By Bill Davis, senior editor [updated, 1/14] | Spoiler alert: State Sen. Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) will be your next lieutenant governor. There’s just a bunch of things that have to happen first.
And, in some ways, this is all President-elect Donald Trump’s fault … with a little help from a snafu in some state-enabling legislation.
Trump has nominated Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) to be this country’s next ambassador to the United Nations. Her vetting could happen as early as next week, or it could drag out into March, depending on how Trump’s transition progresses through Congress.
Once Haley is confirmed, as is widely projected, Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster will assume her office, leaving his office vacant. According to tradition, the president pro tempore of the state Senate ascends to the position, which officially presides over the state Senate.
Musical chairs in the Senate
[New additions in italics] But recent history has shown that’s not always the case. When former Lt. Gov. Ken Ard stepped down after a scandal, former Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell took over the office, which led to Sen. John Courson (R-Columbia) Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence) becoming the new president pro tem.
Months later when McConnell left to become president of his alma mater, the College of Charleston, a game of political chairs ensued. First, Leatherman Courson stepped down as president pro tem because he didn’t want to become lieutenant governor. Then Democratic Sen. Yancey McGill of Kingstree was voted in by his peers as president pro tempore, which led to him then being appointed from that position to be lieutenant governor. Next, the Senate voted Sen. Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence ) to again be a new president pro tem.
Some new wrinkles for 2017
This time, there are some familiar wrinkles.
Once again, another senator — Leatherman — has no interest in becoming lieutenant governor, a move that many see as a demotion. Leatherman, who also chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is inarguably the most powerful legislator in the state, as he controls not only the agenda in the Senate but also the budget process in Columbia. (Seniority ensures he would not lose his chairmanship.)
Bryant, who survived a very close primary for his Upstate seat, has said he would take over the office. Bryant said this week, he enjoys working in the Senate, and that as a pharmacist, he has a special perspective on senior issues, which is germane as the lieutenant governor’s office oversees the state Office on Aging.
But there is a seeming conflict this go-round that has slowed, and may potentially scuttle Bryant’s potential ascension.
In 2012, voters approved a constitutional referendum that would require the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to be conjoined and run on the same ticket, much like it is done on the federal level for president and vice-president.
That referendum states that the joining of the two offices would not begin until the 2018 gubernatorial election.
It’s 2017, so what’s the problem?
Politically and ideologically, there are many in Columbia and across the state who are not comfortable with the concentration of power that Leatherman enjoys. That includes a watchdog like Ashley Landess of the S.C. Policy Council, who helped end the tenure of former House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R-Charleston), as well as state Sen. Shane Massey (R-Edgefield).
Massey, who is also the chair of the Rules Committee and Senate majority leader, has spoken several times publicly of his dissatisfaction with Leatherman’s reluctance to follow protocol.
Legally, another obstacle is that the legislature passed a law in 2014 to conform to the 2012 referendum to allow governors to name replacement lieutenant governors. The problem: The new “enabling legislation” didn’t say that the change would take place in 2018. Because no time was mentioned, the new law is in conflict with the way lieutenant governors have ascended in the past.
Headed to the Supreme Court
On Wednesday, state Sen. Tom Davis (R-Bluffton) will argue to the S.C. Supreme Court, which fast-tracked a lawsuit regarding the conflict. He is expected to argue that the General Assembly intended for the 2014 law to start in 2018, not immediately.
The conventional wisdom in the House and Senate is that Davis will argue successfully that the omission of a timeframe was an oversight. If he prevails, Bryant should ascend and Leatherman, 85, will stay perched on his legislative throne.
State Sen. Greg Hembree (R-N. Myrtle Beach) was one of 10 senators voted against Leatherman two years ago to be Senate president pro tem. Why? Because of Leatherman’s reluctance to serve as lieutenant governor. But Hembree said this week that the past vote would serve as a fairly reliable test for Leatherman remaining president.
“I just don’t think 13 more senators will have changed their minds in the last two years,” Hembree said of the votes needed to oust Leatherman.
Legislators in the House and Senate said this week that Leatherman, who controls the purse strings for so much of state government, would be protected because it will be a public vote.
“But, if it were a secret ballot …” said one member of House leadership, before dragging his thumb across his throat.
Next on tap
If Bryant is named lieutenant governor (*spoiler*), his Senate seat would be open and a special election would have to be held to fill it. The one name from the Anderson House legislative delegation many say would be the most likely to run for that office would be state Rep. Anne Thayer (R-Belton).
Thayer, a mother and small businesswoman, said this week she was still in the consideration phase if Bryant’s office did come open.
But Thayer introduced yet another wrinkle: “If the Supreme Court decides McMaster must name his successor, will he chose Bryant, and would he be fine with him as a running mate in 2018?
McMaster did not return a request for comment.
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