By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | And just as predictable as sunrise, the race to be the next governor of South Carolina is on.
Former Congressman Joe Cunningham of Charleston, a one-term Democrat who lost a bid for reelection in November, came out of the gate quickly this week to try to nab the seat occupied by GOP Gov. Henry McMaster.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | More than 100,000 South Carolinians may have bought a pig in a poke in the recent GOP primary. They voted for Greenville businessman John Warren, a political neophyte who joined the state’s gubernatorial race just a few months back and who reportedly has pumped $3 million of his own money into winning.
He is, if you didn’t know, a Marine. That’s about all we really know about him, as he repeatedly says in television ads.
The term “pig in a poke” is an English idiom from the Middle Ages, a time when meat often was scarce. Tricksters would offer suckling pig in a closed bag to customers. Many times, however, the bag contained the meat of some other animal.
IN THIS ISSUE | June 18, 2018
FOCUS, Group calls for Tuesday passage of slavery apology resolution
COMMENTARY, Brack: Is S.C. ready for a political pig in a poke?
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston Gaillard Center
MONEY, Morris: Prepaid tuition 529 plans offer flexibility over 529 savings plans
WHAT WE LOVE, Burkel: Charleston brings out the best in us
FEEDBACK: On ferries, Michaux mural and governor’s race
MYSTERY PHOTO: A house that may look familiar
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Peaches, our state fruit
CALENDAR, June 18+: Portrait unveiling, jazz, yoga, book sale
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Don’t look for too many surprises Tuesday in what’s been a pretty lame set of gubernatorial primaries.
Unless something surprising happens before the June 12 Republican and Democratic primaries, incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster will lead four challengers and be forced into a runoff while Democratic state Rep. James Smith of Columbia may just muster enough votes to win the party’s nomination outright.
IN THIS ISSUE of Charleston Currents #10.31 | June 11, 2018
FOCUS, Palm: Local business leaders need to step up now
COMMENTARY, Brack: Governor’s races pit establishment versus grenade-throwers
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Morris Financial Concepts
PHOTO ESSAY, Bledsoe: Alaskan cruise
WHAT WE LOVE: Long, languid weeks of summer
FEEDBACK: On Wentworth’s authentic wisdom, ferries and bridges
MYSTERY PHOTO: A gazebo or maybe something else?
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: South Carolina’s governors
CALENDAR, June 11+: Primary elections, jazz, yoga, more
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Gov. Henry McMaster made a strategic political decision this week. Whether it’s good or bad remains to be seen, but it certainly surprised the establishment in Columbia.
McMaster announced a political neophyte, Ohio native Pamela Evette – a Travelers Rest business executive who moved to South Carolina in 2005 – would be his running mate in next year’s gubernatorial race.
That is, if he wins the GOP party nomination. Three other political animals – Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant of Anderson, former Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill of Kingstree and former agency head Catherine Templeton of Mount Pleasant (who also has never held elected office) – want to be the Republican standard bearer at the top of the 2018 ticket.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | After mentioning the lieutenant governor was probably going to jump into the 2018 race for governor, the guy – a well-educated professional with at least two college degrees – asked, “Who’s the lieutenant governor?”
“Kevin Bryant,” I replied.
“Then who’s the governor?” he asked.
“Henry McMaster.”
“O.K. I’ve heard of him.”
Therein lies the challenge for the growing field of Republicans with gubernatorial aspirations: McMaster, while not brimming with strength, has buckets of name recognition earned from three decades in state politics, including eight years as attorney general, eight years as head of the state GOP, and statewide campaigns for U.S. Senate, lieutenant governor and governor.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Pug Ravenel’s intensity on the football field – his zeal to be the best – stretched into the political arena years later when he inspired young men and women who wanted to change how politics worked in the state. His “reformer” spirit guided newcomers like Joe Riley, who became Charleston’s longtime mayor.
Ravenel, who later ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate against Strom Thurmond in 1978 and for Congress two years later, outlined a new path in politics in South Carolina. As one Facebook observer noted, “South Carolina lost so much for not electing him three times.”
We’ll miss Pug’s intensity, his piercing intellect, his openness to new things and his thoughtful energy fueled by ideas and common sense.
S.C. Encyclopedia | The exact date of birth for lawyer, jurist and governor John Rutledge (ca. 1739-1800) is unknown. The eldest son of Dr. John Rutledge and Sarah Hext, he studied law with his uncle Andrew Rutledge and with James Parsons in Charleston before attending the Middle Temple in London. Admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1761, he quickly became one of the most successful attorneys in the colony. On May 1, 1763, he married Elizabeth Grimké. They had ten children, eight of whom survived to adulthood.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | South Carolina’s new governor, Henry McMaster, has boatloads of political and governmental experience. But that doesn’t mean he can’t learn a little, especially from people who have occupied the same seat that he took over this week.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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