By james art 
Columbia, SC (AP) – Wednesday was a big day for the South Carolina government. Henry McMaster. Yes, he gave his eighth state to the state address. And he became the longest governor of the state of 2927 days, thanks to a large extent to developing political instincts over 40 years in politics and impetus from President Donald TrumpS
This is another story for the 77-year-old Republican who is also governer In 249 years of South Carolina as a country.
McMaster did not mention a cornerstone in a speech on Wednesday night before the General Assembly. His staff politely waves requests for great retrospective. A reporter asked him last week how he felt at the top of such an achievement.
“Well, all you have to do is stay alive,” McMaster said.
Initially, South Carolina had two years of manager and they could not seek re -election. This was later expanded to four years, and it was not until 1980 that the state did not allow the governor to perform two consecutive terms.
Since then, three governors have made all eight years, and thanks to the strangeness of the calendar and the dates of Dick Riley, he served eight years plus four days from 1979 to 1987.
McMaster should blow well along with Riley’s record because He took over For the government Nicky Haley In 2017, when Trump appointed his UN ambassador during his first term. McMaster has completed the last two years of this term and has been re -elected twice. His last term expired in January 2027.
McMaster was born in Colombia, received both his bachelor’s and legal degree from the University of South Carolina and spoke as a local. Always a Republican in a state that blows up with the Democrats while growing up, McMaster was a legislative assistant to US Senator Strom Thurmond in the early 1970s.
He is one of the few Republicans who have remained in office that they have lost from Democrat. McMaster took over the US senator Ernest Fritz Holings in 1986 and was destroyed. He received 36% of the vote and won only one county.
Later, McMaster led the Republican Party in South Carolina, as he took over the legislative power, a power that did not back down. He was elected Chief State Prosecutor and plans to use it as a step towards governor, but finished a distant third in 2010. Republican primary with only 17% of the vote. Several political obituaries have been written.
McMaster aligned with Haley and was selected as Lieutenant Governor in 2014, after which his most reasonable political move came.
At a rally in January 2016, McMaster became the highest -wide state officer in the United States, who supports Trump’s candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, calling him a “man of actions” at a time when many Republicans are trying to get speed for some alternative.
So when Trump won the presidency 10 months later, he said he had offered McMaster Whatever he wantedS McMaster wanted the governor’s office, so Trump offered Haley’s job so Lieutenant’s governor could move up.
McMaster loves his job. In many of the weekly schedules published by his office, he travels to the country, speaking to Rotary clubs or distributing the highest honor of South Carolina, the Palmo Order.
His eight years are much more harmonious at Statehouse. Unlike Haley and governor Mark Sanford, McMaster has no greater ambition. He is ready to work with both sides in the General Assembly and managed to fulfill things that are not usually perceived by conservatives as raising the pay of teachers and protecting the virgin land from development.
“He at least admits that some general meeting is needed,” said the democratic representative Guild Cobb-Hunter, the longest employee of the Chamber at 33 years old. “He was easy to work with, although I disagree with many of his policies. I like him personally. You know, this is a business. “
McMaster state’s state on Wednesday struck the same topics Like past speeches. It is placed in its ways. McMaster wants to continue to increase the pay of teachers. He wants less regulations to help the business and more money be set aside to keep the land. He wants more resources to study ineffectiveness in colleges and universities in South Carolina and even stop the illegal fight against dogs.
It took him a little time to reach the front of the house of the house. There were hugs to give, hands for shaking and selfie. On the podium to stay at the beginning of his speech, he was a well -marked edition of South Carolina: A History, the 1999 book, author of historian Walter Edgar, he often quotes.
But he looked both back and forward. He mentioned the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War and announced that “the history and culture of South Carolina were unrivaled in the creation of this nation.”
And then he asked what South Carolina would be now.
“We answered this question. For years, we have invested billions of dollars and talent in education to prepare our children to build their lives and economics. And we have invested billions in our lands and waters to protect our health, to expand our economy, to preserve life in all its forms for its beauty and miracle, our education and joy and fulfilling our obligation to nourish the Garden of the Lord, “” said McMaster.
McMaster is his best one in one, whether he’s recruiting international business leaders or working at the GOP county meeting, said Republican US Seni. Lindsay GrahamWhose political career began a decade after McMaster.
“He made our country a prosperous, good place for business,” Graham told reporters this week. “He is a dear friend and I think he will go into history as one of the biggest governors we have ever had.”