Roundup: 'Trannie Andrews:' Slur, strategy or both?

By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | For years, some opponents of President Donald Trump have argued that his frequent use of strong, sometimes even offensive, language was less a personal quirk and more a deliberate strategy to force certain issues into the conversation.

Did South Carolinians see a powerful example of that playbook in action just this week?

It all started on Monday, when Trump labeled Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Annie Andrews “Trannie Andrews” in a social media post, which went on to claim that the Lowcountry pediatrician favored “transgender for everyone.”

Trump made his comments as polls showed Andrews within striking distance of Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed earlier this year to fill out the remaining term of her late brother Lindsey. And the results, some would say, were predictable.

State LGBTQ+ groups denounced the post, calling it a slur. Former GOP Gov. David Beasley, who’s built his post-politics brand on bipartisan humanitarian service and civility, called it “appalling.” And Andrews, fearing an onslaught of anti-trans attacks from the outside groups that are funding most of her opponent’s television ads, put up an ad of her own.

In it, Andrews says she opposes “biological men playing women’s sports,” and notes that she doesn’t support and hasn’t ever performed gender surgery for minors.

And just like that, the issue of Andrews longstanding support for some forms of “gender affirming care” for minors was front and center as the Senate race entered its final weeks.

“Annie paints herself as something that her own words contradict from just a few years ago,” Graham spokesman T.W. Arrighi told The Post and Courier, noting that the issue came up in Andrews’ unsuccessful campaign against GOP 1st District U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022.

Will the last-minute effort to change the subject from high prices and the increasingly unpopular war in Iran move voters Graham’s way?

Aside from the TV ad, Andrews is clearly trying to keep the focus on voters’ pocketbooks.

“If name calling would help lower gas prices and grocery prices, he can call me all the names he wants,” she told reporters this week. “But I don’t think that’s going to get the job done.”

As for Trump, she said his comments were “not presidential.”

Former S.C. lawmaker pleads guilty to federal fraud charges

Former North Charleston state Rep. Marvin Pendarvis is facing up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines after pleading guilty Wednesday to charges that he bilked his law firm’s clients out of about $800,000 they were owed in legal settlements.

Pendarvis Credit: File

The three-term S.C. House member, who resigned his seat and saw his law license suspended after his 2024 indictment, pleaded guilty to nine counts of wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft. In addition to prison time, each charge carries a potential fine of up to $250,000. A tenth charge of illegally conducting interstate commerce was dropped in exchange for his plea.

The charges stemmed from what prosecutors alleged was a scheme to defraud his clients of almost $1 million between 2022 and 2024, when the State Law Enforcement Division began investigating the case in connection with a civil lawsuit by a former client.

Victims included a recent widower, an injured child, and a client on a ventilator.

“This is the lowest part in some people’s lives, and he used that to his advantage to move money around,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said.

Pendarvis will be sentenced at a future date.

In other recent news

2026: S.C. gubernatorial candidates agree on abortion, differ on gambling and Medicaid. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jermaine Johnson and Republican gubernatorial candidate Alan Wilson sparred Tuesday night over questions about data centers, Medicaid expansion and a state hate crime law.

S.C.-1: GOP, Dem nominees split on affordability, health care, AI in first debate. Two South Carolina candidates in the race to succeed Rep. Nancy Mace shared their differing visions for affordability and law enforcement policies in their first debate Wednesday in Charleston.

Candidates trade barbs on Iran, experience in 1st District debate

2028: Beshear says Democrats can win in places like S.C. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a likely Democratic candidate for president in 2028, told Charleston Democrats that the party can fight and win anywhere, using his own story to make his point.

The man behind the Big Trump Head. It is hard to miss Jim Blain on some morning commutes. There he is near an important building, a gas station or an attraction, wearing a blue suit, white shirt and long red tie — as well as something you don’t see every day: an oversized paper-mache head of President Donald Trump.

Domestic violence has big impact on S.C. children, data show. Data from the S.C. Department of Social Services suggests that some of the deepest, most enduring trauma is inflicted on children who never receive a single physical mark.

S.C. Arts Commission chair steps down after LGBTQ+ funds denied. The chair of the S.C. Arts Commission, Flavia Harton, is stepping down, according to a press release from the commission, following the Arts Commission’s controversial decision to deny funding for two LGBTQ+ arts groups.

Polling shows most South Carolinians oppose data centers. Newly released polling shows that regulating the industry better could strengthen public support at a time when politicians across the state are struggling to impose guardrails.

Settlement bans data center development across most of ACE Basin

S.C. lawmakers dig into what’s driving record growth. South Carolina continues to attract new residents at one of the fastest rates in the country, but lawmakers say they still have questions about what is driving that growth and how the state should prepare for it.