The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Groups push for Dems, independents to vote against Trump in South Carolina GOP primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. — If former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is going to win, or at least beat expectations against former President Donald Trump in the Feb. 24 First in the South presidential primary, she’ll need independents to show up and possibly Democratic voters to cross over.

And with less than a week to go before the South Carolina GOP primary, groups are stepping up efforts to turnout non-Republicans to the state’s open primary that allows anyone who didn’t vote in the Democratic contest to vote in the Republican nominating contest.

A group text message, repeated phone calls. How Trump campaign solidified S.C. support

COLUMBIA, S.C. — When former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley was about to take the stage for her Jan. 24 rally in North Charleston, former President Donald Trump’s campaign looked to make a statement about his popularity in the Palmetto State.

About quarter past 7 p.m., a news release rolled out the latest set of South Carolina endorsements for the former president after his 11-point victory in New Hampshire, signaling he was consolidating support for his third presidential campaign.

SC judicial elections gridlocked. Calls for judicial reform stifle election process

In a move reflecting growing discontent with the way South Carolina elects its judges, the state Senate is blocking all judicial elections — including that of the next state Supreme Court Justice — short of the General Assembly passing a bill on judicial reform. Judicial elections are a key function of the South Carolina General Assembly and the House expected to fulfill that function Wednesday. The Senate does not share that expectation, and has instead demanded that the Legislature first effectively address judicial reform before any judicial elections take place. “A substantial number of Se...

VP Kamala Harris to make one last swing through South Carolina before primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Vice President Kamala Harris will make one last swing through South Carolina ahead of Saturday’s Democratic presidential primary, capping the president’s Palmetto State campaign at an HBCU.

Harris will headline a get-out-the-vote event at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg on Friday, the state’s largest public HBCU and is part of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign to reach out to Black voters in the state.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, who is originally from Orangeburg, also is scheduled to speak at the event.

‘She has to come within single digits’: Haley allies curb New Hampshire expectations

A group working to turnout undeclared voters for Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary said the former South Carolina governor needs to come within single digits of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday in order to prolong the 2024 Republican nominating contest.

“She has to come within single digits,” said Robert Schwartz, the co-founder of Primary Pivot, an organization urging atypical voters to participate in the GOP primary to oppose Trump. “A double-digit victory and the narrative is Trump is the nominee.”

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott will endorse Donald Trump ahead of New Hampshire GOP primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Tim Scott will endorse former President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the senator’s plans. The New York Times was first to report the decision. Scott is expected to appear at a rally Friday night with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds its GOP primary in four days. The endorsement is a blow to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who appointed Scott to the U.S. Senate in December 2012. Haley and Trump have been working to get Scott’s endorsement ever since the state’s junior senator dropped out of the race in November. The end...

Columbia MLK Day celebration with Vice President Harris met with unexpected disrupters

The Martin Luther King Jr. annual Day at the Dome commenced Monday, where hundreds of attendees gathered to honor and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy. This year, however, the event included disruptions. An attendee heckled Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, during a morning service at Zion Baptist Church and pro-Palestine protests began outside where Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the South Carolina State House. The theme of the MLK Day march to the State House came to light in more than one way: Ballots for Freedom, Ballots for Justice, Ballots for Chang...

Murdaugh lawyers add prosecutor Creighton Waters and daughter of clerk Becky Hill to witness list

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers said Friday they may call lead Murdaugh prosecutor Creighton Waters and Aubrey Hill, the daughter of Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill, as potential witnesses during an upcoming hearing on allegations that Becky Hill tampered with the jury during Murdaugh’s double-murder trial last year. Murdaugh’s attorneys made their plans known in a brief filed Friday. The brief is a supplement to one defense attorneys filed earlier in the week. The State Attorney General’s office declined to make a statement, saying, “As is our policy, we will make our comme...

Authorities confirm they've opened 2 investigations into Murdaugh trial Clerk of Court

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has confirmed it has opened two separate investigations into Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill, who rose to fame during the trial of former-lawyer Alex Murdaugh. One investigation concerns Hill’s alleged interactions with the jury during Murdaugh’s trial for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul in Colleton County in early 2023, according to a SLED spokesperson. The second investigation concerns allegations that Hill used her elected position for personal gain. The investigations, first confirmed by FITSNews,...

‘Elections matter, leadership matters.’ Kamala Harris speaks in Myrtle Beach

As Vice President Kamala Harris talked about the importance of voting during a stop in Myrtle Beach Saturday, a crowd of around 1,000 women cheered in agreement. “Elections matter, leadership matters and it makes a difference in the lives of people,” Harris said. Harris visited the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort on Saturday to give a keynote speech at the Seventh Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church Women’s Missionary Society annual retreat. This visit came less than a month before the S.C. Democratic presidential primary on Feb. 3. President Joe Biden will be in Charleston on Mon...

RFK Jr.’s daunting task: How he’s relying on volunteers to get him on S.C.’s ballot

On Thanksgiving, Sam Sipe brought up a topic that usually is a no-no for dinner during gatherings on the fourth Thursday of November.

She brought up politics.

Specifically, she made her pitch to a handful of friends and family members to sign a petition to help get Robert Kennedy Jr. on South Carolina’s 2024 presidential ballot.

“When you talk about Kennedy and explain Kennedy’s positions to people, they’re much more likely to at least want to give Kennedy a chance,” Sipe said. “This is what this is about. We’re kind of saying, let’s give someone else a chance rather than the duopoly."

Another drill sergeant found dead at South Carolina's Fort Jackson: Army

COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the second time in little more than a week a drill sergeant was found dead at Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army said Monday. The body of Staff Sgt. Zachary L. Melton, a 30-year-old with the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, was discovered on Saturday at Fort Jackson, Army officials said in a news release. After he failed to report to work, an unresponsive Melton was found in his vehicle, according to the release. The Directorate of Emergency Services were called, and Emergency Medical Services personnel pronounced Melton dead shortly after arriving, officials said. On Dec. ...

S.C. teacher’s racism lesson was shut down by book ban. But she’s still talking about it

When teacher Mary Wood stepped back into the classroom this semester, she didn’t just have the usual back-to-school jitters.

This wasn’t the veteran teacher’s first time starting a new English class, but it was the first since her lesson plan for last year put her in the center of a very public spat about how race is taught in South Carolina classrooms.

It was a discussion that she at times welcomed and at others worried how it was affecting her standing both professionally and in her community at large.

“Starting school was weird,” Wood said in an interview at her Chapin, South Carolina, home.

A lethal wildlife disease is stalking South Carolina. How ‘zombie deer’ threaten the state

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tom Hauge, a veteran wildlife biologist in Wisconsin, was told 21 years ago that a deadly disease had shown up in deer that roamed across the state’s southwest corner. He knew what that meant. Chronic wasting disease one day could spread across Wisconsin and deplete the deer population that had made his state well known as a rich hunting ground. It could even threaten human health. But as Hauge, one of Wisconsin’s top wildlife officials at the time, sought to control the spread, he was blocked by deer hunters and politicians who didn’t want interference with the state’s huntin...