Charleston Post and Courier Endorses Governor Henry McMaster For South Carolina Governor

Citing his record of improving education and spurring economic growth, The Post and Courier has endorsed Governor Henry McMaster for a full term in South Carolina.

In their endorsement, The Post and Courier praises Governor McMaster for his “pro-growth policies have helped create record-low unemployment and attracted billions of dollars in investment to the state.” The Post and Courier also notes that Governor McMaster “has a smart blueprint for reforming the education system to provide more opportunities for students and to match those skills with the demands of business.”

The Post and Courier concludes, writing that Governor McMaster can “do even more with a full four-year term, and we urge voters to give him that chance Tuesday.”

The Post and Courier writes:

“Henry McMaster has done a good job as South Carolina’s governor since taking over for Nikki Haley two years ago.

Gov. McMaster’s pro-growth policies have helped create record-low unemployment and attracted billions of dollars in investment to the state. His emphasis on cutting expenses and red tape are solidly conservative principles.

He has a smart blueprint for reforming the education system to provide more opportunities for students and to match those skills with the demands of business.

We think Mr. McMaster can do even more with a full four-year term, and we urge voters to give him that chance Tuesday.

Gov. McMaster has built on the sturdy foundation left to him by Ms. Haley when she left to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But he clearly has his own set of ideas and priorities.

He is in the early stages of remaking South Carolina’s troubled school system, an imperative if he is to sustain the state’s economic momentum and provide a quality education for all students, regardless of where they live. He touts the common benefits of linking the two together. It’s a good strategy.

We are heartened that he supports the necessary tough choices.

Those include consolidating smaller school districts to give students more opportunities and pushing taxpayer savings into the classroom. Mr. McMaster also realizes the state’s outdated education system must adapt to a changing economy in which jobs go unfilled because there are not enough skilled workers.

Getting businesses more involved in education is important, and South Carolina should welcome his plan to provide incentives for businesses that participate in apprenticeship programs with their local schools. Mr. McMaster also wants more scholarships and grants for students to attend technical colleges, which can help with some of those job openings.

And he is on the right track with his strong support for an amendment on the ballot that would make the superintendent of education an appointed member of the governor’s Cabinet. That kind of high-level accountability and teamwork is far from assured under the current elected-position format.

The Republican’s close ties with the Trump administration will be crucial to getting a waiver from oil and gas drilling off the South Carolina coast. He has promised to do whatever it takes to stop that ill-considered plan that threatens the state’s beaches, rivers and livelihoods. We trust him to deliver.

Mr. McMaster wisely has kept ratepayers at the top of the list as he’s navigated the state through the fallout from the V.C. Summer nuclear project debacle. He has stuck to his guns by demanding a stop to the 18 percent of customers’ bills that goes toward the failed project, and he’s demanded accountability for utility executives involved in it. His success in getting the Bechtel report released peeled back the extent of the calamity for the public to see.

Gov. McMaster has preached patience with the president’s tariffs while pressing his free trade case with the administration and the state’s congressional delegation. He had a victory when Element Electronics in Fairfield County was granted a tariff exemption, and is in a good position to keep the president aware of the economic pain unwise trade policies can have on S.C. residents and businesses.

Mr. McMaster’s call for stronger ethics oversight is welcome, especially in the wake of the Statehouse corruption investigation. We support his proposals to make members of the Legislature subject to the state Freedom of Information Act and require the registration of lobbyists who are paid to lobby local governments. Mr. McMaster has the right credentials to promote ethics reform, having served as co-chairman of a commission that produced an excellent, comprehensive reform plan during Gov. Haley’s first term.

He is willing to take tough positions based on fiscal reality, as demonstrated in his opposition to Medicaid expansion, a proposal that sounds great on the front end but eventually would turn into a large recurring economic burden on the state budget. He favors the expansion of telemedicine and has taken steps to deal with opioid abuse, which he rightly recognized as a statewide public health emergency.

Mr. McMaster’s resume is strong. He was the first U.S. attorney appointed by President Ronald Reagan, served eight productive years as state attorney general and two years as lieutenant governor during the first two years of Gov. Haley’s second term.

All of this experience prepared him well to be governor, and since taking over for Ms. Haley, he has proven to be an adept leader. Gov. McMaster has the skills and vision to build on the gains of the past two years. South Carolina voters should return him to office Tuesday.”