SOUTH CAROLINA
     Nov. 6, 2018 Governor

Gov.
Sen.3
Sen.2
2022
x x
2021



2020


x
2019



2018



2017



2016

x

2015



2014
x
x x
2013



2012



2011



2010
x x
2009



2008



2007



2006



2005



2004



2003



2002



2001



2000



1999



1998



1997



1996



1995



1994



1993



1992



1991



1990



1989




+Henry McMaster/Pamela Evette (R) i
921,342
53.96%
James Smith/Mandy Powers Norell (D)
784,182
45.92%
write-ins
2,045
0.12%

1,707,569

Registration: 3,137,659.  Ballots cast: 1,726,527.
Plurality: 137,160 votes (8.04 percentage points).

  SC Election Commission




Notes
: 
Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) ascended to the Governor's office when Gov. Nikki Haley (R) resigned Jan. 24, 2017 to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.  On Nov. 6, 2018 he won a full four-year term, defeating state Rep. James Smith (D).

McMaster, 71, has a decades-long career in South Carolina politics.  He was a key supporter of then candidate Trump in the 2016 South Carolina primary.  Prior to being elected lieutenant governor in 2014 he was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 2010 losing to Haley in the primary; served as attorney general (elected in 2002 and 2016); was chair of the SCGOP, 1993-2002; was a candidate for lieutenant governor in 1990; was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 1986; and was U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, appointed by Reagan.  Smith, 51, an attorney, was elected to the South Carolina House in 1996 representing a downtown Columbia district.  He served as a JAG officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard and an infantry officer in Afghanistan.  He also runs a small business, The Congaree Group, LLC..


McMaster announced Pamela Evette, president and CEO of Quality Business Solutions (QBS), from Upstate as his running mate on Nov. 28, 2017.  On May 11, 2018 Smith announced state Rep. Mandy Powers Norell (Lancaster) as his running mate.

Trump tweeted his support of McMaster on June 9, just in advance of the June 12 Republican primary.  McMaster finished first with 42.3% to 27.8% for John Warren and 21.4% for Catherine Templeton, necessitating a runoff on June 26.  Trump rallied with McMaster at Airport High School in Cayce on the evening of June 25, and McMaster went on to win the runoff by 53.6% to 46.4% over Warren.  Smith won the Democratic primary by 61.8% to 27.6% for Marguerite Willis and 10.6% for Phil Noble.

In October McMaster and Smith engaged in two televised debates, the first from Francis Marion University in Florence on Oct. 17 (>); and the second from Greenville Technical College on Oct. 25 (1, 2).

Certainly one issue was flooding; Hurricane Matthew in Oct. 2016, Tropical Storm Irma in Sept. 2017, and Hurricane Florence in Sept. 2018 brought damaging flooding to parts of the state. 

According to the National Institute on Money in Politics, the McMaster campaign received contributions totaling $7.3 million compared to $2.9 million for the Smith campaign.


Campaign Managers:
Henry McMaster:  Senior Advisor Scott Farmer
Longtime Graham advisor.  Owner of Farmer Strategies, LLC since Jan. 2009 and founder and partner of Lovell Investments LLC from Nov. 2008. 
Senior advisor on Lindsey Graham 2016 presidential campaign, Jan-Dec. 2015.  Campaign manager at Team Graham, Inc., Sen. Graham's re-elect, from Jan. 2013.  Campaign manager on Lindsey Graham for Senate, Jan. 2007-Dec. 2008.  Finance director on Lindsey Graham's campaign, Jan. 2001-Dec. 2006.  Finance director at the South Carolina Republican Party, 1998-2000.  Campaign coordinator on Mike Fair for Congress, 1997-98.  Polling division of the Dole-Kemp '96 campaign.  Bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University.
succeeded...
Katie Baham
(resigned Jan. 2018)  State director on Sen. Marco Rubio's SC primary campaign from April 2015. 
Vice president and director of campaigns and elections at First Tuesday Strategies, April 2012-March 2015.  Political director for the South Carolina House Republican Caucus, Sept. 2010-March 2012.  Campaign manager on Ken Ard for Lt. Governor, Aug. 2009-June 2010.  Political director for the South Carolina Republican Party, Aug. 2008-July 2009.  A regional field director on Romney for President, Dec. 2006-Feb. 2008.  B.A. in political science from University of South Carolina-Columbia, 2005.


James Smith:  Scott Hogan
(July 20, 2018)  Previously campaign manager on Jenny Wilson's campaign for U.S. Senate in Utah from Sept. 2017.   Worked on Tom Perez's campaign for chairman of the DNC.  Worked on HIllary for America including MN Ramp Up grassroots organizing.  Minnesota state director for Everytown for Gun Safety.  Worked on OFA-FL.  Degrees from Indiana University and the University of Southern Indiana.
succeeded...
Mike McCauley
(Feb.-June 2018)  Executive director for the Autism Academy of South Carolina from 2016.  Principal at McCauley Consulting Group, 2014-16.  Chief of staff at the HHS's Administration for Children and Families (2013-14) and White House liaison (2009-13).  Virginia political and constituency director on Obama's 2008 general election campaign; started as deputy political director for the Jan. 26 South Carolina primary campaign and worked political on the primary campaigns in Virginia, Ohio, Mississippi and North Carolina.  Regional field director for the SC Democratic coordinated campaign during Inez Tenenbaum's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.  Regional field director on John Kerry's 2004 South Carolina and Virginia primary campaigns.  Lowcountry campaign coordinator for Steve Benjamin's 2002 campaign for SC Attorney General.  President of Young Democrats of South Carolina, 2005-06.  J.D. from the Charleston School of Law, 2007; B.A. in American government from The Citadel, 2000.


ADVERTISEMENT