NEW for 3/14: On the state budget, 2026 governor’s race, Loftis

• BIG STORY:  S.C. House budget highlights bitter GOP feud
• MORE NEWS: Mace leads in 2026 name recognition
• LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Right whale moms
• BRACK:  Time for Loftis to resign as state treasurer
• MYSTERY PHOTO:   Sepia tones
• FEEDBACK: Better days ahead

House budget debate highlights bitter GOP feud

By Jack O’Toole, Capitol Bureau  |   After two long days of bitter infighting between Republican regulars and members of the hard-right S.C. Freedom Caucus, the S.C. House passed its first draft of the $14 billion 2025-26 state budget 99-13 just after midnight on March 12.  It passed to the Senate on March 13.

Statehouse observers say the lopsided final margin reflected the budget’s broadly popular spending priorities, with billions for tax cuts, teacher pay raises and roads and bridges.

But that didn’t make getting there any easier, as members of the chamber’s Republican supermajority took turns denouncing each other’s proposals as “crap” from the well of the House.

“Can you say ‘no’ to the budget?” Freedom Caucus Rep. April Cromer (R-Anderson) demanded. “I can, because it’s chock full of crap.”

The “crap” she was referring to? A billion dollars in so-called “wasteful” state spending that she and her Freedom Caucus colleagues claimed their amendments would cut from the budget. Proposed cuts included virtually the entire budgets of agencies like the Sea Grant Consortium and the  South Carolina Arts Commission.

But House Majority Leader Davey Hiott (R-Pickens) pushed back hard, saying the South Carolinians who’d benefit from the budget — teachers, students, law enforcement officers, taxpayers and more — “aren’t crap to me.”

“I’m sick and tired of this crap, coming up here and making a farce out of what the state of South Carolina deserves and needs,” he said. “That’s all this is — it’s a show.”

What’s more, he noted, the Freedom Caucus’s math appeared to be off by a factor of 10, according to staff budget experts.

“If you add up all the amendments the Freedom Caucus has put up, they’ve put up a hundred million [dollars] in cuts total,” he said. “And they’re gonna cut a billion dollars?”

And in the end, they didn’t cut a billion dollars — or even, as an amendment by Lexington County Freedom Caucus Rep. Jay Kilmartin proposed, 10 cents from the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Kilmartin argued the amendment was a useful test of whether his fellow Republicans were willing to cut even one dime from the state budget. Opponents noted that it would cost taxpayers more than 10 cents to print up the change if it passed.

And on the back-and-forth went until the early hours of Wednesday morning, when all but 13 of the chamber’s 88 Republicans joined with Democrats to push the budget though. Almost lost in the debate? What it would actually do.

OK, so what’s in the budget?

Though not identical, the $14 billion House budget is broadly consistent with the executive budget presented by Gov. Henry McMaster earlier this year. Among its top spending priorities are:

• Tax cuts: The spending plan includes two major tax cuts totaling more than $1 billion, with $211 million in income tax reductions, which will bring the top income tax rate down to 6%, and $814 million in property tax credits.

• Teacher pay: A $1,500 raise for all state teachers, bringing the minimum salary up to $48,500. Though still short of McMaster’s recommended $50,000, the new state minimum beats those in North Carolina and Georgia.

• State employees: The budget includes $61 million for employee raises of 2%-17%, based on occupation and time in service. Also included is $89 million to cover most of the cost increases for state health insurance policies, though for the first time since 2012, employees will be asked to pay more — about $37 a month.

• Tuition mitigation: $61 million to extend the freeze on in-state tuition for current students at state colleges and universities. Budget writers said they limited the subsidy to current students because rising costs have made the five-year-old freeze unsustainable.

• Critical infrastructure: In addition to $250 million for state roads and bridges, the budget includes $20 million to bolster rural water and sewer systems.

• Hurricane Helene: $270 million to offset recovery costs associated with the Category 4 hurricane that claimed the lives of 49 South Carolinians in September 2024.

• Conservation: $12 million for the state Conservation Land Bank to acquire additional acreage. Currently, 3 million acres are protected by conservation easements in S.C. McMaster would like to see that number rise to 6 million by 2050.

Lingering tensions

After the final vote, members expressed frustration with the process.

“I couldn’t be more disappointed,” Cromer said in a Freedom Caucus video. “I feel like we let the people of South Carolina down today with the budget we just passed.”

But Rep. Gil Gatch (R-Dorchester) told Statehouse Report he was “super-proud” of the spending plan — particularly the $1 billion in tax cuts, and the targeted investments in roads and teacher pay.

“This is a very conservative and responsible budget,” he said.

And as for the Freedom Caucus?

“Those guys aren’t serious,” he said. “They’re a made-for-TV bunch.”

On the other side of the aisle, Charleston Democratic Rep. Spencer Wetmore echoed those comments, noting that Freedom Caucus members seemed to be more interested in good video clips than good arguments that might win votes in the chamber.

For instance, she said, many Freedom Caucus amendments were defeated because they were challenged and found to be out of order under House rules. But when those challenges were being debated, they didn’t argue that their amendments were in order and should be allowed. Instead, they just stuck to their talking points.

“It’s like they weren’t serious about getting their policies into the budget,” she said. “They were just serious about saying what they wanted to say, so they could film themselves and take the clip for social media.”

The S.C. Senate will begin its own budget process this month, with a floor vote expected the week of April 20. The two chambers will then have to work out any differences between the two spending bills before giving it final passage in each body.

• Have a comment?  Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.

Mace leads in 2026 gubernatorial name recognition

By Jack O’Toole, Capitol Bureau  |  With national political news breaking by the minute and a state governor’s race just around the corner, a new poll is catching the attention of political insiders across the Palmetto State.

Released March 11, the state’s Winthrop Poll found President Donald Trump with the highest approval rating of any name tested at 45%, with Gov. Henry McMaster trailing closely at 43%. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, long down but seemingly never out, brought up the rear at 34%.

“Even including those who responded ‘don’t know,’ President Trump’s approval rating is five points higher than his disapproval,” pollster and Winthrop political professor Scott Huffmon said in a polling memo. “Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided over President Trump’s performance, but his approval is riding high among his base.”

Of perhaps even more interest were name identification results for likely 2026 gubernatorial candidates seeking to replace the term-limited McMaster. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-Charleston) led the  field with 52% of respondents saying they were  very or somewhat familiar with her, followed by Republican S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson at 39% and current Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette at 32%.

But when looking only at likely Republican primary voters, those numbers grew much stronger.

“Importantly, both Mace and Wilson, often touted as leading candidates at this early stage, have extremely high name recognition among those respondents who might be perceived as most likely to vote in a Republican primary,” Huffmon noted. “Among Republicans who reported having voted in the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary, Mace is recognized by more than two-thirds and Wilson is recognized by more than half.”

The Winthrop Poll of 1,220 South Carolinians was conducted from Feb. 21-March 5.  Results using all respondents have a margin of error of +/-2.81%.

Next week in the Statehouse

The S.C. House is in recess until March 25. The Senate is scheduled to return at noon on March 18. Committee highlights include a Senate Agriculture subcommittee hearing on a bill to regulate the use of the word “meat” on certain food products, and a Senate Legislative Oversight Committee hearing on the state Department on Aging.

• A complete listing of streamable committee meetings is available on the Statehouse website at scstatehouse.gov/video/schedule.php.

In other recent news

S.C. Senate GOP leader says Tuesday is ‘D-Day’ for tort reform. The Senate left Columbia late Thursday without a deal on the contentious and hotly-watched issue of tort reform. Senate Republican Leader Shane Massey, the lead sponsor of the bill, said the Senate needs to resolve the issue by early next week.

S.C. activists call for expanded gun background checks a decade after Emanuel AME killings. Roughly 50 activists from the South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action and the Beaufort High School chapter of Students Demand Action met on the south steps of the Statehouse on Thursday to call for the passage of legislation to close the so-called “Charleston loophole.”

S.C. bill would require counties to pay more to jail teens at DJJ. It could lead to fewer arrests. In an effort to reduce overcrowding in South Carolina’s juvenile jail, senators advanced a bill Thursday that would require counties to pay more for each teenager detained.

Anti-DEI proposal killed on S.C. House floor. An effort to bar the use of diversity, equity and inclusion by schools and school districts with the state budget was killed on the House floor by Democrats.

S.C. Senate looks to strengthen penalties against manipulating minors into prostitution. The bill, approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, would sentence adults who lure children into prostitution via “sexual grooming” to five years in prison.

S.C. one of 20 states to consider eliminating income taxes on tips. With bills filed in both the House and the Senate, South Carolina is one of 20 states considering elimination of state income taxes that waiters, bartenders and other hospitality workers collect through tips.

Outside auditors say Loftis misrepresented facts in testimony. AlixPartners, the firm hired to clean up S.C.’s multibillion dollar accounting mess, told state senators this week that S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis has consistently misrepresented facts to downplay his role in the scandal.

S.C. suspends EV charging program. The state has suspended its electric vehicle charging program after President Donald Trump in January issued an executive order pausing funding the disbursement of federal funding the Biden Administration had earmarked for EV charging infrastructure under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, also known as NEVI.

S.C. population continues to boom. New Census Bureau numbers show Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg and Hilton Head among the fastest growing metros in the nation. Due to relocations, S.C.’s population has been growing by almost 100,000 per year despite its negative birth rate.

LOWCOUNTRY by Robert Ariail

Whale moms

Award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail has a special knack for poking a little fun in just the right way.  This week, he takes on some of the controversy around right whale habitat.

• Love this week’s cartoon or hate it?  Did he go too far, or not far enough?  Send your thoughts to  feedback@statehousereport.com.

Time for Loftis to resign as state treasurer

By Andy Brack  |  If there’s one thing that’s bringing together Republicans and Democrats in Columbia, it’s the increasingly widely-held belief that it’s time for state Treasurer Curtis Loftis to step down.

The problem is that Loftis, one of three statewide officials ensnared in a multibillion dollar accounting errors and scandal that forced out the other two, doesn’t realize the clock is buzzing.  He is, in fact, defiant, as he related in several direct questions from Statehouse Report.

Will you resign?  

“Absolutely not. The citizens of South Carolina have elected me four times to be their treasurer, and I am grateful for their continued support. My record of standing up to special interests and political insiders is well known, and the public is aware of the many instances of retaliation I have had to endure for protecting their money.”

Why not, since you’re under enormous pressure to move on?  

“A small group of politically motivated legislators and their special interest friends does not constitute ‘enormous pressure.’ On the contrary, I have support of most of the legislature, the House leadership and the governor. Most importantly, the citizens of South Carolina have continued to support me as they have for the last 15 years.”

But how can you lead responsibly in an environment where your reputation has incurred a lot of damage and lots of people have lost faith in you?

“Most South Carolinians know this is simply dirty politics. An accounting entry does not worry the hard-working people of this state, as they understand that there was no mysterious bank account, no missing money and no misspent money. They know the state’s cash and investments are properly accounted for, and they repeatedly tell me to keep up the good work and continue to fight for them.”

Loftis maintains the whole mess is grandstanding, particularly by state senators who want “their puppets… to control the accounting of funds and how they are banked and invested.  In a democracy, there is supposed to be a system of checks and balances, and I believe that the voting public will not allow these politicians to hijack their money.”

But just this week in another Senate hearing looking into the huge error, the forensic auditing firm that investigated what happened challenged statements made earlier this year by Loftis.  One senator described what was going as a cover-up.  Loftis said it was a witch hunt and he testified honestly.

So what now happens?

The pressure will remain, but the Senate can’t throw out Loftis.  If lawmakers want to get rid of him – and one Democratic insider said he hadn’t heard of any Republicans in the Senate supporting Loftis – then an impeachment effort would have to start in the S.C. House.  And that’s controlled by House Speaker Murrell Smith, who with Gov. Henry McMaster reportedly supports Loftis, just so the Republican Party doesn’t get dinged with another hit to its reputation.

So Loftis remains in office.  And regardless of whether you take his side or the Senate’s, the country’s major credit rating agencies, which assess creditworthiness of state governments and influence borrowing power and rates, are looking coolly at South Carolina these days.  If they do anything to impede the state’s ability to operate or borrow, that will force higher rates, which isn’t good for state taxpayers.

So it’s time for Loftis to go and make way for less drama and more stability.

But what’s the likelihood of that?  Who knows.  But get this: Loftis may run for reelection, just to prove that people are behind him.

While he says he wants to get back to business as usual, he noted, “I continue to enjoy widespread public support as I have for the last four elections and money is not an object, so I have options. I have spoken to party and community leaders, and they have been uniformly positive about a possible reelection campaign.”

• To read full remarks by Loftis, visit this link at StatehouseReport.com.

• Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper.  Have a comment?  Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.

Sepia tones

There are a couple of clues in here that may give you an idea about how old this photo is.  What and where is it?  Send your name, hometown and guess to: feedback@statehousereport.com.

Our most recent mystery, “Brick fence,” showed the Heyward family cemetery at Old House Plantation in Jasper County.   Columbia resident Elizabeth Jones tells us that the cemetery includes the remains of Thomas Heyward Jr. (1746 – 1809), “the last signer of the Declaration of independence and of the Articles of Confederation as a representative of South Carolina.”

Added David Lupo of Mount Pleasant, “The 500-acre plantation was settled in 1743 and grew to 16,000 acres before it burned in 1865.”

Others who correctly identified the photo were: Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Truett Jones of Summerton; Bill Segars of Hartsville; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.

• 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.

Better days ahead

To the editor:

Your no-nonsense approach to state and national politics is much appreciated, even gives me hope that there might be enough not-Trumpians in this state to elect a more diverse and representative government.

I certainly agree that [U.S. Rep.] Nancy Mace, who has already dishonored South Carolina in the U. S. House, does not deserve a top spot in our state government.

If it were not for the successful GOP/MAGA gerrymandering in my district, I’m hopeful we could have returned a better result in the last election. Better days to come, I like to think, hopefully.

– Carol Brown, Beaufort, S.C.

Send us your thoughts 

We encourage you to send in your thoughts about policy and politics impacting South Carolina.  We print non-defamatory comments, but unless you provide your contact information – name and hometown, plus a phone number used only by us for verification – we can’t publish your thoughts.

• Have a comment?  Send your letters or comments to: feedback@statehousereport.com.  Make sure to provide your contact details (name, hometown and phone number for verification.  Letters are limited to 150 words.

Statehouse Report, founded in 2001 as a weekly legislative forecast that informs readers about what is going to happen in South Carolina politics and policy, is provided by email to you at no charge every Friday.

• Editor and publisher:  Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
• Statehouse bureau chief: Jack O’Toole

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