When Henry McMaster takes the oath of office as Governor this week, he’ll become the first person in state history to be formally sworn into office for a third time. His new four-year term will, in all likelihood, be the capstone of a public service career that will span almost a half century.
The 75-year-old Republican began his political career in 1981 when President Ronald Raegan named him U-S Attorney for South Carolina. Since then, he has been elected Governor twice … assumed that office while serving as the elected Lieutenant Governor and elected twice as State Attorney General. Despite that stellar political resume, along the way he saw political defeats in unsuccessful races for the U-S Senate, Lieutenant Governor, and Governor.
U-S-C Political Scientist Kirk Randazzo gives McMaster high marks for his career as a politician, and for his six years in the Governor’s Office where he has seen overall success as the state’s Chief Executive with plenty of help from strong Republican majorities in the State House and Senate.
