Share
← PrevAlan WilsonAttorney General
2 of 5 · State of South Carolina
Next →Pamela EvetteLieutenant Governor of South Carolina (R incumbent · 2026 — running for Gov)
Henry McMaster
State of South Carolina

Henry McMaster

Governor
Republican Campaign Website →
🗺️ South Carolina home
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
53 / 100 F
Raw: 36 of 68 dynamic max · 34 of 49 answered
State tier49 of 50 rubric questions apply at this office level — federal-only questions are marked N/A and excluded from the dynamic max. How tier grading works →
Last verified: · scorecard-level timestamp
✝ God First 22/ 70
🏛️ State First 14/ 30
National Rank
#4,377 of 8,776 · top 49.9% among candidates with at least one scored answer
See the full rankings →
Church Affiliationverified
Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) · 1324 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201 · Current Member · lifelong (McMaster family is multi-generational at First Presbyterian Columbia; his father John Gregg McMaster Jr. served as deacon, elder, and elder emeritus)
Cross-referenced from the USMC Ministries church directory — see the Nationwide Church Directory for the full 10-point theological scorecard on this church.

Contact This Official

Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.

Official Profile

Religion: Presbyterian (First Presbyterian Church, Columbia)
Education: B.A. University of South Carolina; J.D. University of South Carolina School of Law
Birthplace: Columbia, South Carolina
Background: Attorney; U.S. Attorney for South Carolina; state Attorney General (2003-2011); lieutenant governor (2015-2017); became 117th governor in 2017.
X / Twitter: @henrymcmaster
South Carolina's longest-serving governor (since Jan 2025). First governor in the nation to endorse Trump (2016 — Trump's very first gubernatorial endorsement). Succeeded Nikki Haley when she became UN Ambassador. Presbyterian. NRA A rating. Supports constitutional carry. Appointed by Trump to Homeland Security Advisory Council (April 2025). As AG, defended SC's same-sex marriage ban in court. Signed fetal heartbeat bill. Strong on education parental rights and anti-CRT. Mainstream conservative rather than Christian nationalist — scores low on PCH/CBG. [2026 actions: Led 25 other R governors in statement supporting Trump immigration policies (December 2024). Opted SC into federal tax-credit scholarships 2026.]

Category Breakdown

Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
TRUE (+2)
Candidate has voted for or sponsored state legislation moving toward abortion abolition (e.g., heartbeat ban, total ban) — not merely restrictions
FALSE (0)
Candidate opposes state funding for embryonic stem-cell research and supports state IVF embryo-protection laws
FALSE (0)
Candidate opposes state physician-assisted suicide laws and opposes state Medicaid death-panel rationing
TRUE (+2)
Candidate has never accepted abortion-industry PAC funding for state-legislative or statewide-office campaigns
TRUE (+2)
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
TRUE (+2)
Candidate opposes state recognition of same-sex marriage / civil unions / domestic partnerships, and supports state non-recognition resolutions where federally permitted
TRUE (+2)
Candidate has voted for state legislation affirming biological sex (bathroom/locker access, sports participation, minor gender-procedure bans)
TRUE (+2)
Candidate supports state no-fault divorce reform and pro-marriage policy (covenant marriage option, waiting periods, etc.)
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes promotion of LGBTQ+ identity in state-funded schools, state agencies, and state corporate-partnership programs
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted for state school-choice (vouchers, ESAs, charter expansion) and supports state homeschool freedom statutes
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted for state law requiring parental notification + consent on minors' medical, mental-health, and gender interventions (incl. school counseling referrals)
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted for state law restricting CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology curricula in K-12
TRUE (+2)
Candidate has voted for state age-verification laws on pornographic content and state criminal penalties for sexualizing minors
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted for state RFRA-style protections for faith-based adoption + foster agencies; opposes state-mandated SS-couple placement
FALSE (0)
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
TRUE (+2)
Candidate has voted for state conscience-exemption laws (state RFRA, medical-professional carve-outs, business-owner protections)
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state-level pronoun mandates + state 'hate speech' laws restricting Christian conviction
Not yet verified
Candidate supports state public-square Christian display protections + state legislative prayer + state Sunday-closure laws
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state-funded promotion of non-Christian religious displays/curricula/holidays in state institutions
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted for state law protecting cash as legal tender, opposing state-level CBDC pilot programs, and protecting crypto-as-property status
FALSE (0)
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has voted for state balanced-budget compliance + opposed state borrowing for non-capital expenditures
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted for state usury caps + state predatory-lending protections + state charitable-deduction parity
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted for state pension/treasury divestment from ESG-aligned funds (e.g., BlackRock) + state anti-monopoly enforcement against financial cartels
FALSE (0)
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted for state hand-count requirements / opposed electronic voting machines
TRUE (+2)
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted for state photo voter ID + citizenship verification at registration
TRUE (+2)
Candidate has voted to restrict state early-voting windows + tighten state absentee qualifications to verified medical/military
FALSE (0)
Candidate has voted against state mass mail-in voting expansion, against state drop-box deployment, and against legalizing ballot harvesting
FALSE (0)
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted to ban state acceptance of private election grants ('Zuckerbucks') + state penalties for foreign interference
TRUE (+2)
Candidate (state) has voted for state-funded border-security measures (e.g., TX Operation Lone Star analog, AZ wall expansion)
TRUE (+2)
Candidate (state) has voted for state laws requiring local cooperation with ICE deportation enforcement
TRUE (+2)
Candidate (state) has voted to preempt or punish sanctuary-city policies + ban state cities from declaring sanctuary status
FALSE (0)
Candidate (state) has voted for state E-Verify mandate (beyond federal floor) for state employers + state-benefit eligibility verification
FALSE (0)
Candidate (state) has voted to restrict foreign ownership of state farmland (e.g., China-buyer prohibitions)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports constitutional carry without permit requirements
TRUE (+2)[1,2]
Candidate (state) has voted against state red-flag laws, mag-capacity limits, AWBs, and registries (or voted to repeal where enacted)
TRUE (+2)[1,2]
Candidate (state) has voted for state constitutional-carry statute
TRUE (+2)[1,2]
Candidate (state) has voted against state universal-background-check schemes
TRUE (+2)[1,2]
Candidate (state) has voted to enact / strengthen state Castle Doctrine + stand-your-ground statute
TRUE (+2)[1,2]
Candidate has publicly backed law enforcement and opposed defunding/dismantling police
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
Not yet verified
Candidate supports victim restitution and proportional punishment of evildoers
Not yet verified
Candidate refuses to treat violent crime as a "public health" excuse to avoid punishment
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4)
Not yet verified
Official has voted for or sponsored 10th-Amendment nullification or anti-commandeering measures
Not yet verified
Official has declined unconstitutional federal mandates or federal strings on the state
Not yet verified
Official has resisted federal overreach on guns, life, education, or religious liberty
Not yet verified
Official affirms state sovereignty against unconstitutional federal action
Not yet verified
Official has opposed federal capture of state elections, data, or land
Not yet verified

Sources & Evidence

1 Center2 Official

Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.

References & footnotes

Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.

  1. [1]
    Ballotpedia Center
    Ballotpedia · accessed 2026-04-24 · Fetch Wayback archive
  2. [2]
    South Carolina State House Official
    South Carolina State House · accessed 2026-04-24 · Fetch Wayback archive
← PrevAlan WilsonAttorney General
2 of 5 · State of South Carolina
Next →Pamela EvetteLieutenant Governor of South Carolina (R incumbent · 2026 — running for Gov)

Have Information About This Official?

Help us improve this scorecard. If you have evidence of this official's positions — voting records, social media posts, public statements, or corrections — submit it below and we'll review and update the profile.