Matthew T. Hall

Congresswoman Nancy Mace launches bid for SC governor. 5 things to know Despite Monday’s kickoff, Mace’s entrance into the governor’s race is hardly a surprise. As Mace considered a run, she has been critical of GOP rivals Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela ...

Meet Nancy Mace.

SC Congressman Ralph Norman enters race for governor. Here are 5 things to know The Republican U.S. representative from Rock Hill was first elected to Congress in 2017.

Meet Ralph Norman.

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette joins race for South Carolina governor. 5 things to know Evette became South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s lieutenant governor/running mate in 2018.

Meet Pamela Evette.

SC Attorney General Alan Wilson kicks off bid for governor. 5 things to know Wilson is the Republican attorney general first elected in 2010. His adoptive father is U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson. Joe Wilson adopted Alan Wilson when he was four years old.

Meet Alan Wilson.

Upstate SC Sen. Josh Kimbrell launches bid for governor. 5 things to know Kimbrell was elected to the state Senate in 2020 ousting Democratic incumbent Glenn Reese. Kimbrell, 40, served as the Spartanburg County GOP chairman in 2017 and 2018.

Meet Josh Kimbrell.

The State’s political reporter Joe Bustos has great introductions to the five GOP candidates for you. Worth your time. I’ll 🧵 them here.

What issues most interest you in the governor’s race, and why? Let me know, and I’ll do my part to get beyond the rhetoric to real issues that affect all of us. #scpol

Who will get Trump’s endorsement in competitive SC governor’s race? | Opinion A crowded Republican field in South Carolina’s open governor’s race is set. Who will win Trump’s endorsement in a state he won three times?

The GOP field for the SC governor’s race is set. My column: Who will get Trump’s endorsement? And what actual issues do you want covered? #scpol

Videos of two assaults in SC show something to guard against in youth sports | Opinion Two videos showing violence among and around young South Carolina athletes are disturbing because of what they show and what they suggest.

Today's topic: Violence in and around youth sports. Discuss.

Wanted in South Carolina: Mistaken ID left the wrong man behind bars for 67 days The Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office wrongfully arrested Columbia High School and Newberry College graduate Ty’Ran Dixon. He’s speaking out.

My latest is one of the wildest stories I've ever written about.

Thank you for reading it and giving it a signal boost.

icym this yesterday. worth reading, no matter where you live.

Not here, not now. Richland County shooting triggers new hate-crime law | Opinion In June, Richland County became the first county in the state to pass a hate-crime law. The first charge has now been issued under it.

Asked and answered in my new column:

Why does South Carolina, one of only two states without a hate crime law, need one so badly? #scpol

Women in politics: How SC courts ‘lose the respect and integrity of the public we serve’ Earlier this year there was a South Carolina judicial race with a qualified, unopposed candidate who lost her election. That’s just the latest example of how the system is broken. | Opinion

My new column takes a close look at SC’s broken judicial selection system. We’re all one mistake away from a courtroom so this is an essential read and a public service. #scpol

Rep. Ralph Norman, among House's most conservative, set to enter South Carolina governor's race Republican congressman Ralph Norman is entering South Carolina's 2026 governor's race. Norman's campaign confirms he plans to file his candidacy paperwork Friday.

Rep. Ralph Norman, among the most conservative Republicans in the U.S. House, is entering South Carolina’s 2026 governor’s race today, his campaign told me.

My latest: apnews.com/article/ralp...

Women in politics: Just how weak was South Carolina’s judicial reform? Now we know As overhaul of South Carolina’s judicial selection process last year was underwhelming, and a new judicial merit selection panel’s composition shows how little has changed. | Opinion

Did we just get judicial reform in South Carolina? We did not. My new column has a scoop and some analysis. #scpol

Appreciate your love of theater and journalism. Thank you for the work.

Opinion | 11 tips for becoming a columnist Here’s my advice for handling the awesome responsibility of this job.

Some professional news: After more than a decade of columnizing at The Washington Post, I'm taking the buyout.
This is my last column. It is my advice to any other lucky pundits who land a perch like this -- with 11 principles I've aspired to, even if I haven't always achieved them:
wapo.st/3TU2fGw

WASHINGTON (AP) — Appeals court panel finds President Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship unconstitutional, upholds block.

Lexington’s Red Bank area has boomed with growth. Is it ‘too much, too fast’? The unincorporated area in central Lexington County has exploded with neighborhoods and retail businesses — and the traffic that comes with it.

This morning I kicked off
@thestate.com's new limited series, Communities in Transition. It will be a look at the towns, neighborhoods & areas in the Midlands that are growing or changing. My piece today is on Red Bank, which has exploded in Lexington County.

A chase, a tussle, a death. What is the Irmo Police Department still hiding? | Opinion Irmo police have released some video and audio of their apprehension of a man who was declared dead two days later in the hospital. It isn’t enough, says opinion editor Matthew T. Hall.

The Irmo police chief shared new information Monday about an in-custody death last month. It only raised more questions. My new column on the death of Byron Jackson explores them.

Reader 1: Good citizens do not run from law enforcement at 02:00.

Reader 2: Please do not stop pursuing truth. Please. Those poor grieving family members deserve nothing less. And surely it seems they will not get much of it from Irma Police
Department.

Got thoughts of your own? Please lmk below.

UPDATED: Family deserves answers month after man’s death in Irmo police custody | Opinion It’s been a month since Byron Jackson died in Irmo police custody and two weeks since his eldest son read a poem he wrote for his father at his funeral. The family still doesn’t know what happened tha...

After I wrote this column, the Irmo Police Department sent more information so I've added it to my column. I've also got some emails on this, so I'll share some on a thread here. +

Family deserves answers month after man’s death in Irmo police custody | Opinion It’s been a month since Byron Jackson died in Irmo police custody and two weeks since his eldest son read a poem he wrote for his father at his funeral. The family still doesn’t know what happened tha...

The Irmo Police Department is still being scornfully secretive about the death of a man in its custody a month ago.

But the life of the man it identified posthumously only as “a 45-year-old male” is coming into focus as his family keeps pressing for answers about what happened.

In Beaufort County, helping ICE deport immigrants will come at a cost | Opinion Why are so many local law enforcement agencies helping the federal government with deportations? And why is it making people so nervous? A community meeting with Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner an...

My new column: The crowded, emotional community meeting at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office headquarters showed why law enforcement agencies are flocking in droves to a nearly 30-year-old program — and why many locals find it so unnerving. #scpol

How Rep. Nancy Mace made American politics un-American again | Opinion Rep. Nancy Mace said that if you’re against President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, “you’re against America.” Opinion editor Matthew T. Hall says that’s un-American.

My new column: Saying “If you’re against this bill, you’re against America” is as un-American as you can get. #scpol

Saying “If you’re against this bill, you’re against America” is as un-American as you can get.

Read more at: www.thestate.com/opinion/arti...

How Rep. Nancy Mace made American politics un-American again | Opinion Rep. Nancy Mace said that if you’re against President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, “you’re against America.” Opinion editor Matthew T. Hall says that’s un-American.

Waiting to be told to clutch my pearls harder, but this needed to be said. #scpol

Thanks for reading, Madelyne!

Delays are dangerous when public health is at stake. Do better, SC DPH | Opinion Opinion editor Matthew T. Hall writes South Carolina government agencies shouldn’t delay releasing information during a public health threat, as happened Wednesday.

This is your occasional reminder a news embargo cannot be unilaterally deployed by the government. It takes a journalist to agree to one ahead of time. This is especially important when the "embargoed news release" -- an oxymoron if there ever was one -- involves a public health emergency. #scpol