Dear soon-to-be politically aware Raptors,

Sadie and Harrison are back again, this time to tell you about the 2022 midterm elections coming up on Tuesday, November 8, 2022! We will tell you all about the political platforms of some important candidates running this fall, including those running in the well known SC gubernatorial election and US Senate election, as well as the less known but equally important US House of Representatives election and the SC State House of Representatives elections. Keep in mind, when it comes to the SC State House of Representatives, we do not all live in the same districts. Hence, we will be covering SC House Districts 114 (West Ashley), 112 (Mount Pleasant), and 111 (Downtown). It is important to note that these districts do not cover all of the areas listed above, so it is crucial that you confirm which SC State House district you live in so that you know what to expect when you go into the voting booth. We will be including maps of each district below. There is no SC senate election this year in our districts, but those will be coming up in 2024.

2022 South Carolina Gubernatorial Election

We will start with a brief overview of the gubernatorial election, which sees Governor Henry McMaster facing off against democratic candidate Joe Cunningham.

Joe Cunningham (Democrat)

Firstly, he supports eliminating the state income tax. His reasoning, as he has stated, is that “people and businesses are fleeing high tax states and heading to ones with very low taxes or none at all. South Carolina can be an economic lighthouse for them by eliminating the state income tax. It’s money you made and you should keep it, not the government.” In order to provide some relief at the pump, Cunningham also supports a temporary suspension of the gas tax. He also believes that it is time to legalize marijuana and sports betting: “It’s time that South Carolina joined other states across the country to legalize and decriminalize marijuana and legalize sports betting. If people, especially veterans, feel the need to use marijuana to treat PTSD or other ailments, they should have that freedom.  If you want to place a bet on a college football game, you should have that freedom. These things are already happening so our state should at least regulate it and harness those tax dollars for our benefit.” Furthermore, this democratic candidate also supports giving teachers a raise and is fervently pro-choice. 

Henry McMaster (Incumbent, Republican)

McMaster replaced South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) in 2017, when she joined the Trump administration as the ambassador to the United Nations. At the time, McMaster was serving as the lieutenant governor of South Carolina, having been elected in 2014. He is endorsed by Donald Trump and Tim Scott. He also served two terms as attorney general of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. McMaster is devoutly pro-life and supports a full ban on abortion, something that he wants to sign into law as governor. Overall, McMaster’s campaign website includes little details about his political platform.

2022 United States Senate Election

As you all know, South Carolina, like all other states, has 2 senators. However, only one of them is up for election this year: Republican Tim Scott. He is facing off against Democrat Krystle Matthews, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 117th district, serving since 2018. Currently, the republicans are 1 seat away from taking the senate. If Tim Scott is able to hold on to his seat, then the republicans could gain majority control. 

Tim Scott (Incumbent, Republican)

Tim Scott is the junior senator from South Carolina. The senior senator is Lindsey Graham. Tim Scott believes that every student should have access to a quality education regardless of zip code. He does not support raising the minimum wage to $15, stating that it would “crush small businesses.” According to Scott, we must “champion for the most defenseless person in the world: the unborn child.” Tim believes that life begins at conception, and he supports pro-life legislation. Tim believes the Second Amendment is fundamental to ensuring freedom and democracy and it should not be infringed upon.

Krystle Matthews (Democrat)

When it comes to immigration, Matthews will fight to pass bills like the American Dream and Promise Act, the American Families United Act, and the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act. She believes that “all working people deserve to live dignified lives free from fear of being separated from their families.” As a pro-choicer, she believes in codifying reproductive freedom. She also wants to address inadequate access to healthy food, support measures to increase public transportation methods, and fund resources to foster clean air and address contaminated water issues. When it comes to guns, she wants to require safe and secure gun storage with enhanced penalties for firearms left out around children, mandatory reporting for lost and stolen weapons, and background checks.

2022 US House of Representatives Election (South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District)

Annie Andrews (Democrat)

Dr. Annie Andrews is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston and has been a pediatrician at MUSC since 2009. She cares for children and adolescents from all over the Lowcountry at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. She is a gun violence prevention researcher and community advocate working to reduce the frequency of pediatric firearm injuries with a focus on secure storage counseling and gun safety education in the community. Unlike her opponent, she supported the recently-passed bipartisan, federal infrastructure bill that sent over $6 billion to South Carolina in order to solve the flooding problems of the low country. She has seen firsthand the results of our cruel healthcare system and supports expanding Medicaid. When it comes to gun violence, she believes that we need background checks on all gun sales, a federal secure storage law, and we need federal funding for Hospital Based Violence Intervention programs. Furthermore, she supports the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act but believes we need to go further and raise the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21. In terms of abortion, she supports the Women’s Health Protection Act and guaranteed access to abortion services up to the point of viability, which is generally defined as 24 weeks. She also wants to legalize cannabis at a federal level.

Nancy Mace (Incumbent, Republican)

Nancy Mace also defeated incumbent Joe Cunningham in 2020. Like her opponent, she is committed to keeping oil rigs off our coast permanently. Mace and Andrews greatly differ when it comes to healthcare. Mace believes that the federal government must loosen its grip on our healthcare decisions by decreasing Medicaid and allowing the free market to deliver a higher quality product at a lower price for the consumer. However, Mace also supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade and is pro-life. 

2022 SC State House of Representatives Elections 

West Ashley’s 114th

Michelle Brandt (Liberal)

While she does identify with a political party, Brandt is the liberal candidate in this election. Brandt is focused on local issues that affect each and every one of us. She wants to decrease time sitting in traffic by incentivizing employers to support communal transit, funding important road projects, and increasing access to school buses to improve morning & afternoon traffic flow. In order to improve education, she wants to decrease class size, increase teacher pay, and allocate funding for school buses. In order to bring down the cost of housing for every family, she supports ending bans on smaller lot sizes, townhomes, & apartments. She supports families and doctors in creating legislation that protects pregnant peoples’ rights to safe and accessible healthcare and access to contraception.

Gary Brewer (Republican)

When it comes to reforming education, Brewer wants to place emphasis on technical and trade programs. He believes that higher education isn’t a one size fits all answer to increasing the readiness of our workforce and wants to eliminate the stigma that a (4) year college/university is the only route for success for young adults today. What about taxes? Gary Brewer will “make meaningful tax reform a priority to bring economic development to this area.” His platform also has a focus on public safety, including “listening to officers and voting to provide the equipment and training needed, not just to stay safe, but to also work efficiently and effectively.”  

Mount Pleasant’s 112th

David S Artushin (Democrat)

In his own words, the 3 most important key takeaways from Artushin’s campaign are values as follows: the environment, underrepresented communities, and veterans. Artushin wants to find solutions to the issue of coastal water pollution, though he does not describe how. He pushes for legislation that supports a more equitable future for our communities, as well as legislation for the rehabilitation of returning war veterans. Upon further research, I found little additional information about his campaign values, so here’s his twitter bio:

Christian. Father. Husband. Advocate.

Joe Bustos (Incumbent, republican)

Bustos is running for reelection into the House for District 112. He is a veteran, Columbia College graduate, and has served as a police officer. But what about his values? Bustos places emphasis on expanding infrastructure to fit the expanding needs of the area, specifically emphasizing the use of state funding rather than taxpayers’. He also plans to use his environmental activism if elected, having already set up Shem Creek Park as a conservation effort. He also places emphasis on public education, asserting that teachers should not be expected to do more without being paid more, and that funding is already astonishingly low to schools in our state. He asserts that South Carolina’s place as last in education is unacceptable. 

Downtown’s 111th

Wendell G. Gilliard (Unopposed, Incumbent, Democrat)

Gilliard will push for State support of community economic development projects in local communities that put the power of redevelopment in the hands of the residents. He supports Medicare expansion due to the large number of South Carolinians in the workforce without access to affordable healthcare. He also believes that South Carolina needs to implement laws to stop the revolving door to prison, and while he advocates for stiffer penalties for repeat offenders, he believes that we need to offer second chances.

Thank you for reading our article! Please remember to drop a like and a comment below to let us know your thoughts. Remember to get out to the booths on November 8, 2022!