Happy weekend! In this week’s episode we finally put the partisan primaries in the rear-view mirror, we talk about Joe Cunningham’s struggle to find a female running-mate of color and end with the criminal proceedings that Alex Murdaugh associate Curtis Edward Smith is currently facing (plus a few other updates along the way).
So who won the run-offs and what comes next?
Krystle Matthews won the democratic run-off and is now the party’s nominee to run for U.S. Senate. Before voters went to the polls, investigative news outlet Project Veritas published an audio recording of a conversation between Matthews and an inmate at the Perry Correctional Institution in which she suggests financing her campaign with “dope money.” Listen to the call in the episode or read my piece for further context.
School choice advocate Ellen Weaver won 64 percent of the vote against Kathy Maness in the hotly contested Republican state school superintendent primary.
“I am honored to be elected as the Republican Nominee tonight!,” Weaver wrote on her Facebook page Tuesday night. “Voters sent a clear message and with your help we will win in November and begin the hard work of transforming our education system and demand excellence for every child!”
Former U.S. congressman Joe Cunningham – the newly minted Democratic nominee for governor of South Carolina – is desperately seeking a black female candidate to serve as his 2022 lieutenant gubernatorial nominee.
The problem? His first choice for the job – state senator Mia McLeod – told him “hell to the no,” according to sources familiar with the search process. That rebuke has left Cunningham scrambling to fill this spot with a woman of color – which party elites believe is essential in turning out Democrats “core constituencies” in the November 2022 election against governor Henry McMaster and lieutenant governor Pamela Evette of Ohio.
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George Amos Tenney III, 35, of Anderson, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office District of South Carolina.
In the episode I discuss Tenney’s future and the potential for further escalation of political violence should this kind of behavior continue to be tolerated by both major political parties.
We then give you a brief update on Tiger King star Doc Antle‘s indictments by a federal grand jury. The indictment alleges that Antle and his alleged co-conspirators illegally trafficked wildlife in violation of federal law, including the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act, and made false records regarding that wildlife. The animals involved included lemurs, cheetahs, and a chimpanzee.
Finally, we cover the new charges that Alex Murdaugh and his longtime friend and alleged co-conspirator Curtis Edward Smith face.
The state grand jury has charged the pair with two conspiracy counts, including a narcotics count related to manufacturing and distribution of Oxycodone.
Smith was also indicted on four counts of money laundering, three counts of forgery, trafficking methamphetamine 10-28 grams, one count of unlawful possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of marijuana.
More specifically, Smith is accused of cashing at least $2.4 Million dollars in checks — 437 of them! — over the course of eight years on behalf of Murdaugh.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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SHOW NOTES
PRIMARY RUN-OFFS
Democratic Senate Candidate Krystle Matthews Survives Right-Wing Attack With Run-Off Win
School Choice Advocate Ellen Weaver Wins GOP Nomination for State School Superintendent
CUNNINGHAM’S CONNUNDRUM
Joe Cunningham: Identity Politics Is Tricky
1/6
SC Man Who Let Mob Inside US Capitol On Jan. 6 Pleads Guilty To Felony Charges
TIGER KING
Doc Antle Indicted For Federal Wildlife Trafficking And Money-Laundering
CURTIS EDWARD SMITH CHARGED
State AG Announces Drug Charges Against Alex Murdaugh And Curtis ‘Eddie’ Smith