Henry McMaster earns second full term as SC governor, touts economic growth after election win

This story is being provided for free as a service of The Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent-Mail. Please support local journalism with a digital subscription.

With support from Upstate voters, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster easily won a second four-year term Tuesday and has a chance to become South Carolina's longest serving governor.

The Associated Press called the race at 8:48 p.m. With 89 percent of the state reporting Wednesday morning, McMaster was ahead of Joe Cunningham by a 58.1% to 40.6% margin.

"Everybody happy?" McMaster, with family members at his side, told more than 200 cheering supporters gathered for a Republican Party election watch party at the USC Alumni Center in Columbia. "This is a big night. This is a big day. This is a great state, getting better all the time."

McMaster, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, was sworn in as governor in 2017 when former Gov. Nikki Haley resigned to join the Trump administration as ambassador to the United Nations.

In 2018, he won his first four-year term, and on Tuesday voters gave him another four years.

McMaster, 75, was preceded on stage by his running mate, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, shortly after 9:30 p.m.

As he did at several campaign events, McMaster talked about the state's accomplishments under his leadership.

"We've got $5 billion in capital investment from people outside coming in to South Carolina," he said. "That is because they want to come here and hire the people of South Carolina. They want to invest in the state and the people to do their work.

He ended by saying, "In the words of Bonnie Raitt, we've got four more years to go, we've got more work to do, so let's give 'em something to talk about," McMaster said to a thunderous ovation.

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick said he was not surprised that McMaster won by a wide margin.

"Our message is relevant and resonates with people," McKissick said. "It's relevant to their daily lives whether its economic development, dealing with law enforcement, crime, you name it.

"Things the Democrats talked about, specifically Joe Cunningham and his race, were not relevant," McKissick added. "He wanted to talk about legalizing marijuana, wanted to talk about legalizing gambling. Those things don't cut it with a majority of voters in South Carolina. This is a center-right state."

With 32 of 46 counties reporting, McMaster led Democrat Joe Cunningham by a margin of 57% to 41%.In Spartanburg County, with all precincts reporting, McMaster won by a margin of 65.75% to 32.90%. In Anderson County, with 52 of 79 precincts in, McMaster led 73.86% to 24.88%.

Rick Beltram, former chairman of the Spartanburg County Republican Party, said the only question for him Tuesday was how big a margin of victory McMaster would get.

"South Carolina is a 60-40 state," Beltram said of the edge Republicans hold over Democrats. "I expected a 55-45 vote. So it was a little higher (for McMaster) than I thought.

Kathryn Harvey, chairwoman of the Spartanburg Democratic Party, said she expected Cunningham, 40, to do better.

"I had hoped issues on the ballot - healthcare, reproductive rights, voting rights, the LGBTQ community and education - would bring a tighter margin," she said. "It's almost like we have to hit rock-bottom before we build back."

She said many precincts in the county that are typically Democratic strongholds saw a larger than normal turnout for a mid-term election.

In Greenville County, with only 15 of 151 precincts in, McMaster had 53.54% and Cunningham had 45.25% of the vote.

While McMaster and Evette were in Columbia awaiting results, Cunningham and his running mate, Tally Parham Casey, CEO of the Wyche, P.A., law firm in Greenville, awaited the results at The American Theater in Charleston.

Cunningham was vying to be the first Democrat to win the governor's seat in the state since in over two decades. Jim Hodges of Lancaster was the last Democrat voted into office when he defeated incumbent Republican Gov. David Beasley in 1998.

Around 200 people were invited to attend Cunningham's watch party to support the Democratic candidate. By 9 p.m. the crowd continued to dance in the theater despite the race call.

"I cannot thank you enough for being out here on a Tuesday night, for continuing to support us," Cunningham said to the remaining crowd around 10:15pm. "We tried to run a campaign that y’all could be proud of."

"We would not have moved the conversation if it was not for each and everyone of y’all," he said.

Looking back at the campaign for SC governor

Both candidates easily won their primaries on June 14.

During the general election cycle, McMaster outraised Cunningham by a nearly 2-1 margin, according to S.C. Ethics Commission reports filed on Oct. 24 by both candidates.

McMaster had a starting balance of $3.16 million, raised $2.1 million, spent $3.2 million, and had an ending balance of $2 million.

Cunningham had a starting balance of $333,449, raised $1.2 million, spent $1.3 million, and had an ending balance of $219,880.

During the last week before Tuesday's election, both candidates traveled statewide to encourage turnout.

Evette, who founded Quality Business Solutions, Inc. (QBS), a payroll, human resources, and benefits services firm in Travelers Rest, voted Tuesday morning at Taylors Elementary School.

McMaster also voted Tuesday morning at Martin Luther King Park in Columbia.

Gubernatorial candidates square off:McMaster, Cunningham debate focuses on abortion, gun safety, marijuana

A former legislative aide to U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, McMaster was appointed U.S. attorney in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, served nine years as state GOP chairman, two terms as state attorney general, and was elected lieutenant governor in 2014.

In 2018, McMaster won his first full term by defeating Democrat Smith by a margin of 54% to 46%. Voter turnout statewide was 55%, nearly 20 points lower than typical turnout during a presidential election year.

However, over half a million voters cast ballots ahead of Election Day as part of the state's new early voting procedures enacted by law earlier this year.

In his bid for a second full term, McMaster consistently led in polling. However, at a Sept. 27 event in Greenville, Cunningham and running mate Tally Parham said a recent poll conducted by their campaign showed a tightening race, with Cunningham being within single digits. Cunningham said his most recent polling indicated a tie.

Yet, polling conducted by FiveThirtyEight predicted McMaster would win in 98 out of 100 election outcomes.

Cunningham previously represented the 1st District of South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019-21. The 2018 victory over Republican Katie Arrington was the first time in nearly 40 years a Democrat won in that district. However, he lost his re-election bid in 2020 to Republican Nancy Mace by fewer than 6,000 votes.

Cunningham concedes, says "our fight is far from over"

Even after the results were in, a large crowd remained to support Cunningham's campaign at the American Theater in Charleston.

Shortly after 10pm, Casey first addressed visitors, thanking them for their support.

"This is democracy, folks, and this is how it happens and we have respect for that.," Casey said. "Joe and I are going to give support to the governor and lt. governor. You all know, from the beginning, we’re about people over politics."

Cunningham thanked his family, campaign team and his supporters for helping move the needle on issues he ran on.

"We may have fallen short here today, but I believe that our definition of success will be determined in the coming months in how we change the narrative here in South Carolina and how we change politics here in our state," he said.

Cunningham alluded that his time in politics is likely not yet done.

"To anyone that thinks this is a nail in the coffin or that I’m going away, it’s far from that, folks," he said.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC governor election results: Henry McMaster tops Joe Cunningham