South-Carolina

US Rep. Nancy Mace overcomes McCarthy-backed challenger to win Republican primary in South Carolina

Published

2 years ago

June 12, 2024

US Rep. Nancy Mace overcomes McCarthy-backed challenger to win Republican primary in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has won the Republican nomination after a tumultuous second term in South Carolina that saw her go from a critic to an ally of former President Donald Trump and make headlines for plenty of things off the House floor.

Mace defeated challengers Catherine Templeton and Bill Young in voting that ended Tuesday. She will face a Democratic opponent in the general election in the 1st District, which is the closest thing South Carolina has to a swing district in the Republican-dominated state.

Trump’s endorsement — after he called her crazy and terrible in 2022 — is just one of many ways Mace has attracted a spotlight far greater than a typical second-term member of Congress.

She’s a regular on interview shows, often antagonizing the hosts. She calls for her party to moderate on abortion and marijuana but joined seven of the farthest right members to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy threw his weight against Mace and the other defectors. His political action committee gave a $10,000 contribution to Templeton, and the American Prosperity Alliance, where a McCarthy ally serves as a senior adviser, donated to a group called South Carolina Patriots PAC, which spent more than $2.1 million against Mace.

Mace has said her positions and beliefs aren’t erratic — she is just reflecting the values of the 1st District, which stretches from the centuries-old neighborhoods of Charleston down the coast to Beaufort County’s booming freshly built neighborhoods of retirees moving to South Carolina from somewhere else.

Mace, the first woman to graduate from South Carolina’s military academy The Citadel, thanked her voters for tuning out the “senseless noise” from her opponents and realizing she is unafraid to stand up to powerful people.

“When you are the first woman to sit in The Citadel’s barber chair to get all of your hair chopped off, you don’t get your feelings hurt when you don’t get invited to the fancy cocktail parties in Washington, D.C.,” Mace said. “While sometimes I may be a caucus of one, I’m not alone because I’m not there for me — I’m there for each and every one of you.”

Mace’s opponents argued that by seeming to land everywhere on issues, Mace is nowhere.

Templeton ran South Carolina’s health and environmental agency to some angst a decade ago and in her only political race finished third in the 2018 GOP gubernatorial primary won by Gov. Henry McMaster. Young is a Marine veteran and financial planner.

Templeton didn’t mention Mace’s name, but asked Tuesday for her voters to keep backing Republicans.

“I think it is safe to say everybody in here has the conservative values that we share, and in November we are all going to stand behind our president and we are all going to join together to support the Republican Party,” Templeton said.

In the Democratic primary, businessman and former International African American Museum CEO Michael Moore defeated Mac Deford, a Citadel graduate and lawyer for a couple of the larger bedroom communities in the district.

South Carolina lawmakers drew the district to be more Republican after the seat flipped for one term in 2018. The 1st District was the only congressional district won by Nikki Haley over Trump in the 2024 South Carolina Republican presidential primary.

4th District

For the second election in a row, U.S. Rep. William Timmons has fought off a spirited challenge in the Republican primary.

Timmons defeated state Rep. Adam Morgan, the leader of the state House Freedom Caucus who argued Timmons was too liberal.

Timmons’ divorce — and a widely shared Instagram post by a husband who said Timmons had an affair with his wife — complicated his reelection bid. Timmons has denied the allegations.

Timmons has Trump’s endorsement as he seeks a fourth term in the district anchored by Greenville and Spartanburg,

Timmons was not in his district Tuesday night, instead staying in Washington, where Republicans only have a two vote majority in the U.S. House.

He said he was thankful his voters recognized his strong conservative record and saw through the “countless lies” from his opponent.

“In Washington I am focused on policy not headlines, on representing my constituents not myself, and working with my colleagues instead of working against them,” Timmons said in a statement on social media.

In November’s general election, Timmons will face Democrat Kathryn Harvey, who helps nonprofit organizations with marketing, fundraising and leadership, and Constitutional Party candidate Mark Hackett.

3rd District

South Carolina’s 3rd District is open after Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan decided not to run again after seven terms. Duncan’s wife of 35 years filed for divorce in 2023, accusing him of several affairs.

The Republican nomination is going to a runoff between a candidate endorsed by Trump and another endorsed by his good friend McMaster.

Mark Burns is a Black pastor who has backed Trump since before his first race for president and made it to the runoff after losing twice before in the GOP primary in the neighboring 4th District.

His opponent is nurse practitioner Sheri Biggs, who along with her husband have been faithful contributors and friends of McMaster for years.

They defeated five other candidates including South Carolina Rep. Stewart Jones and Kevin Bishop, who handled communications for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for more than two decades.

Sherwin-Williams paint store manager Byron Best from Greenwood won the Democratic nomination in the 3rd District.

Other races

The only other U.S. House incumbent facing a primary challenger is Republican Rep. Joe Wilson who won the party’s nomination as he seeks a 12th full term in the 2nd District, which stretches from suburban areas around Columbia west and south toward Aiken.

Wilson will face David Robinson II. The U.S. Army veteran who enlisted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and is an advocate for missing people after his son disappeared in the desert in Arizona won the Democratic primary.

Attorney Duke Buckner won the Republican 6th District primary and will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, who is seeking a 17th term in the state’s majority-minority district that is bounded by areas around Charleston, Beaufort and Columbia.

In the 7th District Democratic primary, teacher Mal Hyman, who calls himself an independent Democrat, faces Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom veteran Daryl Scott. The winner takes on Republican U.S. Rep. Russel Fry, who is seeking a second term in the district that stretches from Myrtle Beach to Florence in the northeast part of the state.

Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press

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South-Carolina

Could SC’s election rules shape who decides to run for Graham’s US Senate seat?

Published

48 minutes ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

Could SC’s election rules shape who decides to run for Graham’s US Senate seat?

(WPDE) — A social media post from U.S. Rep. William Timmons is drawing attention to a South Carolina election-law scenario that could shape whether some members of Congress decide to run for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s open U.S. Senate seat.

Under the timeline outlined, a sitting member of Congress could win reelection to the U.S. House and also win the open U.S. Senate seat on Election Day, Nov. 3. Because a person cannot serve in both offices, the lawmaker would have to choose.

If the member chose the Senate seat, the change would take effect when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. At that point, the person would leave their House seat to serve in the Senate.

Unlike a U.S. Senate vacancy, a U.S. House seat cannot be filled by appointment. Instead, a special election would be required to choose a new representative. Until that special election is held, the House seat would remain vacant.

Timmons said the temporary vacancy could matter because the House elects its speaker when the new Congress begins on Jan. 3. With Republicans expected to hold a narrow majority, Timmons argues that even one temporary vacancy could make it more difficult for Speaker Mike Johnson to secure enough votes to keep the speaker’s gavel.

The next step in the process comes Tuesday, when candidate filing for the special Republican primary opens. Filing closes July 28.

Observers will be watching whether the issue affects who files for the race and whether any lawmakers propose changes to the election process.

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South-Carolina

Lindsey Graham’s sister sworn in as the South Carolina senator’s successor

Published

13 hours ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

Lindsey Graham’s sister sworn in as the South Carolina senator’s successor

WASHINGTON, D.C. –

Less than 72 hours after the sudden passing of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, his sister was sworn in to finish his term.

Darlene Graham Nordone took the oath on Tuesday, saying it’s what her brother would have wanted.

Having served in the Senate for almost two and a half decades, Senator Graham was well-liked by his Republican colleagues, generally well-respected by Democrats, and well-known across the country.

Taking the oath on the Senate floor, Darlene Graham Nordone, the younger sister of Lindsey Graham, officially became his successor. A ceremonial swearing-in followed in the old Senate chamber.

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) prayed for Graham’s family Monday as he remembered his friend.

“He’s a person that loved his body, loved the country, and loved the people of South Carolina. And it showed,” said Lankford.

Senator Alan Armstrong (R-OK), who went through a similar selection and swearing-in process just a few months ago, told Bloomberg TV he had come to respect Graham during their brief overlap.

“People knew him for somebody that would speak his mind and was clear and convincing in his argument,” said Armstrong.

As a strong backer of Ukraine, one of Graham’s final acts was to get White House backing for a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill.

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South-Carolina

Earmarks, property tax relief continue to stall SC budget discussions

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

Earmarks, property tax relief continue to stall SC budget discussions

South Carolina is operating under a temporary spending measure as lawmakers have not finalized the state budget.
A legislative committee is stalled over disagreements on property tax relief and specific project funding known as earmarks.
Without a new budget, planned raises for state employees and teachers cannot be allocated.
Lawmakers are considering three options, including operating on the temporary measure for another year.

South Carolina has been operating under a temporary spending measure for the past two weeks after a small committee of House and Senate members has yet to finalize the budget.

After another day of stalled discussions, Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said lawmakers have three options to keep the government funded. One of those options is operating under a continuing resolution, a temporary funding measure that keeps state agency funding the same as the previous financial year, until next year.

The General Assembly’s budget conference committee, a six-member group — three each from the House and Senate — met for a brief budget discussion on July 14. The committee decided quickly to adjourn until 2 p.m. on July 15 after failing to make progress on a spending plan.

Conference committee members are struggling to come to an agreement on property tax relief and earmarks, which are budget allocations set aside for specific projects. The committee most recently met on June 30, the day before fiscal year 2027 was set to start, and decided to push its next meeting out two weeks to give staff the time to collect information on the main differences between the Senate and House budgets.

The committee reconvened on July 14, facing the same challenges as it did during the meeting in late June. Though the legislature has not finalized a budget for fiscal year 2027, state agencies are being funded at last year’s levels due to a continuing resolution.

However, the state will not be able to allocate funds for state employee raises and teacher salary bumps if lawmakers don’t pass a new budget.

“It’s important for the people of South Carolina to remember that government is open,” Davis said. “This is not a situation like in Washington, D.C. where state government is shutting down.”

Davis told his fellow committee members that he thinks they have three options: keep operating under a continuing resolution for the next year, pass a budget without property tax cuts or earmarks, or decide which earmarks can be removed to include some measure of property tax relief.

“Mr. Chairman, I think those are the three options in front of us right now,” Davis said.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, said he thinks the state can have a budget and that relying on a continuing resolution is an “absolute failure of this conference committee to do their job.”

“In the next couple of days, we’re obviously going to be working hard,” Bannister said. “I’d like to do that in good faith.”

According to Davis, the House budget includes about $315 million in earmarks while the Senate version has about $130 million. He added that the Senate has $240 million in its budget for a property tax cut, which the House does not have.

The senator from Beaufort also said that there are rules in place that restrict how the conference committee can negotiate. He said for many of the earmarks, the committee either has to approve all funding for a specific project or no funding. The House also had not passed a property tax bill, limiting the committee to using a budget proviso to pass the funding.

“It becomes difficult for the House to agree to a property tax cut via proviso,” Davis said. “The rules constrain them in that regard.”

The conference committee will resume budget discussions on July 15 at 2 p.m. Davis said he hopes the committee can come to an agreement by the end of the week. The budget would still need approval from the House, Senate and governor before it is final.

Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com.

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