Your SC politics briefing
Welcome to your weekly South Carolina politics briefing, a newsletter curated by The State’s politics and government team.
More information keeps coming out about efforts to throw out the 2020 election results. And the latest headline involved South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman.
Three days before Joe Biden was inaugurated, Norman sent a text message to then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows saying former President Donald Trump should declare martial law.
Despite saying publicly he would accept the 2020 election results after all legal options exhausted, Norman was among 34 Republican members of Congress advocating to look for a way to keep Trump in power.
To note 61 out of 62 lawsuits filed by Trump in battleground states were thrown out, and one in Pennsylvania where the former president had a victory, would not have changed that state’s election outcome.
Norman says his text message was sent out of frustration.
“Obviously, Martial Law was never warranted,” Norman said in a statement released by his congressional office. “That text message came from a source of frustration, on the heels of countless unanswered questions about the integrity of the 2020 election, without any way to slow down and examine those issues prior to the inauguration of the newly elected president.”
Following reports of the text messages by political news site Talking Points Memo, the York County Democratic Party called on Norman to resign.
“He’s a traitor to our highest ideals, concepts generations of Americans have fought and died for,” York County Democratic Party Chairman John Kraljevich said in a statement. “He has no business being in Congress or any other elected position.”
Spearman reflects on tenure
State Superintendent Molly Spearman sat down with The State last week to reflect on her time in office and discuss life after politics.
The 68-year-old schools chief, who next month will pass the education department’s reins to state Superintendent-elect Ellen Weaver, expressed pride in what she’d accomplished, but acknowledged there was still much work to be done.
In her eight years running the agency, Spearman has replaced roughly 80% of the state’s dangerously old school bus fleet, orchestrated 11 district consolidations and three district takeovers, and overseen a nearly 36% increase in teacher starting salaries.
She’s invested heavily in improving student achievement, especially in the state’s poorest districts, but has achieved only modest results.
Her tenure also has been marked by the state’s ever-worsening teacher shortage.
Educators fed up with low pay, stressful working conditions and escalating political rhetoric are leaving the profession in droves and there aren’t nearly enough college students graduating from education schools to replace them.
“We’ve tried to think of everything possible to do — paying off loans, helping with housing, giving bonuses, buying new reading materials,” said Spearman, who admits such efforts have thus far failed to solve the problem.
While she said her decision to retire wasn’t an easy one, Spearman is looking forward to spending more time with her husband and young grandchildren.
She plans to steer clear of South Carolina politics, at least for a while, but wants to continue doing public service work. Toward that end, Spearman is joining the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation on a part-time basis, helping to build up the leaders of tomorrow in public schools across the country.
Buzz Bites
▪ Robert Bolchoz is resigning as chairman of the SC DHEC board after less than a year on the job. The Columbia attorney said he will leave the board because he needs to focus on work he will be doing for an unnamed legal client.
▪ Hundreds of South Carolinians, including the governor and former state Supreme Court chief justices, last week honored the vast career of Judge Casey Manning, who is retiring from the bench this year.
▪ Columbia Police Department Deputy Chief Melron Kelly, a Columbia native who has been with the capital city department for nearly a quarter century, said he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the police chief’s job in St. Louis, Missouri.
▪ POLITICO has reported that GOP senators are excited about a possible 2024 presidential run by Sen. Tim Scott.
▪ Republican Sen. Katrina Shealy filed legislation that would provide all South Carolina K-12 students with free lunch. The bill is one of hundreds filed early by House members and senators before legislators return for session Jan. 10.
▪ Crystal “Crissie” Stapleton, of Barnwell County, was sworn in Wednesday as the chair of the State Board of Education.
▪ Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette announced Tuesday the automaker is installing charging stations at state parks. Charging stations are in Dreher Island, Myrtle Beach and Huntington Beach state parks. Additional stations are planned for Charles Towne Landing and Devils Fork state parks and more than two dozen other state parks starting in 2023.
“State parks are some of the busiest destinations in our state and are located along high-use corridors,” Evette said. “It just makes sense to serve a growing market of electric vehicle users by making sure charging stations are accessible to them.”
▪ Claire Brady, the S.C. GOP’s communications director, has left her state party role to become deputy communications director for the South Carolina Attorney General’s office.
▪ South Carolina agriculture leaders announced this week that the industry has a $51.8 billion annual economic impact in the state. Now, leaders are asking lawmakers to spend $75 million to process agriculture, such as cattle, in state.
Mark your calendar
Jan. 5
SC Supreme Court hears arguments over state’s execution methods
Jan. 10
First day of 2023 legislative session
Jan. 11
Inauguration Day
Jan. 25
State of the State
Before we adjourn
Congressman Jim Clyburn has never been known to hold back contempt when he thinks someone is wrong, even if its someone from his own party.
So when Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign manager, said it was a tragic decision for the Democratic National Committee to look at making South Carolina the first primary state in the party’s presidential nominating order, Clyburn called his comments “sour grapes.”
“He seems to have some disdain for the South,” Clyburn said of Shakir. “That’s the way I interpreted it. I’m not the only one who interpreted it that way, and that bothers me a great deal, especially since the South and rural America are very critical to the success, the future success of this party.”
Clyburn said the diversity of the state’s economy — agriculture in the Pee Dee, tourism in the Lowcountry, manufacturing in the Upstate and a military presence statewide — is a microcosm of the country.
“You look at the makeup of the country, the kind of groups that people need to do well with in order to win the presidency of this country, it’s all contained in little old South Carolina,” Clyburn said.
However, the final decision on what order primaries needs to be voted on by the full Democratic National Committee early next year. According to The Hill, strategists, former campaign advisers, activists and those close to state parties are having informal talks about leading off the primary order with Georgia, Nevada or North Carolina.
Pulling the newsletter together this week was Joseph Bustos, reporter on the The State’s politics and state government team. You can keep up with him on Twitter and send him tips on Twitter at @JoeBReporter or by email jbustos@thestate.com.
To stay on top of South Carolina politics and election news, you can chat with us on Facebook, email us tips and follow our stories at scpolitics.com.
