South Carolina's McMaster is now the longest serving governor at the job he loves

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Wednesday was a big day for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. Yes, he gave his eighth State of the State address. And he became the Palmetto State's longest serving governor at 2,927 days, thanks in large part to his evolving political instincts over 40 years in politics and a boost from President Donald Trump.

It's another bit of history for the 77-year-old Republican who also is the oldest governor in South Carolina's 249 years as a state.

McMaster didn't mention the milestone in Wednesday night's speech before the General Assembly. His staff has politely waved off requests for a big retrospective. A reporter did ask him last week how it felt to be on the cusp of such an achievement.

''Well, all you have to do is stay alive," McMaster said.

South Carolina originally had two-year terms for governor, and they could not seek reelection. That was later extended to four-year terms and not until 1980 did the state allow a governor to serve two consecutive terms.

Since then, three governors have made it all eight years, and thanks to the quirk of the calendar and inauguration dates Democrat Dick Riley served eight years plus four days from 1979 to 1987.

McMaster should blow well past the Riley record because he took over for Gov. Nikki Haley in 2017 when Trump appointed her U.N. ambassador during his first term. McMaster finished the last two years of that term and has been reelected twice. His final term runs out in January 2027.

McMaster was born in Columbia, got both his undergraduate and law school degrees from the University of South Carolina and speaks like a native. Always a Republican in a state flush with Democrats as he grew up, McMaster was a legislative assistant for U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond in the early 1970s.

He's one of the few Republicans left in office who has lost to a Democrat. McMaster took on U.S. Sen. Ernest ''Fritz'' Hollings in 1986 and was trounced. He got 36% of the vote and won only one county.

McMaster later led the South Carolina Republican Party as it took over the Legislature, power it has not relented. He was elected state attorney general and planned to used that as a stepping stone to governor but finished a distant third in 2010 Republican primary with just 17% of the vote. Several political obituaries were written.

McMaster aligned with Haley and was elected lieutenant governor in 2014. Then came perhaps his savviest political move.

At a January 2016 rally, McMaster became the highest ranking state officer in the U.S. to endorse Trump's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, calling him a ''man of action'' at a time many establishment Republicans were trying to get momentum for some alternative.

So when Trump won the presidency 10 months later, he said he had offered McMaster whatever he wanted. McMaster wanted the governor's office, so Trump offered a job to Haley so the lieutenant governor could move up.

McMaster loves his job. On many of the weekly schedules released by his office, he is traveling the state speaking to Rotary clubs or giving out South Carolina's highest honor, the Order of the Palmetto.

His eight years have been much more harmonious at the Statehouse. Unlike Haley and Gov. Mark Sanford, McMaster has no greater ambition. He's willing to work with both parties in the General Assembly and managed to accomplish things not usually embraced by conservatives like raising teacher pay and protecting pristine land from development.

''He at least recognizes there is some General Assembly required,'' said Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, the House's longest serving member at 33 years. ''He's been easy to work with even though I don't agree with many of his policies. I like him personally. You know, it's business.''

McMaster's State of the State address Wednesday hit on the same themes as past speeches. He is set in his ways. McMaster wants to continue to increase teacher pay. He wants fewer regulations to help businesses and more money to be set aside to conserve land. He wants more resources to study inefficiencies in South Carolina's colleges and universities and even to stop illegal dogfighting.

It took him a little time to make it to the front of the House chamber. There were hugs to give, hands to shake and selfies. At the podium to hold up early in his speech was his well-marked edition of ''South Carolina: A History,'' the 1999 book authored by historian Walter Edgar he frequently cites.

But he did look both backward and forward. He mentioned the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War and declared that South Carolina's ''history and culture are unsurpassed in the creation of this nation.''

And then he asked what South Carolina would be like 100 years from now.

''We've answered that question. For years we've invested billions of dollars in time and talent in education to prepare our children to build their lives and economy. And we've invested billions in our lands and waters to protect our health, expand our economy, preserve life in all its forms for its beauty and wonder, our education and joy, and the fulfillment of our duty to nourish the Lord's Garden,'' McMaster said.

McMaster is at his best one-on-one, whether he recruiting international business leaders or working a county GOP meeting, said Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose political career started a decade after McMaster's.

''He's made our state a prosperous, good place to do business,'' Graham told reporters this week. ''He's a dear friend, and I think he's going to go down in history as one of the greatest governors we've ever had.''