Henry McMaster Fined, Forced To Give Back Contributions

S.C. LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR REACHES DEAL WITH STATE ETHICS AGENCY

S.C. lieutenant governor Henry McMaster was fined $5,100 this week – and forced to repay $73,000 in contributions from his failed 2010 gubernatorial bid, thus settling his case with the S.C. State Ethics Commission (SCSEC).

The former two-term attorney general was accused of collecting tens of thousands of dollars in excessive campaign contributions during his 2010 campaign – problems eerily similar to those experienced by current S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson, another client of the neo-Confederate consulting firm of Richard Quinn and Associates.

Back in March of 2014, we filed this exclusive report delving into Wilson’s campaign finance issues – which also included allegations of excessive contributions.

McMaster made a public break with Quinn this year when he endorsed the 2016 presidential bid of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.  Quinn and his empire supported the candidacy of Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the race following a disappointing fourth-place showing in the Palmetto State.

McMaster lost his 2010 race to S.C. governor Nikki Haley, but he won the “Republican” primary for lieutenant governor in the spring of 2014 over Haley’s handpicked No. 2, Patrick McKinney.  In November 2014, McMaster defeated Democrat Bakari Sellers to claim the lieutenant governor’s office – overcoming yet another round of controversy surrounding his association with various “whites only” social organizations.

He is rumored as a likely candidate for governor in 2018.

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