1 more in the GOP mix? SC governor’s race to get more crowded

S.C. Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant has been everything but quiet while weighing whether to run for governor.

That speculation will end Friday, when the Anderson Republican is expected to announce he is running for the state’s chief executive office. At a press conference in his hometown, Bryant will discuss his “plans for the 2018 election year,” according to his office.

Bryant's entry into the race will make a runoff in next year's GOP primary more likely.

Republican voters will have at least four candidates to choose from, making it unlikely any one candidate will win the 50 percent plus one vote needed to claim the nomination outright.

Bryant is hoping to scoop up votes from the GOP’s right wing, turf that is usually critical in winning a statewide Republican primary.

Formerly in the state Senate — where he was a anti-tax, anti-abortion, limited-government voice — Bryant should be popular in the Upstate, a region where the Republican Party's Tea Party and evangelical bases are strong.

Bryant also “could be playing the long game,” said Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon.

"He could have the realization that he does not yet have the statewide profile that he fully needs to run for governor,” he said. “This is a way, on the donors’ dime, to travel around and become a known quantity statewide."

Bryant will be entering the fray at a significant disadvantage when it comes to money, ahead only of Yancey McGill, a former state senator and lieutenant governor who had about $12,000 in the bank on June 30.

With his campaign donors’ permission, Bryant will have about $100,000 to start his bid for governor. That money includes about $60,000 he raised as a state senator and the rest as lieutenant governor that he can transfer to a race for governor if donors sign off.

At the top of the GOP heap, Gov. Henry McMaster has raised close to $1.8 million. Catherine Templeton, a Charleston labor attorney, has raised nearly $1.5 million.

Winning the GOP primary could be tantamount to being elected governor. Democrats have yet to field a 2018 candidate and have suffered crushing losses in races for statewide office since 2006.

But finishing second or a strong third could pay off for Bryant if the GOP nominee for governor picks him to run as lieutenant governor on the same ticket.

Bryant was in his fourth term in the state Senate when he volunteered to fill the vacancy created when then-Lt. Gov. McMaster became governor in January.

The pharmacist was volunteering to take a job with no political future.

Starting next year, the governor and lieutenant governor will run on the same ticket after the governor picks his or her running mate-lieutenant governor.

Bryant has been traveling the state, appearing at parades and other public events and meeting with local officials.

He recently told The State that there is room in the governor's race for a conservative.

As a senator, Bryant has introduced legislation that would define life as starting at conception and designate May as Confederate Memorial Month. He also has been a vocal opponent of illegal immigration and public spending on Planned Parenthood.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 1:58 PM with the headline "1 more in the GOP mix? SC governor’s race to get more crowded."