COLUMBIA — A Democratic candidate for governor is complaining that the pick of state Rep. James Smith to deliver the party's response to Gov. Henry McMaster's State of the State address will give Smith an unfair advantage in the primary.
Charleston businessman Phil Noble, who is running against Smith for the 2018 Democratic nomination, accused House lawmakers of attempting to boost Smith's candidacy by choosing him for the televised role.
"These types of insider relationships are precisely why South Carolinians are so angry at state government," Noble said.
House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, told The Post and Courier he chose Smith simply because he is a prominent Democratic legislator and not because of his candidacy for governor.
Noble first took his complaint to SCETV, the public broadcast channel that will televise Smith's response, but the network's attorney explained that it has no say in the decision.
Despite Noble's complaints, Rutherford said he is not rethinking the decision and argued Noble may be exaggerating the influence of the speech.
“This level of prestige that Phil has given to it, I don’t think most people think of it that way,” Rutherford said, noting that Smith also regularly gives speeches on the House floor by virtue of his job as a leading Democratic lawmaker.
Smith, who could not immediately be reached for comment, has touted the forthcoming speech in fundraising emails to supporters in recent days. He also gave the Democratic response in 2014, when state Sen. Vincent Sheheen was running for governor.
In 2006 and 2010, Democratic legislators running for governor were not chosen to give the State of the State response.
McMaster's first address to a joint assembly of the Statehouse was originally scheduled for Wednesday night but was postponed until next Wednesday due to wintry weather in parts of the state.