Richland)
Pitting Democratic Rep. Russell Ott against Republican Jason Guerry, this seat opened up with the retirement of 47-year Democratic Sen. Nikki Setzler.
Ott, who manages his family’s farm in Calhoun County, became the Democratic nominee after a hard-fought primary contest with Sen. Dick Harpootlian, whose Richland seat was moved to Charleston in redistricting. Guerry says he’s running to improve vocational education, roads and mental health treatment options.
Senate District 35 (Sumter)
Opened up by the retirement of three-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Thomas McElveen, this race features former Camden Mayor Jeffrey Graham for the Democrats and businessman Mike Jones for the GOP.
Graham says his experience in government, business and community service help him understand the district and its needs. Jones stresses his 36-years of Army service, successful business career and family values.
Senate District 36 (Clarendon)
Sen. Kevin Johnson, a four-term Democrat and former mayor of Manning, is thought to be facing a stiff challenge from Sumter School Board trustee Jeffrey Zell due to growing Republican strength in the district.
Johnson says the three top issues in the race are public schools, Medicaid expansion and higher wages. Zell says he’s focused on economic development, government corruption and crime.
- Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
State Supreme Court strikes down voucher law
By Jack O’Toole, Capitol bureau | Private school voucher advocates lost another round in the S.C. Supreme Court Wednesday, with a majority of the justices finding that the state’s controversial new scholarship program is unconstitutional.
The 3-2 ruling, which found the justices at odds over the law and the facts in the case, marked the second time the state’s highest court has struck down a private school scholarship program since 2020. Under Wednesday’s ruling, parents can continue to use scholarship dollars to pay for other educational expenses, such as computers and private tutoring.
“After we clear away the window dressing, we can see the act funnels public funds to the direct benefit of private schools,” freshman Associate Justice Gary Hill wrote on behalf of the majority. “This is what our [state] constitution forbids.”
Though the ruling’s full impact was not immediately clear, S.C. Department of Education officials told the City Paper that funds already received by families would not be affected. In a separate statement, state Superintendentof Education Ellen Weaver, a longtime supporter of private school vouchers, said she would “respectfully disagree” with the court’s decision.
“Families cried tears of joy when the scholarship funds became available for their children, and today’s Supreme Court ruling brings those same families tears of devastation,” Weaver said. “These students deserve better, and I will not rest until they get it.”
But plaintiffs in the case, including S.C. Education Association President Sherry East, said the ruling was an important victory for the more than 750,000 Palmetto State families who rely on public schools to educate their children.
“We are very grateful that the courts ruled in our favor and that public dollars will remain in public schools,” East told the City Paper. “I just wish the state had put all this on hold until the Supreme Court made its decision.”
In a statement, Gov. Henry McMaster expressed disappointment with the ruling, but vowed to press on.
“The Supreme Court’s decision may have devastating consequences for thousands of low-income families who relied on these scholarships for their child’s enrollment in school last month,” McMaster said. “We will request the Court to expeditiously reconsider this decision.”
S.C. Supreme Court denies Owens’s final death penalty appeal
The state of South Carolina will execute convicted killer Freddie Owens on Sept. 18, barring a last-minute grant of clemency by Gov. Henry McMaster. Meanwhile, death penalty advocates are asking for mercy, which South Carolina governors typically have not granted.
That’s the upshot of a Thursday S.C. Supreme Court order denying Owens’ 11th-hour request for a stay of execution based on new evidence that prosecutors cut a secret deal to secure the testimony of a key witness against him. In addition, Owens’s attorneys argued his jury may have been improperly swayed by the sight of special security precautions taken during his trial.
Owens was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for the 1997 murder of Greenville convenience store clerk Irene Graves.
“Owens has failed to meet his burden of showing a constitutional violation that…constitutes a denial of fundamental fairness,” the justices wrote. “We, therefore, deny the petition for a writ of habeas corpus and deny the motions for a stay of execution.”
With the clock ticking down, state religious leaders and anti-death penalty activists are calling on McMaster to spare Owens’s life by commuting his sentence to life without parole.
“The governor has the authority to save the life of a South Carolinian, and we call on him to use that authority now,” ACLU-SC Executive Director Jace Woodrum said in a statement. “Killing human beings in a death chamber does not deliver justice, it does not make us safe, and it has no place under our Constitution.”
A petition asking McMaster to grant clemency in the case had almost 3,000 signatures as of September 13.
If Owen’s death sentence by lethal injection is carried out, he will be the first person executed in South Carolina since 2011.
S.C. awarded almost $1 million to aid sexual assault survivors
The S.C. Department of Public Health (DPH) will have $925,389 in additional funds to support victims of sexual assault thanks to a new grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
DPH says the money will be used to provide high-quality sexual violence services in the state’s 15 rape crisis centers over the next two years.
“Supporting rape crisis centers is essential not only for the immediate and long-term care of survivors but also for cultivating a community that recognizes, addresses and strives to prevent sexual violence,” DPH official Danielle Wingo said in a statement. “It is a privilege to collaborate with and advocate for these organizations.”
According to DPH, more than 2,500 South Carolinians reported a sexual assault in 2021. However, experts like S.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Executive Director Sara Barber say the actual number is much higher due to underreporting.
“Almost 30% of women in South Carolina are raped during their lifetime, with over 50% estimated to experience some form of sexual violence,” Barber said. “This funding is critical to sustaining the services provided by rape crisis centers in communities across our state that provide hope, healing and a pathway to wellbeing for survivors of these devastating intimate assaults.”
DPH advises victims in need of assistance to contact the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or a rape crisis center in their area.
In other recent news
Wilson hospitalized with stroke-like symptoms. Midlands U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson,77, was hospitalized Tuesday after experiencing “stroke-like” symptoms, according to his son, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson. On Thursday, Wilson’s X account posted that he’s “in good spirits, improving, and speaking with family.”
What S.C. plans to do about its rapidly aging bridges. Right now, about 2,400 bridges across the state are 60 years or older, and many of them were built to last around 75 years. South Carolina Transportation Secretary Justin Powell said that number of aging bridges will swell over the next decade to around 3,900 if the Department of Transportation’s current funding level for bridges holds steady without additional dollars coming in.
S.C. attorney general, USC host summit on combating antisemitism on college campuses. The one-day event, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement at the behest of Attorney General Alan Wilson and held at the University of South Carolina’s alumni center, covered topics such as how universities can protect Jewish students and hosted tours of the Anne Frank Center on campus.
New S.C. program to help survivors of human trafficking remove bad debt. The program will make the Palmetto State the second in the nation to offer support for those looking to use the 2022 federal Debt Bondage Repair Act. The services apply to a narrow set of circumstances, such as when traffickers used their victims’ Social Security number to open credit cards or take out a car loan.
Politically-connected developer to win big in lease deal to the state. Bill Stern, a Columbia developer who chairs the S.C. Ports Authority, has “paid $35 million for a sprawling Lexington County office campus. Now he’s leasing it to the state in a deal worth 11 times that over the next 20 years.”
Life expectancy is falling in S.C., data show. “While the state’s life expectancy increased from 2018 to 2019, it declined in 2020 and 2021 thanks in part to deaths associated with COVID-19. The report also cites an increase in unintentional injuries, particularly drug overdose deaths, as another major cause of the lower national life expectancy.”
S.C. prison to turn cow manure into natural gas. An inmate-run gas plant at Wateree River Correctional Institution in rural Sumter County will turn cow manure into renewable energy that can power major companies in the state.
Enjoy it while you can
Nationally award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail always has an interesting take. This week, he takes on climate change.
What do you think … love it or hate it? Did he go too far, or not far enough? Send your thoughts to feedback@statehousereport.com.
S.C. Republicans pretty quiet on Trump at debate
By Andy Brack | A funny thing happened on the way to a presidential election. South Carolina Republicans, typically loud and brash in their support of former President Donald Trump, fell mostly silent after his abysmal debate performance against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Perhaps the echo of silence was because they were just stunned how poorly the debate went for Trump. There was no onslaught of press releases, tweets or social media snippets spewing support for Trump. We didn’t hear from S.C. .Gov. Henry McMaster – the guy who has often bragged how he was the first state official to back Trump more than eight years ago.
Most of the S.C. GOP delegation were titmouses, although U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, never one to bypass the opportunity to be in the press, did holler about President Joe Biden again. (Yes, the guy who isn’t a candidate.) She said, “Joe Biden set the bar low enough to bunny hop over it and she still somehow managed to limbo underneath.”
About the only other Trump ally from South Carolina in sight was U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham who took to the post-debate spin room to bemoan how the former president missed opportunities in the debate. “I told him: ‘Your closing was great. If you do another debate, just effectively prosecute what you had and where we’re at,’” Graham said to Politico, referring to the country before and after Trump.
Activity was so timid in the spin room that even Trump showed up to try to bolster the perception that his lackluster performance was better than it was.
But all of America saw the former president for who he has become – little more than an angry, tired, orange marionette spitting robotic venom. Any charm he might have had in the past seemed to have evaporated in a cloud of 78-year-old vitriol.
So it’s no wonder there was little Republican glee. They’re still shellshocked about a party leader who is the butt of Internet memes after he falsely claimed that cats and dogs were being eaten by migrants in Ohio.
Meanwhile, Democrats bounced off the satellites, perhaps a bit too gleefully, as they celebrated how Harris baited and goaded Trump time and again, knocking him off his game.
“Kamala Harris is the future and Donald Trump is the past,” said Sam Skardon, chair of the Charleston County Democratic Party after the debate. “We got one step closer to the future tonight.”
Harris, called weak and stupid by the former president for weeks, showed she was anything but – righteously hammering the kinds of facts, numbers, proposals and details that are typical of political events.
And while the candidates danced back and forth about issues, what Americans really saw were two performances that couldn’t have been more different – Harris in control, effectively making point after point, and Trump veering wildly, becoming the caricature that he painted Biden to be just weeks earlier.
For the next two months, Trump will continue to flail away at Harris but the Tuesday debate might have been his last big hurrah. By showing his true self to the American people, he may have unwittingly tipped the balance in the close election to Harris as his behavior ticked off too many voters, particularly those in swing states.
So when they hear the crazy political charges that are sure to come, they might just wonder whether there’s any basis in what he’s saying.
And then Fido or Kitty might walk by. And they’ll remember what Trump said about pets in Ohio.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
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Fall scene
This South Carolina scene gives a hint of fall. Where and what is it? Send your name, hometown and guess to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Last week’s mystery, “Heavenly view,” showed Pretty Place, a chapel at the YMCA Camp Greenville, which has been around since 1912.
So Pretty (Place) Good Job to more than two dozen people who identified last week’s mystery, including: Curtis Joyner of Charleston; Katherine Wells, Karen Ingram, Jay Altman, Nancy Barksdale, Elizabeth Jones and John Hart, all of Columbia; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Gwen Strickland of Marion; Barry Wingard and Jane Hart Lewis, both of Florence; Wayne Beam of Cleveland; Steve Willis of Lancaster; Dan Jepson of Travelers Rest; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Bill Segars and Michael Webb, both of Hartsville; Penny Forrester of Tallahassee, Fla.; Elaine Huff-Lowe of Inman; Will Bradley of Las Vegas, Nevada; Bobby Ridgeway of Manning; Pat Keadle of Perry; David Lupo of Mount Pleasant; Charlie Davis of Aiken; Truett Jones of Summerton; Will Williams of Aiken; and Beau Tiller.
- Send us a mystery picture. If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
Charter district responds
To the editor:
The article by Jack O’Toole (“Critics point to weak state charter school law,” Aug. 9) cites Stanford University’s 2023 CREDO report as the basis for charter school underperformance in South Carolina. That report uses 2014-15 as its first school year of data. The Charter Institute at Erskine did not exist at that time.
The CREDO report’s last school year of data is 2018-19 – our first year as a charter school sponsor in South Carolina. The Institute is thankful to be the fastest growing school district in the state, overseeing more than 25,000 students across 26 schools, with students from every zip code in the Palmetto State. Recently, 12 Institute schools received an overall report card rating of Good or Excellent, while 11 schools increased their overall rating. Brashier Middle College, an Institute charter school, was the only charter school in the state selected by the U.S. Department of Education for its prestigious National Blue Ribbon School Program. The graduation rate for Institute high schools is nearly 87% which is higher than the State of South Carolina’s 83% rate. This is even more impressive considering how many of our charter schools are in rural communities and that we have the largest number of virtual students in the state.
I invite students and their families to learn more about the Charter Institute and the many tuition-free charter school options we offer from classical, virtual, traditional and dual enrollment, among others. The Institute is constantly learning and seeking to improve, offering best practices, academic support, and data-driven analyses to our schools. We are proud of our track record, the performance of our schools, and are committed to expanding our innovative approach to public school education in South Carolina.
– Cameron Runyan, superintendent, Charter Institute at Erskine
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