NOTE:  Andy Brack’s Statehouse Report endorsed the following statewide constitutional candidates.  To learn more about the candidates running for statewide office who have primaries on June 8, see exclusive candidate surveys here.

MAY 21, 2010 – After almost eight years of a running battle between the governor’s office and General Assembly, what South Carolina needs for the next four years is stability and real leadership that focuses on outcomes that help people.

In other words, South Carolina needs experienced, open-minded leaders who will work hard to help all South Carolinians, not just people who are in one party or the other. Our leaders should work for the common good of the state, not partisan personal preferences on policy proposals.

That’s why Statehouse Report is offering endorsements for the first time in its nine years of publishing. South Carolina’s ox is in the proverbial ditch with 12 percent unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, money woes and education challenges.  If we don’t weigh in with why we think some Republican or Democratic candidates are better than others, we just won’t sleep at night. Furthermore, it is our responsibility to provide you with insights culled from frequent interactions with elected state leaders and candidates.

Overall, we recommend candidates who best answer this question: “Which candidate in a contested primary will be best for South Carolina over the next four years?” With the state looking at a billion dollar budget shortfall next year, those elected in the fall may face the most challenging circumstances ever posed for state officials.

In the Republican primary for governor, we suggest you focus on Henry McMaster, a long-time state leader who has shown steadiness in his eight years as attorney general. Some of his primary opponents breathe populist fire about “cycles of dependency” (political code to instill fear about people on assistance) or arrogantly spew venom about other candidates while offering more of the same that has crippled the state in recent years.

Meanwhile, McMaster pushes forward with a common-sense approach to put the state on a “Path to Prosperity” to grow jobs and move forward. He rightly focuses on the best that is in South Carolinians and challenges residents to work together. His success and innovative proposals as attorney general and his camaraderie with both parties indicates he’ll work with our General Assembly to make real differences for the state.

On the Democratic side in the governor’s race, Vincent Sheheen provides a burst of enthusiasm mixed with a lifetime of experience of being schooled in working on behalf of South Carolina. His father was head of the state Commission on Higher Education; his uncle served as Speaker of the House. A member of the legislature since 2001, he has served as a state senator from the Midlands since 2004.

Not only is Sheheen’s heart in the right place, but he’s got solid policy proposals to move South Carolina forward, or as his campaign says, “to get South Carolina moving again.” He rightly focuses on growing more jobs, including working harder for small businesses and attracting alternative energy jobs.

When it comes to the lieutenant governor’s office, events of the last year have shown the real potential to South Carolinians for the state’s Number Two could become Number One. Unfortunately, most South Carolinians know little about any of the candidates for a mostly ceremonial position that would become very important if the governor departs office.

While newcomer Democrat Ashley Cooper of Charleston faces no primary opponent for lieutenant governor, Eleanor Kitzman is battling three opponents to get the GOP nod. We give her our nod because of her experience in business (she started an insurance company) and government (she ran a state agency, the Department of Insurance.) Taking nothing away from other candidates, Kitzman has the broadest experience in times that cry for leaders who have mastered multiple business and political tools needed now to help the state.

Like McMaster and Sheheen, Kitzman calls for comprehensive tax reform to allay problems with a property tax swap that continues to put the legislature in a revenue-draining pickle. While she shows more bias for working to help business than regular people, she offers a solid foundation for using the bully pulpit of the lieutenant governor’s office to help craft policies to create jobs desperately needed by South Carolinians.