COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The gloves came off Tuesday night in the homestretch of the battle for South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial nomination, as all four of Gov. Henry McMaster’s challengers went after the incumbent for everything from crumbling infrastructure to a wide-ranging state corruption probe.
A contentious disagreement came after a question about how to fix ethics problems in the state, where an investigation into Statehouse corruption has been ongoing for years resulting in guilty pleas and resignations from several lawmakers. Former state public health director Catherine Templeton said she feared McMaster would become wrapped up in the probe that ensnared his longtime political consultant, Richard Quinn, saying she was fired from a job at the State Ports Authority because she went public with “corrupt” contracts that involved Quinn and his firm.
“If we hire him on June 12 and then he gets indicted, we’re handing our state over to the liberals,” Templeton said of McMaster.
Greenville businessman John Warren also decried McMaster’s link to Quinn, whom he called “the biggest criminal in this state.” Quinn was a political consultant who was charged with illegal lobbying, charges that were dropped in a plea deal. Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant said one of the first things McMaster did after becoming governor was invite Quinn to the Governor’s Mansion.
McMaster, a former prosecutor, countered that the only investigations he’d been involved in were as attorney general and U.S. Attorney. Former Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill said legislators shouldn’t be tasked with policing themselves when it comes to ethics.
During a question about the election as a referendum on President Donald Trump, the governor said Templeton - who has touted in campaign ads that she was courted for a U.S. Labor Department position - only went to Trump Tower after he turned down her request to be his lieutenant governor.
“We tried to get her something in the White House, something in the administration, but that didn’t work out, so here we are today,” he said.
McMaster’s campaign spokeswoman posted to Twitter screenshots of a text message conversation between McMaster and Templeton, wherein she asks for a meeting with him. Templeton said McMaster was lying and that she had never asked to be his lieutenant governor, telling The Associated Press after the debate that she had told McMaster’s advisers she would be happy to help his administration’s transition effort in some way, but would deal only with him directly, not through anyone affiliated with Quinn.
“When I got to Henry’s office, I asked him if he was going to run for governor,” she told AP, adding that she also asked McMaster - an early Trump supporter - if he were joining the administration. “He told me he was running for governor. I said, OK then, that I wouldn’t ask for his support when I ran against him. And he said, fair enough.”
The candidates also squabbled about infrastructure spending, particularly the state’s roads and bridges in need of repair.
“This is not a difficult problem to fix,” Templeton said, pointing out that state officials repeatedly checked a recently repaired bridge in the Charleston area but only acted when a cable snapped, causing closures. “I submit that if there were a brick at the Statehouse that were crumbling, the governor would not walk out there 82 times. … They would just fix it.”
Warren followed up, saying the state’s roads are “abysmal,” adding: “If you like the way that our roads are currently, you should continue to vote for Gov. McMaster.”
After McMaster pointed out the Wando Bridge repairs were completed early and under budget, Warren pushed back: “Fixing one bridge, that’s what you are bragging about?”
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