South-Carolina
SC politicians respond to continued shutdown over including subsidies in spending plan
Airports manage staff, flight delays amid government shutdown
Essential works and staff are on duty at airports despite the government shutdown. As the shutdown continues, the risk of flight delays remain.
A temporary spending plan to get the government back up and running continues to stall out in the Senate as the shutdown becomes one of the longest in U.S. history.
South Carolina’s politicians have been active in Washington D.C. and at home advocating for an end to the shutdown. Many of these same politicians are also in the midst of campaigns as the 2026 governor’s race, Senate and congressional elections all approach.
This week’s About Politics takes a look at how South Carolina’s members of Congress are pushing to end a shutdown, new polling numbers ahead of the election, and a key endorsement one House member earned from the president.
New poll on the gubernatorial and Senate races
Quantus Insights, a polling and election forecasting organization, conducted a survey of South Carolina Republican voters ahead of next year’s gubernatorial race. Their poll of 600 registered Republican voters show tight margins between three Republican candidates: Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (District 1).
According to the Oct. 7 poll, the majority of surveyed Republican voters are still unsure who they support as South Carolina’s next governor with 35% of respondents stating they are undecided. About 17% said they support Evette’s campaign compared to Mace’s and Wilson’s 16%.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-District 5), racked up 11% of support from survey takers while State Sen. Josh Kimbrell (SC- District 11) earned 5%.
Quantus Insights also surveyed the 600 registered Republican voters on the 2026 Senate race.
Three Republicans are running in the Senate primary race so far: Graham, Greenville businessman Mark Lynch and Project 2025 author Paul Dans.
About 58% of survey respondents said they support Graham’s campaign compared to 15% who support Lynch and 7% who support Dans. About a fifth of the survey respondents said they are still undecided on who they support for Senate.
Lindsey Graham addresses shutdown on Meet the Press
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- South Carolina, appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Oct. 12, where he spoke to host Kristen Welker about several topics, including wars overseas and the government shutdown.
Welker asked Graham if he supports the mass federal worker layoffs announced by the Trump administration during the shutdown, to which Graham said that decisions have to be made when there is no money coming in. He also said he opposed to the continued healthcare subsidies — the core of the spending plan disagreements.
“To my Democratic friends, I am not going to vote to extend these subsidies,” Graham said. “Let’s have a rational discussion, but not with the government shutdown. It’s up to you.”
Outcry over impacts of shutdown on military families
The U.S. government shutdown has surpassed its second week, and one of the most direct impacts of a shutdown is to military families whose military paychecks were in limbo. Some received pay on Oct. 15, while other service members did not.
Twenty seven Republican members of Congress, including South Carolina Reps. William Timmons (SC- District 4), Joe Wilson (SC-District 2) and Sheri Biggs (SC-District 3), wrote a letter to Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Oct. 15, urging him to pass a temporary spending plan to help military families. The letter called out the furlough of more than 334,000 Department of Defense civilian employees and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ limited operations.
“You have made it clear to the American people that shutting down the government is justified in pursuit of your political ends, regardless of the cost to military readiness and the well-being of servicemembers and veterans,” the letter stated. “Your political tactics are putting military members, veterans, and their families at risk.”
The government shutdown has reached a 16th day, making it tied for the third longest shutdown in U.S. history. A Senate vote on a House-passed spending plan failed for the 10th time on Oct. 16.
Clyburn responds to continued shutdown
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, South Carolina’s only Democratic member of Congress, has refuted his peer’s statements that Democrats are responsible for the shutdown. Clyburn posted on X stating that the Trump administration is using the shutdown as a way to fire federal works and halt government services, while placing the blame on Democrats.
“The Trump Admin. is using the shutdown as a pretext to arbitrarily fire federal workers and upend government services while simultaneously blaming Democrats for federal workers going without pay,” Clyburn stated. “Trump and Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, firings, and chaos. Period.”Clyburn has also been a firm advocate for continuing health care subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act, saying that without them, South Carolina families will suffer.
“$2,571. That’s how much health care premiums will increase next year for an average family of four in South Carolina on a healthcare.gov plan,” Clybrun posted. “Democrats want to end this shutdown and prevent that from happening. Republicans should join us.”
President Trump endorses Timmons’ campaign
President Donald Trump posted his endorsement of Timmon’s reelection campaign on Truth Social on Oct. 14. Timmons was elected to serve the 4th Congressional District in November 2018 and is up for reelection in the 2026 midterms.
Trump wrote in the post that Timmons knows what it takes to ensure law and order and is a strong supporter of the military and law enforcement. He also commended Timmons’ stance on tax cuts, border security and second amendment rights.
“Congressman William Timmons is doing a truly fantastic job representing the wonderful people of South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Oct. 14. “William Timmons has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
South Carolina senators back restrictions for medication abortions
Graham led a group of 50 other Republican senators, including Sen. Tim Scott, in writing a letter to the Food and Drug Administration that called for a greater restriction to medication abortions.
The letter was addressed to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Martin Makary. It urged them to review the FDA approval of a generic version of mifepristone. The senators argue that medication abortions can cause risks of serious medical complications, while undermining pro-life laws and states’ rights.
“Every month, thousands of abortion drugs are shipped into states that have otherwise limited access to abortion after Dobbs, degrading pro-life laws at the state level across the country,” the letter states. “Pro-life states have been forced to defend their citizens against radical abortion extremists.”
The Republican senators urge health officials to suspend the approval of new mifepristone generics pending a safety review, reinstate an in-person dispensing requirement for the drug, and suspend the distibution of the drug and its generics.
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
On July 1, three days before fireworks erupted across the United States, South Carolina football launched some of their own across the college football world after landing five-star cornerback Joshua Dobson.
Dobson’s commitment to the Gamecocks marked the highest-rated defensive back commit in program history. Additionally, the No. 12 prospect in the nation is the third-highest-ranked Gamecock commit ever, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.
On July 3, ESPN’s Craig Haubert, Eli Lederman and Tom Luginbill predicted the fit of all current five-star prospects with their future schools. That list included Dobson’s fit with South Carolina.
What does this mean for the Gamecocks? Mingo Martin and fellow subscribers are discussing it now on The Insiders Forum.
“ESPN’s No. 2 cornerback was a priority local target for South Carolina coach Shane Beamer in the 2027 cycle,” Lederman wrote. ” … If he signs later this year, Dobson will represent the program’s highest-ranked signee since defensive end Jordan Burch arrived at South Carolina as the No. 4 overall recruit in the 2020 class.”
Dobson, originally of Fort Mill, S.C., transferred to Hough High School in Cornelius, N.C., after his junior season. In the days following his commitment, his Hough teammate, Davion Jones, joined him in South Carolina’s recruiting class.
“A long, gifted corner with elite level speed, he posted a 4.39 40 this spring. Dobson is smooth and transitions extremely quickly in and out when turning and running or closing on the ball,” Luginbill wrote. “He can mirror without allowing separation in man-to-man, shadowing receivers out of their breaks. He tracks the deep throw well, showing a second gear to break under the ball and has outstanding hands and ball skills.”
The former quarterback and ESPN national recruiting director also predicted that Dobson can be an early starter at South Carolina.
There is precedent in ensuring young defensive backs see the field as freshmen under Beamer. During the 2025 season, true freshmen Kendall Daniels Jr. and Damarcus Leach saw limited action.
Daniels featured in nine games primarily on special teams while Leach saw limited time across seven matchups. Both players returned to the Gamecocks for a sophomore season in 2026.
Earlier during the Beamer era, Nick Emmanwori, DQ Smith, and Jalon Kilgore all earned Freshman All-American honors with the Gamecocks.
“He also shows good closing speed and aggressiveness in run support, and isn’t just a finesse cover corner,” Luginbill wrote about the Gamecocks’ 2027 Freshman All-American hopeful. “Dobson has awareness and instincts for the position that are coveted, and his speed sets him apart.”
Dobson’s speed features 100-meter track times in the 10.4-second range alongside his 6-foot 5-inch wingspan.
However, the crown jewel of South Carolina’s 2027 recruiting class still has a senior year to play. In an age of NIL and constant player movement, Dobson’s recruitment remains far from over. Should the Gamecocks retain their potential star through signing day, the sky is the limit for him and Clayton White’s secondary.
South-Carolina
Federal court revives NAACP lawsuit challenging SC education law limiting how schools can teach race
A legislative effort to put a similar ban in regular state law — minus the “discomfort” item — failed in 2024 after the House and Senate couldn’t agree on how it would be enforced.
A second part of the lawsuit and appeal concerned the Lexington Three school district’s decision to remove the book “Stamped,” by noted anti-racist author Ibram X. Kendi from its libraries.
Kendi alleges in the lawsuit that the removal of his book constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, linked to the budget provision because at least one member of the district review committee pointed to the law as a reason for the removal.
Lydon had also tossed that claim on standing grounds, which the appeals court similarly reversed, finding that the lawsuit “plausibly alleges” that Kendi’s book was pulled from shelves because of the budget provision.
As with the AP course part of the lawsuit, Agee’s opinion doesn’t rule on the larger legal question of whether an author has a First Amendment right to keep their book in a school library, just that it’s not reason to deny the author standing.
The Budget Provision
The Budget Provision
The following proviso has been included in South Carolina’s annual budgets since 2021.
For the current fiscal year, of the funds allocated by the Department of Education to school districts, no monies shall be used by any school district or school to provide instruction in, to teach, instruct, or train any administrator, teacher, staff member, or employee to adopt or believe, or to approve for use, make use of, or carry out standards, curricula, lesson plans, textbooks, instructional materials, or instructional practices that serve to inculcate any of the following concepts:
(1) one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex;
(2) an individual, by virtue of his race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously;
(3) an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his race or sex;
(4) an individual’s moral standing or worth is necessarily determined by his race or sex;
(5) an individual, by virtue of his race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;
(6) an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex;
(7) meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race; and
(8) fault, blame, or bias should be assigned to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex.
Nothing contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting any professional development training for teachers related to issues of addressing unconscious bias within the context of teaching certain literary or historical concepts or issues related to the impacts of historical or past discriminatory policies.
Just a day after four-star PA wide receiver Khalil Taylor spurned Penn State for Nebraska, the Nittany Lions got more fantastic news as four-star South Carolina running back Aiden Gibson announced his decommitment from Penn State and flipped to Rutgers with the intention to enroll for the 2026 season.
Not really much to say here other than this sucks and there have just been too many losses for Penn State this cycle. No one is going to bat 1.000, but after a strong March and April that had the Nittany Lions positioned to sign a Top 15 class, they have managed to lose Jamir Dean to Georgia, Zach Gleason to West Virginia, DeShawn Hall to Auburn, Khalil Taylor to Nebraska, and now Aiden Gibson to Rutgers. The class is now ranked No. 22, behind the likes of Cal, Kentucky, and…Virginia Tech.
Gross. The 2028 class needs to be better.
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