South Carolina’s current governor, Henry Dargan McMaster, was born in Columbia on May 27, 1947. In 1969, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of South Carolina, where he also participated in student government as a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.
He earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1973 and served on the school’s Law Review’s editorial board during his time there. In the fall of the same year, he joined the Richland County Bar. In addition, he served his country in the American military—the Army Reserves, from which he was discharged with honor in 1975.
After finishing law school, he worked as a legislative aide for the U.S. In 1974, after working for South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, he joined the law firm of Tompkins and McMaster in Washington, DC. As time went on, he was able to start representing clients in American courts. U.S. District Court, the U.S. Court of Claims, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Over more than four decades, Governor McMaster worked as a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and a private practitioner in state and federal courts.
Biography of Governor Henry McMaster
Henry McMaster, whose given name is Henry Dargan McMaster, has been serving as the 117th Governor of South Carolina since his inauguration on January 24, 2017. He is a lawyer, politician, and member of the Republican Party in the United States.
He entered this world on May 27, 1947, at Columbia Memorial Hospital. John Gregg and Ida Dargan McMaster’s firstborn son. In 1969, he graduated with a four-year history degree from the University of South Carolina.
He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order and the South Carolina Student Legislature while he was an undergraduate. Having graduated from the law program at the University of South Carolina in 1973, he went on to work for the South Carolina Law Review’s editorial board.
It wasn’t long before he was sworn in as a member of the South Carolina Bar and the Richland County Bar Association. He was honorably discharged from the United States Army Reserves in 1975.
Washington D.C. lawmaker Strom Thurmond. right up until 1974, when he started working for Tompkins and McMaster. When he was caught practicing before the government’s Court of Claims in 1974, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1975, and then the Supreme Court of the United States in 1978 with the retirement of Justice Thurmond.
Brief History of Henry McMaster Early Political Career
United States Attorney
At Thurmond’s urging, President Ronald Reagan appointed McMaster as his first U.S. Attorney in 1981, for the District of South Carolina. Lawyer. On May 21, 1981, the Senate voted to confirm McMaster. He presided over the South Carolina Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee from 1981 until 1985.
While in South Carolina for his residency, McMaster commissioned the government’s medicine squad, Operation Jackpot, to investigate cannabis sellers. More than a hundred drug dealers and users were arrested as a result of Operation Jackpot.
During the preliminaries, McMaster spoke with different groups and made multiple comments, and question-and-answer sessions.
His actions were criticized as overtly partisan, with one columnist, Lee Bandy, writing that “nobody can review some other U.S. lawyer being so advertising cognizant” and another, noting that McMaster had given more question and answer sessions and news releases than the majority of his antecedents put together.
After four years in office, McMaster has stepped down as U.S. Attorney on December 31, 1985.
Election Bids and State Appointments
After running unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General of South Carolina, McMaster won a spirited primary for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 1986.
By a margin of 27,696 votes (53.41%) to 24,164 (46.60%), he defeated Henry Jordan. Democrat and four-term incumbent Ernest Hollings crushed Republican challenger Henry McMaster in the general election, 463,354 votes (63.10%) to 261,394 votes (35.60%).
The year 1990 was McMaster’s third attempt at becoming Lieutenant Governor. In the Republican primary, he beat Sherry Shealy Martschink by 49,463 votes (51.46%) to 46,660 votes (48.54%), although he was still soundly defeated by the incumbent Democrat. He came in second to Nick Theodore with 440,844 votes (58.75%) but still received 309,038 votes (41.19%).
The South Carolina Senate confirmed his appointment to the state’s Commission on Higher Education in 1991 after he was appointed by Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. In addition, he was a member of the Board of Directors and interim board administrator for the non-profit South Carolina Policy Council during the years of 1991 and 2003.
South Carolina Republican Party Chair
McMaster was elected as the South Carolina Republican Party Chairman on May 8th, 1993. This is how he was repeatedly selected by the State Republican Convention between 1996 and 2000.
From 1993 until 2002, he served in this capacity on the Republican National Committee. Under McMaster’s leadership, the Republican Party won the governorship, several statewide offices, and (with party switches) the state house of representatives in 1994, and then the incredibly powerful state senate in 2000.
When McMaster was in charge, the South Carolina Republican Party hosted contentious yet ultimately successful presidential primaries in 1996 (won by Bob Dole) and 2000. (won by George W. Shrub). McMaster announced his resignation as gathering executive on March 28, 2002, so he may run for Attorney General that same year.
Personal Life of Henry McMaster
Since their 1978 wedding, McMaster has been married to Peggy McMaster (formerly Anderson). They settled in Columbia, South Carolina, with their two grown children. The dog’s name is Mac, and he belongs to him. In Columbia, McMaster and his family are regulars at the First Presbyterian Church.
In the Columbia area, McMaster and his wife are the proud owners of a sizable real estate portfolio. The majority of McMaster’s revenue comes from leasing or renting out houses he owns to students at the University of South Carolina. However, tenants have reportedly complained to the Post and Courier about the hazardous and unhygienic conditions of the properties McMaster owns. Pictures of cockroaches, broken appliances, mildew, insects, mice, and bats proved the point.
In addition to the long wait times for bug control, tenants have also complained about mold. McMaster denied the homes were unfit for rent when confronted about the problems. McMaster received $7.7 million in rent on such houses and apartments between 2006 and 2015, according to his 2016 tax return; he spent slightly more than $500,000 on upkeep, maintenance, and cleaning.
A spokeswoman for his campaign said, “Of course they are livable. No one would rent them if they were not.” In addition, McMaster has reportedly paid over $16,000 in fines for ordinance violations. He has indicated that the fines were incurred due to tenants trashing the buildings.
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