south carolina
Priorities
Affordability
South Carolina families are working harder than ever, and too many still can’t make ends meet. Utilities, groceries, prescription drugs, gas, insurance and health care premiums are getting more expensive while the powerful interests responsible face no accountability. As Governor, I’ll go after bad actors that deny coverage, jack up rates, and price gouge families, and I’ll work to lower prices for all South Carolinians.
Infrastructure
South Carolina is the fastest-growing state in the country. We have added a million people in the last 15 years and we will add a million more in the next ten. That growth presents opportunity, but we’re simply not ready. Our roads, bridges, water systems, and sewer lines were not built to handle it. Politicians have been promising to fix these things for years. I’m not just going to talk about it — I’m going to get it done. I’ve built businesses from the ground up and coordinated logistics for the President in some of the world’s most dangerous places. As Governor, I’ll make desperately needed investments in our infrastructure, cut the red tape that’s been holding us back, and put South Carolina companies and workers to work fixing what’s broken. When I’m Governor, we won’t just be playing catch up, we’ll be laying a foundation for future growth and shared prosperity.
Conservation
South Carolina is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Our clean water, mountain streams, family farms, hardwood bottomlands, salt marshes, beaches, and the open fields and woods where I grew up hunting aren’t just scenery. They’re part of who I am, and part of who we are. But population growth, urban sprawl, and unmanaged development are threatening all of it. I chaired the Nature Conservancy of South Carolina’s Board of Trustees, as my mother did before me, because protecting what makes this state special isn’t just a policy position for me and my family. It’s personal. As Governor, I’ll make sure we pass down to generations to come a South Carolina worth inheriting.
Education
As a father of four and the husband of a committed and passionate public school teacher, I know how much our children’s education matters, and I know we can do better. Every child in South Carolina deserves a quality education, regardless of their zip code or their family’s income. That means fully funding our public schools, investing in early childhood education, expanding career and technical training, and making sure teachers are paid what they deserve and freed to do what they do best: teach. Investing in our children’s education is the most important thing a Governor can do. Education is the great equalizer, and as Governor, I’ll treat it that way.
Healthcare
When the mother of my children was diagnosed with cancer, I left my business to take care of her and our kids. No family should have to face that kind of fear without knowing whether they can afford the care they need. Half a million South Carolinians don’t have healthcare, and for those who do, it costs too much and covers too little. Politicians in DC and Columbia keep making it worse. As Governor, I’ll expand Medicaid to cover tens of thousands more hardworking South Carolinians, lower health care premiums, keep rural hospitals open, expand behavioral health care, make sure every child can go to school ready to learn, and help working people stay healthy and on the job. In South Carolina, being sick shouldn’t mean going broke.