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Meg Kinnard/AP/APIn the race for South Carolina education superintendent, questions about the Republican nominee's qualifications have arisen. That comes after lawmakers in 2018 passed a requirement that the position-holder have a master's degree. Ellen Weaver, the CEO of conservative think tank Palmetto Promise Institute and GOP nominee, currently lacks a master's degree. After winning the GOP primary Tuesday, Weaver told reporters she'll complete her master's degree in educational leadership in October. Kevin Hall, who has served as a legal counsel to the South Carolina Republican Party, emphasized that the candidate must possess a master's degree on inauguration day — not on election day.
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Once prominent and soon-to-be disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been indicted again. This time prosecutors say his crimes extended to an eight-year money laundering and painkiller ring with a friend and former client charged with trying to help him commit suicide. Prosecutors say Murdaugh wrote 437 checks worth $2.4 million that Curtis "Eddie" Smith cashed over eight years, keeping some of the money for himself and giving some to a distribution network for the painkiller oxycodone.
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State Rep. Krystle Matthews has won the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Matthews was the second-place finisher in a June 14 primary and defeated author and preservationist Catherine Fleming Bruce in Tuesday's runoff. Matthews said she wants to change a toxic culture she says leads senators and others in power to strip away the rights of minorities and those who are in the most need of protection. Scott has been one of South Carolina's more popular politicians. The Senate's sole Black Republican had no primary opposition and has said this will be his last term if he is reelected.
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Conservative think tank CEO Ellen Weaver has won the Republican nomination for South Carolina education superintendent. Weaver was the second-place finisher in the primary earlier this month, but vaulted past Palmetto State Teachers Association Executive Director Kathy Maness on Tuesday. Weaver will face Democratic teacher and SC for Ed founder Lisa Ellis in November. Weaver could still face a rough road to the job. A new South Carolina law requires education superintendents to have at least a master's degree. Weaver doesn't have one, but started a program in April. Election officials said there is no precedent for what happens if she wins in November without an advanced degree. A lawsuit is likely.
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The South Carolina General Assembly has overturned many of Gov. Henry McMasters budget vetoes. But they did agree with the biggest one, taking $25 million out of the $13.8 billion spending plan to try to help bring a super computer to Columbia. The money was set aside for what supporters called a quantum computing operation and set up a nonprofit to rent time on the machine to researchers and others. Both the House and Senate continued Tuesday afternoon to consider the 73 vetoes issued by the governor, taking about $53 million from from the nearly $14 billion budget set to start July 1.
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Abortion bans are temporarily blocked in Louisiana and Utah, while a federal court in South Carolina says a law sharply restricting the procedure can take effect there immediately. The decisions emerged as the battle over whether women may end pregnancies shifted from the nation's highest court to courthouses around the country. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Friday to end constitutional protection for abortion opened the gates for a wave of litigation.
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Across South Carolina, gardeners and farmers are searching for food security solutions from small-scale farms to hospital campus gardens.
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Periods of heavy rain are expected across the Palmetto State this week. Local flooding is possible, and accumulations should help to prevent the proliferation of drought conditions.
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Tuesday, South Carolina's primaries will end with one of only two statewide runoffs determining who will challenge Republican incumbent Senator Tim Scott for the opportunity to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.Author and preservationist Catherine Fleming Bruce narrowly emerged as the Democratic nominee frontrunner during last week’s primary, receiving 34.69 percentage of votes while challenger, current South Carolina state Representative Krystle Matthews, earned 33.24 percent.
