Henry McMaster

Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since 2017.

McMaster was born on May 27, 1947, in Columbia, South Carolina.

He is the eldest son of John Gregg and Ida Dargan (Pet) McMaster.

He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1969, and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity.

In 1973, he graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he served on the editorial board of the South Carolina Law Review.

Later that year, he was admitted to the Richland County Bar Association of the South Carolina Bar.

Upon graduation from law school, McMaster worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. senator Strom Thurmond in Washington, D.C., until 1974, when he joined the firm of Tompkins and McMaster.

He was admitted to practice before the federal Court of Claims in 1974, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1975, and upon Thurmond's motion, before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1978.

McMaster practiced law for almost 29 years, both as a federal prosecutor and in private practice, representing clients in the state and federal courts, trial and appellate.

He served in the United States Army Reserves, receiving an honorable discharge in 1975.

Appointed United States attorney for the District of South Carolina by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, he gained attention for investigating South Carolina marijuana smugglers in Operation Jackpot.

Upon Thurmond's recommendation, President Ronald Reagan nominated McMaster as United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina in 1981—Reagan's first nomination for U.S. attorney.

The Senate confirmed McMaster on May 21, 1981.

He headed the South Carolina Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee from 1981 to 1985.

During his tenure, McMaster created the federal drug task force Operation Jackpot to investigate South Carolina marijuana smugglers.

Operation Jackpot ultimately arrested more than 100 people for crimes related to marijuana and hashish trafficking.

McMaster held numerous press conferences during the operation and gained publicity through interviews and comments.

His actions were criticized as political, with journalist Lee Bandy writing, "no one can recall any other U.S. attorney being so public-relations conscious" and noting that McMaster had held more press conferences and news releases than all his predecessors combined.

McMaster completed his term as U.S. attorney on December 31, 1985.

McMaster was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in South Carolina in 1986, losing to incumbent Democrat Fritz Hollings.

In 1986, after considering races for South Carolina lieutenant governor and attorney general, McMaster won the spirited Republican primary for the United States Senate against Henry Jordan, 27,696 votes (53.4%) to 24,164 (46.6%).

McMaster lost the general election in a landslide to four-term Democratic incumbent Ernest Hollings, 463,354 votes (63.1%) to 261,394 (35.6%).

He only managed to carry Lexington County.

He was then defeated for lieutenant governor of South Carolina by Democrat Nick Theodore in 1990.

In 1990, McMaster ran for lieutenant governor.

He defeated Sherry Shealy Martschink in the Republican primary, 49,463 votes (51.46%) to 46,660 (48.54%), but again lost to the Democratic incumbent.

He received 309,038 votes (41.19%) to Nick Theodore's 440,844 (58.75%).

McMaster chaired the South Carolina Republican Party from 1993 to 2002.

On April 13, 1993, Thurmond's 22-year-old daughter Nancy was killed by a drunk driver while jaywalking in Columbia, South Carolina.

The driver, Corinne Koenig, immediately phoned McMaster, her attorney, and he was present at the scene as Nancy Thurmond was transported to the hospital.

After learning the victim's identity, McMaster realized he had a conflict of interest and withdrew from the case.

He was elected attorney general in 2002 and reelected in 2006.

A member of the Republican Party, he was the 50th Attorney General of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011 and the 91st lieutenant governor of South Carolina from 2015 to 2017 under Governor Nikki Haley.

McMaster worked for U.S. senator Strom Thurmond, both in private practice and as a federal prosecutor.

In 2010, McMaster ran for governor but lost to Nikki Haley in the Republican primary.

In 2011, Haley appointed him to the South Carolina Ports Authority.

McMaster was then elected lieutenant governor of South Carolina under Haley's governorship in 2014.

McMaster succeeded to the office of governor in 2017 when Haley resigned to become the United States ambassador to the United Nations.

He won a full four-year term in the 2018 gubernatorial election after narrowly winning a runoff for the Republican nomination and defeating Democratic nominee James E. Smith Jr. in the general election.

He won reelection against Democratic nominee Joe Cunningham in 2022.