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Since assuming control of the state legislature in 2001, “Republicans” in South Carolina have done next-to-nothing to distinguish themselves from the Democrats who preceded them in power.
They’ve ballooned state spending, consistently raised taxes (and fees) and steadily eroded individual liberty in the name of expanded state control.
The results of these decidedly left-of-center policies have been predictable: Struggling employment, lagging incomes, terrible schools, crumbling infrastructure and an ongoing erosion of public safety.
Even after the GOP achieved “supermajorities” in both chambers of the legislature, the ruling uni-party has not only sought to maintain this left-leaning course – but to silence conservatives daring to insist Republicans should actually govern in accordance with their stated principles.
That battle is ongoing, incidentally.

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This year, though, GOP leadership is adamant it is going to take bold conservative action – including “historic” action on tax policy. Everybody – from the governor to House and Senate leadership on down to the newest freshmen legislator – appears on board with the concept. In theory, anyway.
In reality… well, that’s where things have always gotten dicey at the S.C. State House.
GOP leaders find themselves in the crosshairs at the moment, with their constituents demanding tax relief yet the special interests who really run Columbia demanding revenue to feed the bureaucratic, crony capitalist beast. Countless private conversations are being whispered right now as legislators determine just how far they dare go – while those who aspire to the governor’s office in 2026 are also plotting their moves in response to legislative action (or lack thereof).
Until a consensus is reached (and at the moment, it is nowhere in sight), this issue will continue to play a prominent role in our index.
Every Monday, we publish the ‘FITSNews Political Stock Index‘ – which is focused on the latest developments on the national political scene. Each Tuesday, we publish this volume – the ‘Palmetto Political Stock Index’ – focusing on politicos from our home state of South Carolina, which hosts the quadrennial “First in the Nation” (for Democrats) and “First in the South” (for Republicans) presidential primaries.
Got a hot “stock tip” for these indices? Email Will (here) and/or Mark (here).
Where should you invest your Palmetto political capital this week? To the index…
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JUSTIN BAMBERG/ S.C. FREEDOM CAUCUS
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STOCK: RISING
Politics, they say, makes for strange bedfellows. And it would seem this pairing is among the strangest of them all. Nonetheless, Democrat Justin Bamberg and the hardline conservatives in the S.C. Freedom Caucus passionately share some critical common ground on the current session’s dominant issue: They’d like to see the state income tax go away.
Completely. Immediately.
Although the GOP establishment tut-tuts about taxes being too high – and routinely invokes the urgent need for “tax reform,” it was a Democratic House member who actually did something about it. Bamberg introduced a bill to totally scrap the income tax, as did Freedom Caucus chairman Jordan Pace. As GOP leadership dillydallies over determining just how deeply the tax-cutting knife should slice – and after “Republican” governor Henry McMaster‘s microscopic cut drew a collective eyeroll – Bamberg and Pace stole their thunder by proposing to junk the whole shebang.
If that sounds extreme, it’s not (more on that in a moment).
Will other House members have the courage to join them? Most are buying time, stalling to see what version of tax “reform” leadership eventually proposes. Then, each member will face a decision: Do they go big or go home? Presented with an opportunity to put the income tax out to pasture, those who reject it can expect to do a lot of explaining to the folks back home.
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HENRY McMASTER
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STOCK: FALLING
It’s an unpleasant question for him, but which must be asked nonetheless: Why does the governor of one of the most conservative states in the country – a self-professed conservative himself – insist on installing a health chief who occupies the opposite end of the ideological spectrum?
Henry McMaster recently tapped Dr. Edward Simmer to head up the new S.C. Department of Public Health (SCDPH). You’ll recall this agency was spun off from the breakup of the old S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). Conservatives have groused this position would essentially make the department’s director a de facto Anthony Fauci-style health czar. Simmer’s own positions make a tough situation even worse. Those on the right point to his support of earlier mandates and shutdowns – along with his willing embrace of divisive DEI programs.
Conservative firebrands in the Senate – including Josh Kimbrell and Matt Leber – have declared Simmer’s bid a non-starter. And at last count, he lacked the votes from the chamber’s Republican supermajority to win confirmation.
Still, McMaster stubbornly clings to the nomination like a schnauzer with a bone. Will he have to turn to Democrats to haul Simmer across the finish line? And if it plays out that way, just how much of a conservative would that make McMaster?
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ANDRE BAUER
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STOCK: RISING
Half of the game in politics is getting people to talk about you. And André Bauer has certainly accomplished that with word he’s contemplating yet another foray in Palmetto politics. The buzz around Columbia, S.C. originally had Bauer joining the crowded 2026 GOP gubernatorial field. But the latest whispers would point to him considering an even bigger bid – a primary election challenge of “Republican” U.S. senator Lindsey Graham.
Taking on a four-term incumbent would be no small task. Graham has a seasoned organization in place around the state – and a campaign war chest bigger than the GDP of several South American countries.
But Bauer is also a known commodity with statewide name ID.
The Charleston, S.C. native – who grew up in the Midlands region of the state – has had mixed results at the ballot box over the course of his career. A state representative at 27, state senator at 30 and then lieutenant governor at 33 (the youngest in the country at the time) – his career certainly got off to a breakneck start. And for a moment in the summer of 2009, it seemed possible he might inherit the top job himself as Mark Sanford battled his self-inflicted “Hiking the Appalachian Trail” scandal.
Sanford weathered the storm, though, and a string of disappointing election nights followed for Bauer. First, he lost the 2010 GOP gubernatorial nomination to Nikki Haley. Two years later, he failed to knock off Tom Rice in the inaugural S.C. seventh congressional GOP primary.
Bauer’s name has frequently surfaced during election years ever since, but this time he sounds serious.
Detractors point to Bauer’s colorful personal life (including his bachelor escapades, a near-fatal plane crash and a 100-mile-per-hour speeding incident on a rural Interstate) as evidencing a lack of sound judgment. Supporters say Bauer is a different man following marriage and fatherhood.
Either way, Bauer will need all the support he can muster going after the Goliath of South Carolina politics.
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S.C. TAXPAYERS
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STOCK: FALLING
Pity the poor, woebegone Palmetto taxpayer. A chunk is taken out of each paycheck and dutifully delivered to Columbia whether they like it or not. Yet these days, more and more of us are asking, “what are we getting in return for the money we’re forking over?”
And the answer hits like a bucket of ice-cold bucket water in the face: “Not much.”
But here’s the thing: with more South Carolinians growing upset at the tepid return on their tax revenue, residents in neighboring states are watching their taxes either go down or vanish completely. The southeast is locked in a race to see how quickly states can lower their burdensome income taxes — or shed them altogether —and enjoy the economic benefits that result from it.
Just look next door at North Carolina, where the tax rate dropped from last year’s 4.5% to 4.25% now, and will continue shrinking until reaching 2.49%. Mississippi’s House voted last year to toss its entire state income tax into the trash bin.
And the best South Carolina’s Henry McMaster can propose? He’s asking for the rate to drop from the present 6.2% to 6%. Two whole tenths of a percent. Yippee! If that happens, it’s time to buy a boat!
Then there’s that whole $1.8 billion budget surplus that mysteriously popped up out of nowhere last year – raising hopes of a tax rate slash or even a tax refund. Now, it looks as though this “found money” doesn’t exist after all. Given that the state’s books are kept by the fiduciary equivalent of Larry, Darryl, and Darryl (for those who remember the “Newhart” sitcom), the blunder is hardly surprising. But it is yet another dashed hope.
And so South Carolina taxpayers sigh and repeat the old Army term they’ve grown all too accustomed to saying over the years: BOHICA. Bend over; here it comes again.
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GUBERNATORIAL FRONTRUNNERS
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STOCK: RISING
Here’s a friendly suggestion to anyone thinking about jumping into South Carolina’s upcoming Republican gubernatorial primary contest. If you’re going to do it, you’d better jump in fast. Because based on what we’re hearing, it’s already a two-candidate race.
The undisputed frontrunners at this admittedly early juncture (the election is still seventeen months away) are first district congresswoman Nancy Mace and attorney general Alan Wilson. A half-dozen or so others are looking at the race – in addition to the myriad of “possibilities” who always swim around the edge of the field at the early stage of every election.
The last time there was an open primary for governor in South Carolina (without an incumbent seeking renomination) was in 2010 – and everyone remembers what a knife fight that was. This time around is shaping up to be even bloodier.
Though neither Mace nor Wilson have officially announced their intentions, both are working feverishly to get their political ducks in a row – including working the crowds at Donald Trump’s second inaugural. There are big backers to be grabbed, big dollar donation commitments to be nailed down and big campaign staff hires to be made.
In short, the race is already well afoot… and Mace and Wilson are sucking all of the oxygen out of the room.
Over the last two weeks, FITSNews has been shown two separate polls which place Mace and Wilson both in the 20-30% range – depending on the survey.
No other would-be contender is even eclipsing 5% support…
With roughly half of likely GOP voters already in Camp Mace or aboard Team Wilson, that leaves a mighty tough uphill game of catch-up for everybody else.
As we said, if you’re considering plunging into the race, don’t drag your feet. There’s not a minute to lose.
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1 comment
Will – is Bauer contributing to your rugrat’s scholarship funds or what? If not, why the sudden support, he is a boob.
His life wasn’t “colorful”, it was disaster prone, whether it was; professionally (cats comment, his naivete in the SC State senate, his barely winning the primaries/generals for senate and Lt Gov), judgment calls (100+ miles per hour on more than one occasion) or just bad luck (plane crash, car crash and other idiotic events)
Fatherhood may have calmed him down but he’s still a boob. If he decides to face off against Lindsey, he’s got to raise $13,000,000 just to match the money Ms. Lindsey has on hand today. Graham has demonstrated the ability to rake it in when he needs too, he managed to raise $100,000,000 during his “simulated” presidential run. He’s raised $10,000,000 in the last two years without even trying. The only thing Andre’s got over Lindsey is the beard…