SC gov hopeful Warren gives his campaign another $2.5M, picks running mate
S.C. gubernatorial hopeful John Warren has picked Pat McKinney as his running mate, calling the Charleston businessman “a foot soldier for leaders like Jim DeMint and Nikki Haley.”
Separately, Warren reported he has given his largely self-funded campaign another $2.5 million. Thus far this year, the founder of a Greenville real-estate lending business has given his campaign $3 million of the $3.3 million that it has raised.
Warren's campaign reported it entered the final two weeks of the campaign with $740,313 in cash on hand. The money will come in handy in launching last-minute ad blitzes before the June 12 primary or, if Warren finishes in the top two in the five-way GOP contest, to prepare for the June 26 runoff.
In announcing his running-mate pick, Warren said of McKinney: “He is a leader in the faith community, and he fought corruption in state government. He is the kind of leader I want by my side to bring conservative reform to our state.”
Warren is challenging Gov. Henry McMaster and three others in the Republican primary.
McKinney, a retired Kiawah Island developer, has sought the office of lieutenant governor before. He finished second in the 2014 GOP primary for lieutenant governor to now-Gov. McMaster. However, he ultimately dropped out of that race ahead of an impending runoff with McMaster.
By picking McKinney, Warren is adding Lowcountry appeal to his Upstate-headquartered campaign and trying to appeal to voters who recall the developer’s association with Haley. Along with McMaster, McKinney was on Haley’s transition team, and Haley went on to appoint both men to the state Ports Authority board.
Saying he backed Haley early on “because she was a conservative reformer committed to stopping the career politicians and political insiders,” McKinney said Warren was “in the same mold as Nikki.”
Former state public health chief Catherine Templeton also has reminded voters of her association with Haley, featuring the former governor on television ads.
This is the first year governor and lieutenant governor are running as a ticket.
Both McMaster and Templeton have announced their running mates, choosing Greenville business Pam Evette and Greenville solicitor Walt Wilkins, respectively. All three Democratic candidates also have picked running mates.
This story was originally published May 30, 2018 at 3:21 PM with the headline "SC gov hopeful Warren gives his campaign another $2.5M, picks running mate."