- BIG STORY: Infrastructure has its moment in South Carolina
- ROUNDUP: Scott turns up the volume at GOP convention
- LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Remembering
- BRACK: Throw the bum out
- MYSTERY PHOTO: Smokestack
- FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
Infrastructure has its moment in South Carolina
News analysis by Jack O’Toole | For decades, infrastructure has been what politicians and journalists call a “MEGO issue” — that is, one that’s important enough to deserve attention, but not captivating enough to hold it. Hence the term: My Eyes Glaze Over.
But after nearly a decade of galloping population growth that clogged state roads, crowded local schools and pushed some water systems to the breaking point, 2026 is shaping up to be the year that infrastructure stopped being MEGO in South Carolina.
In fact, judging by recent headlines, it’s almost starting to look … sexy.
Earlier this year, after months of study, state lawmakers revamped the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to push more construction projects through the system faster.
This fall, residents from Beaufort to Charleston to Greenville will vote on local referendums to raise their own taxes, by millions and in some cases billions of dollars, for roads, schools, water and sewer systems.
And right now, if you ask the two major party candidates for governor to name the top issues facing the state, you’ll find there’s one they agree on.
“Infrastructure is incredibly important,” state Attorney General and GOP nominee Alan Wilson told the City Paper recently. “There are parts of our state that are just overpopulated at this point, where people are sitting in parking lots on the interstate on their way home, and they’re just sick and tired of it.”
Wilson’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Richland County, was equally forceful on the subject in an Aug. 27 interview.
“Our infrastructure is just abysmal,” Johnson said. “We have some of the worst roads in the entire country. We have one of the highest percentages of bridges in disrepair. We’re going to have to redevelop all that.”
Tax and build?
The challenge to all this bipartisan bonhomie? Sticker shock. That’s why the legislature’s SCDOT reform bill included a plan to attract billions in private investment for state road projects. And it’s why local infrastructure referendums so often struggle at the ballot box.
For instance, voters in Greenville and Charleston counties rejected transportation sales tax increases in 2024. But with traffic only getting worse, they’ll be asked to rerun the referendums again this year — with Greenville voters weighing a $1 billion tax increase over eight years, and Charleston voters considering $4.25 billion over 25 years.
Potentially complicating the issue even further in Charleston: A school sales tax referendum on the same ballot that’s asking for an additional $1.25 billion, mostly for new school construction.
Nevertheless, as Logan McVey, leader of the Charleston-area group trying to get both referendums passed, argued in a recent commentary, the region’s infrastructure has been “overrun” by a “historic shift” in population growth.
“These referendums offer our chance to catch up, because waiting only makes the problems worse and the solutions more expensive,” McVey wrote.
Put simply, South Carolina has outgrown its infrastructure, and even with successful bureaucratic reforms and private sector participation, taxpayers at one level or another are being asked to come up with billions to catch up.
The good news, according to one recent study? If they do, the return on that investment could be significant.
Big investments, big returns?
South Carolina has added about 800,000 new residents over the past decade, with another 800,000 expected in the decade to come.
For perspective, the state’s largest city, Charleston, has a population of about 150,000.
In other words, S.C. has added more than five Charlestons since 2015. And if trends play out as expected, it will add another five by 2035.
So far, experts say, that boom has been a boon to the state’s economy.
“South Carolina is currently ranked third in the country in GDP (gross domestic product) growth and fourth in the country in employment growth,” University of South Carolina economist Joseph Von Nessen said in a Sept. 8 interview. “So by most major metrics, we’re right at the top.”
But, he added, “You have to invest in, and modernize, the infrastructure grid in all its forms to keep up and ensure the state remains competitive.”
Last month, Von Nessen and his colleagues at the university’s Darla Moore School of Business released the second annual report on the economic impact of infrastructure in the state, sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of S.C.
The bottom line? S.C. sees $1.70 in economic growth for every $1 it invests in infrastructure.
Based on the infrastructure investments currently underway, Von Nessen said, that translates into 38,000 temporary jobs per year during the build-out, and 140,000 additional permanent jobs as a result of the higher economic growth they allow.
“Depending on who you talk to, 140,000 may not sound like a lot,” Von Nessen said. “But that’s actually 5% of the total employment base in South Carolina, so it’s a significant amount of job creation coming from infrastructure investments.”
What’s more, Von Nessen noted, the study found that “all types of infrastructure matter” when you look at the state as a whole.
“What we see is that 13 counties out of 46 have received 75% of the population growth, so they need investments in things like transportation,” he said. “But in rural communities, the challenge is often broadband, which is needed to help ensure there’s access to opportunity across South Carolina.”
He added, “The state’s infrastructure is only as strong as its weakest link.”
Increasingly, South Carolina voters are feeling those weak links as pain-points in their everyday lives — longer commutes, overstressed utilities, resource-constrained schools.
And to all appearances, their eyes aren’t glazed over at all.
Jack O’Toole is Statehouse bureau chief for Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
Scott turns up volume at GOP midterm convention
By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | For about 24 hours this week, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina was the talk of American politics after he delivered an old-fashioned stemwinder of a speech at President Donald Trump’s made-for-streaming midterm GOP convention in Dallas.
“This is a battle for the heart of our nation — I said, the heart of our nation! The Democrats’ extreme candidates won’t rip that heart out of our chests!” Scott shouted, pantomiming the act of ripping his own heart out. “They hate our culture. They hate what it means to be American. Hear me, Dallas. Not! On! Our! Watch! We will not back down!”
But the retro, tent-revival tone was strongest when Scott sought to contrast Democrats’ faith with that of Republicans’.
“We know who God is!” he said, his voice booming. “We’re talking about Jeeeesus!”
The speech, which some news outlets called “high energy” and others “a tirade,” was reminiscent of a pre-television political style that largely went out of fashion when speakers no longer had to wave their arms and raise their voices to be understood at the back of a large hall.
Perhaps predictably, Scott’s performance drew mixed reviews on social media, with Republican-affiliated accounts mostly praising its stirring impact in the room and Democratic supporters mocking what they called the “SNL cold open” quality of the moment on video.
Playing it right down the middle was former GOP U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who observed, either dryly or just objectively, on X: “Tim Scott is not ‘low-keying it.’”
But regardless of any debates over style, the speech had real stakes for Scott, who’s serving this year as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm charged with protecting the GOP’s narrow majority in the upper chamber.
And despite recent state polls showing that may be a tall order, with Democrats competitive or ahead in several states Republicans can typically rely on, Scott was at his most animated when promising a GOP Senate win in November.
“We will not back down! We will not grow weary!” he roared at the crowd. “We will keep the majority!”
In other recent news
9/11: How the Sept. 11 attacks changed S.C., America. Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001.
- NYPD transplants to S.C. describe horrors of terrorist attacks
- Students no longer remember 9/11. S.C. teachers aim to make sure they learn.
2026: Andrews says she’ll debate Graham, who won’t say. Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Annie Andrews has challenged GOP opponent Darline Graham to a debate and accepted a TV station’s invitation, but Graham questions why it is worth her time.
- Can Andrews beat Graham in U.S. Senate race?
- GOP pollster finds that health care may be emerging as 2026’s sleeper issue
Caskey to take over as S.C. House Majority Leader. S.C. Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington, is transitioning into a new role as the South Carolina House Majority Leader, taking over the position previously held by S.C. Rep. Davey Hiott, R-Pickens.
A closer look at McMaster’s differences with Trump. Despite his overall support for President Donald Trump, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has spent much of his tenure taking stances on the environment that are either at odds with the Republican president or not on Trump’s radar.
Black children in S.C. are more likely to be detained than white peers, report finds. South Carolina locks up Black children at a higher rate than white children, found a report from a civil rights group released Wednesday.
Sumter gets ready for coming circus of April Murdaugh retrial. A look at how Sumter County is getting ready for the April retrial of Alex Murdaugh on double murder charges. It likely will draw global attention and frenzied headlines.
Early data shows S.C. traffic deaths are down. Preliminary data from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety shows fewer traffic deaths in the state this year compared to last year. 590 people have been killed as of Sept. 3, down 56 from 2025.
Studies show lots of S.C. college graduates leave state. Over the past decade and a half, more than 60% of South Carolina college graduates went to work in the Palmetto State in the year after receiving their diploma. But by the third year, that number drops 10 percentage points.
Remembering
Award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail has a special knack for shining a light on critical issues in just the right way. This week, he offers a solemn remembrance for the victims of the attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001.
- Love this week’s cartoon or hate it? Did he go too far, or not far enough? Send your thoughts to feedback@statehousereport.com.
Brack: Throw the bum out
Commentary by Andy Brack | Take President Donald Trump at his word – act like he’s on the ballot during the midterm elections. It will help America become stronger.
If people remember that he’s on the ballot through a bunch of weak surrogates, then he should get a booming wake-up call at the twilight of his miserable political career. When millions of people in the November midterm elections vote to flip Congress to Democratic control, perhaps he’ll finally understand people are tired of his continuing shenanigans.
And what may be remembered as the straw that broke the back of infatuation with the orange camel? His Sept. 9 proposal for a $5,000 “dividend” payment to persuade American adults to vote Republican in November. It’s nothing more than a televised bribe – the kind of offer specifically prohibited by federal law (Title 18, Section 597).
Former Republican S.C. Gov. and Congressman Mark Sanford of Mount Pleasant said Sept. 11 that what Trump was proposing was just plain sick. Sanford, a fiscal hawk, knows paying $5,000 to 270 million American adults would add a walloping $1.2 trillion to the budget.
“Totally a bribe when we are borrowing 26 cents on every federal dollar we spend,” Sanford said in an early morning text. “It’s generational robbery and when the history books write on this, it will be seen for what it is – financial recklessness at new levels, codification of government-sponsored inequity and the attempt to just make it through the next two years without the roof caving in.
“This is an attempt at a calm before the storm of what’s coming financially and it won’t work.”
Sanford also didn’t mince words about Republicans who enable the Trump bribe: “That Republicans would put up with this and not decry it is also sick.”
What’s really dangerous about the kind of rhetoric that Trump is using – and you should realize that he has no intention of paying the bribe he’s offering because Congress would have to enable that – is that he continues to degrade the country’s moral fiber.
This man who holds Bibles upside-down, doesn’t go to church, criticizes respected religious leaders, continuously lies and intentionally inflicts emotional distress on a nation is a foundational cause of America’s strength being rotted away from the inside.
When others see him get away with rhetoric that pushes crippling proposals, they too go in for games of one-upmanship. And the once-strong United States continues a downward spiral.
But a come-uppance and return to sanity is just two months away as waves of mad and thoughtful American voters from Texas to Minnesota to Maine pull levers to bypass the GOP.
Maybe only then will Trump take off the partisan blinders and understand how frustrated people are with his truculent, nasty, narcissistic governing style. Maybe when Democrats take the House by a huge margin and recapture the U.S. Senate, will the mere calls for him to step down turn into attempts to formally remove him through impeachment or imposition of the provisions of the 25th amendment to the Constitution.
What’s happening across America now – and this week’s bribe puts icing on the cake – is the increasing likelihood that Trump will be toast during his last two years as president. That is, if his ongoing health challenges don’t drive him from office first.
Throw the bum out. Yes, remember that Donald Trump is actually on the ballot in November in the candidacies of a bunch of surrogates and enablers from sea to shining sea.
Absolute corruption is anti-democratic and something for which he and his GOP toadies must be held accountable.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Smokestack
This photo from a reader is going to be a tough photo to identify, which is why we left a fairly obvious clue in it. But what may be toughest is to give historical context to the location and what it means. Please send in your best guess – and your name and hometown – to feedback@statehousereport.com. And if you have a mystery photo to share, send that along too (but tell us what it is because we’re horrible guessers.)
Last week’s mystery, “Gridiron,” shows the Oliver C. Dawson Stadium at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg where the Bulldogs first played in the stadium in 1955. This one shouldn’t have been too hard, especially since we forgot to blur one big clue.
Hats off to several sleuths who identified it: Will Bradley of Las Vegas, Nevada; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Steve Willis of Lancaster; Bill Segars and Michael Webb, both of Hartsville; Jay Altman, Tom Elmore and Dalton Tresvant, all of Columbia; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
- SHARE: If you have a Mystery Photo to share, please send it to us – and make sure you tell us what it is!
Send us your thoughts
Please send us your thoughts about politics and policy in South Carolina, but make sure to leave phone numbers and hometowns to help us verify them for publication. We publish non-defamatory comments, but unless you provide your contact information – name and hometown, plus a phone number used only by us for verification – we can’t publish your views.
- Have a comment? Send your letters or comments to: feedback@statehousereport.com. Make sure to provide your contact details (name, hometown and phone number for verification. Letters are limited to 150 words.
Statehouse Report, founded in 2001 as a weekly legislative forecast that informs readers about what is going to happen in South Carolina politics and policy, is provided by email to you at no charge every Friday.
- Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
- Statehouse bureau chief: Jack O’Toole
We can use your help
We’re proud to offer Statehouse Report for free. For more than a dozen years, we’ve been the go-to place for insightful independent policy and political news and views in the Palmetto State. And we love it as much as you do.
But now, we can use your help. If you’ve been thinking of contributing to Statehouse Report over the years, now would be a great time to contribute as we deal with the crisis. In advance, thank you.
More
- Mailing address: Send inquiries by mail to: P.O. Box 21942, Charleston, SC 29413
- Subscriptions are free. If you want to subscribe, send us an email: feedback@statehousereport.com with the word “subscribe” in the subject. We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from Statehouse Report, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to the bottom of the weekly email issue and follow the instructions.
- Read our sister publication: Charleston City Paper (every Friday in print; Every day online)
- © 2026, Statehouse Report, a publication of City Paper Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
