In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson (D) began the trend of delivering an in-person, annual address to Congress in accordance with Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which requires the President to provide regular updates to Congress on the State of the Union. Since 1947, this practice has been televised and has become the modern State of the Union.

Many Raptors tuned in live Tuesday night to hear President Donald Trump’s (R) state of the Union, but what often goes unrecognized is the State of the State Address, which was delivered this year by Governor Henry McMaster (R). Both speeches outlined key policies, achievements, and desires for the future, but with drastically different messaging and tones from one Republican to the other.

The State of the State

In McMaster’s ninth state of the state address since taking office in 2018, he emphasized economic growth and planned investments for South Carolina. McMaster boasted South Carolina’s announcement of $9.1 billion in new investments, concurrent with a report from the South Carolina Department of Commerce published mid January.

McMaster announced executive budget recommendations for fiscal year 2026-27, including an additional $1.1 billion for road funding. Currently there are around 300 projects managed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation, with the Republican governor touting $7 billion worth of active road projects in South Carolina.

The governor stated he would sign a law that would eliminate the state’s income tax if the general assembly were to bring the bill to his desk, with a current plan to cut the state income tax rate from 6% to 5.9%. In contrast, McMaster stated his priority of raising teacher incomes to $50,000. The current starting teacher salary is around $48,500.

All together, McMaster’s address emphasized economic growth and investment, and a outlook towards the future of South Carolina. The Democratic response  was delivered by Rep. Jermaine Johnson (D – Richland), a frontrunner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Johnson’s rebuttal emphasized the issues of affordability in South Carolina, and how 22 years of single-party control in South Carolina by the SCGOP has failed to produce substantial results.

With McMaster term limited, he has endorsed his Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette to succeed him.