Gov. McMaster says top critic Templeton wanted to be his running mate
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster claimed Tuesday that his top critic in the GOP primary race for governor, Mount Pleasant attorney Catherine Templeton, privately asked him for a spot on his ticket.
Templeton's campaign flatly denied McMaster's claim — made during Tuesday night's debate — that she had lobbied for a chance to be McMaster's lieutenant governor-running mate during a Nov. 29, 2016, meeting.
“Absolutely not,” said Templeton campaign manager R.J. May. "She's running because she saw a problem with our state. She didn't want to leave this state in the hands of Henry McMaster for the next eight years."
McMaster made his claim in an effort to dull Templeton’s criticism that he is a failed governor who should be replaced.
"Mrs. Templeton talks about a visit that she made up to see President Trump, this was during the transition period," McMaster said. "That was after she’d come to me and asked to be my running mate, to be lieutenant governor. I said I couldn’t do that. As you know, I’ve selected Pamela Evette. So, then, we tried to get her something in the White House, something in the administration somewhere, and that didn’t work out, so here we are today.”
Templeton shot back at McMaster's claim during the debate.
“His timing was all wrong. Pamela Evette was not appointed until way after I came to tell you I was running for governor in your office,” Templeton replied to McMaster, going on to imitate McMaster’s Southern drawl. “And you said, ‘Fair enough,’ and I said, ‘Fair enough.’ And I walked out.”
At first glance, McMaster's timeline of events is confusing.
Templeton and then-Lt. Gov. McMaster met Nov. 29, 2016, almost two months before McMaster became governor in January 2017. However, the meeting was days after Trump announced he would nominate then-S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, elevating McMaster to governor.
Templeton met with Trump during December 2016, a month before the Republican took office as president. And McMaster did not announce Pamela Evette as his running mate until November 2017, a year after his meeting with Templeton.
McMaster spokeswoman Caroline Anderegg said the McMaster-Templeton meeting took place six days after Haley was tapped to join the Trump administration. Anderegg said McMaster was anticipating becoming governor and already had made plans to run for a full term in 2018.
Anderegg said McMaster mentioned Evette during the debate as an aside to acknowledge her to the audience. She said the governor was not implying he already had picked Evette as a running mate at that point or suggesting that was the reason McMaster was not interested in having Templeton on his ticket.
"He was just acknowledging Pamela," Anderegg said.
Templeton's campaign disputed that.
"He said what he said. The audio is clear," said May, Templeton's campaign manager. "He sounded to me like he's addressing Catherine directly. ... If we look at the timeline, he's not governor yet. ... His own timeline is screwed six ways to Sunday."
Anderegg said McMaster didn’t want Templeton on his ticket because she had voted for Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen of Camden in the 2010 governor’s race against Haley and because Templeton had criticized Trump during the 2016 presidential primary.
“They were nonstarters,” Anderegg said.
Templeton told The State on Tuesday that she asked McMaster at their late November meeting about his political plans, as McMaster's name was being floated for an ambassadorship or cabinet-level job. When he said he would run for governor, Templeton said she told McMaster she would be running against him.
In April, Templeton told the Edgefield County Republican Party that one of McMaster's surrogates had asked her if she would consider being McMaster's running mate, but told her she needed first speak with Richard Quinn.
Quinn was McMaster's former, longtime political consultant who was indicted as part of the State House corruption probe. The charges against him were dropped as part of a plea-bargain deal involving his son, former House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, R-Lexington.
"That's when I went to Henry and told him I was running for governor," Templeton told Edgefield Republicans. "Because I won't stand by while the corruption runs our state any longer."
However, Anderegg said no one affiliated with McMaster reached out to Templeton about the lieutenant governor's job.
After the exchange on the debate stage, Anderegg posted two Twitter private text messages between Templeton and McMaster.
Those messages showed Templeton requested the Nov. 29, 2016, meeting and then, afterward, asked McMaster about a position in Trump's administration. The messages showed Templeton was cordial in asking for McMaster's help, days after she says she rejected his running-mate offer.
"I enjoyed seeing you this week and appreciate you taking time with everything you have going on," Templeton wrote McMaster in one private text, days after the Nov. 29, 2016, meeting. "Are you supportive of me being US secretary of labor? I'm getting calls from people claiming to be on the transition team. Your opinion on this is obviously going to matter."
The text messages do not refer to the lieutenant governor's position.
Templeton's campaign had a different take on the text messages.
"The only thing these text messages prove are that Henry lied during the debate and that President Trump wanted Catherine Templeton is his administration and even considered her for secretary of labor," May said.
May said Templeton was offered a position as U.S. deputy secretary of Labor but declined it in order to run against McMaster.
May said if McMaster has saved all his text messages, he should release his texts with his former political consultant, Richard Quinn.
Anderegg said Templeton's campaign has "a lot of gall to ask for transparency when she refuses to release her tax returns."
This story was originally published June 5, 2018 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Gov. McMaster says top critic Templeton wanted to be his running mate."