- BIG STORY: South Carolinians stressing over costs
- ROUNDUP: THC compromise starts with long odds
- LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Pocotali-going
- BRACK: Hold on tight for results of oddball primaries
- MYSTERY PHOTO: Bakery
- FEEDBACK: Legalize medical marijuana
South Carolinians stressing over costs, studies show
By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | A new national report finds nearly half of all South Carolinians are struggling to pay their bills as they prepare to head to the ballot box this November. Simply put, people are stressing out over affordability, even though some candidates seem to be ignoring it.
The report, published May 27 by the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution, used price and income data to track the affordability of a basic basket of goods, including housing, health care and groceries, at the state and county levels from 2014 to2024.
Here in South Carolina, the study reports 45% of households don’t earn enough to make ends meet, placing the state almost dead center in the national pack.
But the study’s authors note that, in many cases, the statewide averages conceal large disparities across geography and race — a phenomenon that’s strongly reflected in Palmetto State data.
For instance, while only 45% of Darlington County households are able to cover the costs of necessities, 68% of Jasper County are able to get by on their current after-tax income. And while only 47% of Black South Carolina households can afford the study’s basic basket of goods, about 61% of White households can.
According to the study, those racial disparities are driven primarily by income, not the inflation that affects affordability more broadly.
“As of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics median earnings data, Black and Latino or Hispanic workers made 78 cents for every dollar made by a white worker,” the authors report. “The persistence of relatively lower incomes for certain groups means the threshold for the cost of living is less forgiving for those groups.”
The study’s findings broadly dovetail with the latest statewide poll from Winthrop University, which in late May found a large majority of South Carolinians saying that basic goods were increasingly out of their reach.
Given those concerns, Winthrop political science professor and poll director Scott Huffmon noted state leaders’ recent focus on national political concerns, such as last month’s failed attempt to redraw the state’s congressional lines, might seem tone-deaf to state voters.
“When nearly seven in 10 find groceries difficult to afford and almost 60% struggle with both health care and housing costs, South Carolina residents may wonder at the herculean efforts to address national political issues while many in the state feel pushed to the economic brink,” Huffmon said in a May 27 statement.
University of South Carolina economist Joseph Von Nessen said voters’ affordability concerns are borne out by the numbers, with broad, systemic inflation and, in some sectors, tariffs driving up the cost of living.
“When you compare purchasing power for the average South Carolinian today to where it was on the eve of the pandemic, most consumers have actually fallen behind because prices have risen faster than wages,” Von Nessen said Tuesday. “And while consumers are slowly clawing back that purchasing power, their dollar still doesn’t go as far as it did in 2020.”
Looking forward, Von Nessen said, economists are carefully watching a recent uptick in inflation, driven primarily by Iran War-related energy costs, that threatens to further erode affordability and consumer confidence heading into the second half of the year.
“Anytime the consumer buys anything — gas at the pump, groceries at the store, things on Amazon — all those goods need to be shipped, which requires energy,” he said. “So when energy prices rise, that affects prices across the economy and across all industries.”
That said, Von Nessen noted, the “potential silver lining” regarding war-related energy inflation is that it can fall as quickly as it rises.
“Oil prices were about $70 per barrel at the beginning of the year, then they peaked at around $120 per barrel, and now they’re back down to about $85 per barrel,” he said. “So we’ve seen significant fluctuation — and that’s really the wild card looking ahead.”
- For more on the Brookings affordability report, including breakdowns for all 46 S.C. counties, visit brookings.edu.
Jack O’Toole is Statehouse bureau chief for Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
THC compromise starts with long odds in S.C. Statehouse
By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | Despite broad agreement that doing nothing is not an option, the first meeting of a joint S.C. House-Senate conference committee charged with finding a compromise on proposed THC regulator legislation quickly became an hour-long lesson in how hard it will be for lawmakers to do anything at all.
Senate Majority Leader and Committee Chairman Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, laid out the challenges in stark detail during the June 2 meeting.
First, the two chambers produced almost polar-opposite bills, with the House essentially banning all drinks and edibles containing more than trace amounts of THC, and the Senate opting instead to formally legalize and regulate the increasingly popular products.
The drinks and edibles, which have grown in recent years into a $1.5 billion Palmetto State industry, are currently produced and sold in what amounts to an unregulated legal gray area — broadly legal under federal law, but not explicitly authorized by state statute. As a result, products of any potency can be sold to people of any age, including children.
The Senate bill would address that legal gap with strict testing, licensing, packaging and point-of-sale signage requirements, as well as a 21-and-older age restriction. Products containing up to 5 mg of THC could be sold for off-premises consumption in retail establishments, while those containing up to 10 mg could only be sold in liquor stores.
Adding to the complexity of finding a House-Senate compromise, Massey noted, was the precarious nature of the Senate majority that passed the regulatory bill in the first place. It rested, he said, on a carefully crafted compromise among three groups — one group favoring a complete ban, a second favoring minimal or no legislation, and yet another favoring full-on regulation.
And any major change at this point — particularly a compromise along the lines of the House bill — would likely make it a non-starter in the upper chamber.
“As difficult as it is for me to say this, I don’t think the Senate can get the votes to ban it,” Massey said, stressing that he had personally worked behind the scenes in support of a ban. “And I’m concerned that if that’s what we’re faced with, we’ll get nothing.”
But perhaps the most significant complication facing lawmakers is what it would actually mean to do nothing.
Under federal legislation passed last year, intoxicating THC products that were legalized as hemp derivatives in 2018 would be outlawed again in November 2026. However, with a strong push currently underway in Congress to repeal the law, or at least delay its implementation, S.C. lawmakers are trying to legislate into uncertainty.
In other words, lawmakers favoring a ban could win simply by refusing to compromise. Or they could end up right where they are now — in a “Wild West” of unregulated products sold at any potency to anyone who can afford them.
Or as House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, a sponsor of his chamber’s ban, summed the situation up in a moment of understatement: “This may be one of the more challenging conference committees that we’ve had to deal with.”
The committee is currently in recess subject to the call of the chair.
In other recent news
2026: S.C. Democratic gubernatorial candidates discuss policy, each other at primary debate. South Carolina’s three Democrats vying for governor took to podiums Wednesday evening in the final televised debate before the June 9 primary election.
- S.C. Democratic gubernatorial candidates talk affordability
- McMaster, Evette deny pressure to put governor’s son on ticket
- Norman picks former S.C. Freedom Caucus chair as running mate
- Kimbrell suspends campaign for governor
- The Republicans and Democrats challenging Graham for Senate
- S.C. GOP AG candidates lay out priorities ahead of primary
- SC-1: Seven Democrats who want to take Mace’s seat
- S.C. early voting breaks records
New S.C. law taxes vapes, gives tax break to electronic tobacco devices. A state law that takes effect in October newly taxes vapes and sends the money to Medicaid to help cover revenue lost by fewer South Carolinians smoking cigarettes.
Trump nominates S.C. attorney McCoy as a U.S. ambassador. Charleston lawyer Peter McCoy has been nominated as the next U.S. ambassador to Montenegro.
More than 50 arrested in Upstate immigration sting. Six people were indicted on criminal charges, while 48 workers at the Abbeville plant were detained by federal immigration agents.
Outpouring of world’s grief expressed in letters, art for Emanuel AME. Two separate huge collections of correspondence and artwork capture the world’s grief-stricken responses to the 2015 tragedy that took the lives of nine members of Emanuel AME Church.
What to know about the 2026 hurricane season. Both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Colorado State University (CSU) are forecasting the upcoming season to be slightly below normal.
Pocotali-going
Award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail has a special knack for poking a little fun in just the right way. This week, he takes a poke at chemical dumping in the Midlands’ Pocotaligo River.
- 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: Hold on tight for results of oddball primary elections
Commentary by Andy Brack | It has been a strange, atypical election season. That’s all there is to it.
Heading into the June 9 primaries, more voters have cast ballots early than ever before since 2022 when early voting started. In fact, this year’s total – 235,778 voters over seven days through June 3 – is more than the totals for 10 days of early voting in 2022 (100,990 voters) and 2024 (120,178 voters).
That’s pretty amazing and, as we’ve written, reflects a growing dissatisfaction with the current crop of politicians in Washington and Columbia who aren’t effectively dealing with the affordability issues (rising costs for food, gas, health care and daily living) that people are demanding.
But putting that aside, the election is just weird. In the two major parties, there are eight candidates who want to be governor. And in the First Congressional District, there are 17 candidates.
Most aren’t getting out messages effectively – or are using nontraditional methods because the traditional method – television advertising – is waning. Still, based on expenditures at one Charleston television station, some candidates are reaching out, blasting televised news programs with advertising.
Among Republicans for governor, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and rich guy Rom Reddy of Isle of Palms spent in the low six-figures over the last few months, while Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson spent at $63,082 and $94,025 respectively since the beginning of the year.
What all of this means is that Norman and Reddy have likely spent more than $2 million each on traditional advertising statewide, while Evette and Wilson have spent more than $1 million each.
Among the three Democrats running for the state’s top spot, only Greenville businessman Billy Webster, a political unknown to many, has burned up the airwaves, with more than $270,000 spending at the station since mid-April. Webster, who needs to spend to build name recognition among Democratic voters, likely has burned at least $4 million on primary television ads across the Palmetto State.
It’s pretty amazing that the other two Democratic candidates – S.C. Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Hopkins and Charleston lawyer Mullins McLeod – have spent little, if anything.
To add another twist, look at what’s going on in television spending in the First Congressional District. At two Charleston stations we checked, only three candidates spent any money – former GOP Gov. Mark Sanford, who dropped out, Democratic candidate Nancy Lacore of Mount Pleasant and Republican Charleston Dr. Sam McCown.
What’s odd is that the other 14 candidates, including the purported GOP frontrunners, don’t seem to have spent a dime on paid television media. Instead, they seem to be relying on other less expensive outlets – direct mail, internet ads – and free stuff like public appearances. They also seem to be relying on more retail politics to get out a broad message in a year where voters are irked.
Two other things about this year’s oddball primaries make it difficult to use past elections as harbingers for the future – independent voters and turnout.
It’s unclear where independents will go in the primaries since both teams have several candidates. Independents may steer toward the GOP to vote against someone – or they may head to the Democratic primary to cast ballots in frustration. Or they may stay home, which also puts a twist on things.
Second, it’s unclear what’s going to happen with election day turnout. If trends continue, a lot more people will vote in the Democratic primary, which could dampen the impact of Black voters and help Webster. But if more people head to the GOP primary on the day of voting – which generally happens – Republican incumbents could face some bad news at the polls.
Only two things are clear this year: The primaries matter like never before and nobody knows what’s going to happen.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Bakery
Here’s a bakery – or what was one – somewhere in South Carolina. Where can you see it? Send in our 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 photo, “Glassy,” was kind of tough. Yep, it was the top of a lighthouse. But which one? Answer: Hunting Island’s lighthouse in Beaufort County.
Sleuth Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas, provides more info: “This lighthouse was originally built between 1873 and 1875 to replace a shorter, brick lighthouse built in 1859 that was destroyed during the Civil War.
“Today’s lighthouse is 132.6 feet tall, and is really quite unique for two reasons. First, it was built using interchangeable cast-iron sections, a design that was specifically intended to allow the lighthouse to be dismantled and moved further inland to counter the effects of ongoing and severe beach erosion that occurs in the area. It was a wise design choice, since in 1889 the lighthouse had to be relocated 1.3 miles further inland once erosion made the beach foundation too unstable.
“The other unique aspect of this lighthouse is the fact that it is the only remaining lighthouse in South Carolina that visitors can still climb to see the lantern room and go out on the observation deck for expansive panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding maritime forest.”
Congratulate to everyone who identified this tougher-than-usual photo: Jay Altman of Columbia; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Frank Bouknight of Summerville; Don Clark and Michael Webb, both of Hartsville; and Philip Cromer of Beaufort.
- SHARE: If you have a Mystery Photo to share, please send it to us – and make sure you tell us what it is!
Legalize medical cannabis
To the editor:
I would like to comment on how important and crucial it is to have access to medical cannabis.
As a result of lung cancer ( stage 3) treatments, I can no longer walk. My joints are stiff and hard for me to walk. Before treatments, I was a young and thriving adult for my age. I am now 75 years old and I beg of you to legalize it.
I am convinced that cannabis is a miracle drug. I have friends who have used cannabis for years and are in perfect health. I used holistic methods in addition to chemo and radiation to cure my cancer but the traditional methods played havoc on my body
– Name withheld
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- 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.
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