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AG McMaster visits to support Compton at barbecue event
By CHRIS TRAINOR/Index-Journal staff writer
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 11:28 PM EDT
South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster arrived Tuesday night in Greenwood hoping to meet a few supporters of Republican state Senate candidate Dee Compton.
He ended up meeting several hundred.
Hundreds gathered Tuesday night at the Greenwood County Farmers Market for a free barbecue hosted by Compton. McMaster, who recently endorsed Compton, was the event’s guest of honor.
The attorney general talked about his Greenwood visit.
“It’s a great pleasure to be here,” McMaster said. “We need as many qualified, hard-working, conservative people as we can get in the state Senate, and Dee Compton would be excellent.
“He’s been a leader. He’s been a leader on county council. He’s a good man, and we need him in the Senate. I’m here to help him get elected.”
With five Republican candidates — Compton, Bryan Hope, Norman Ouzts, Chip Stockman and Dale Phillips — set to square off in a June 10 primary, McMaster touched on what led him to throw his support behind Compton.
“It’s his record on county council, it’s his stature in the community, it’s everything about him,” McMaster said. “He has all the qualifications and all of the attributes we look for in quality candidates.”
McMaster also took time to address rumors that he might run for governor.
“I’m thinking about it,” the attorney general said. “That would be an opportunity to do a lot of good. But we have a lot of irons in the fire right now in the attorney general’s office.”
Compton said he was glad to have McMaster on hand for the Tuesday event.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Compton said. “It is a great honor to have him with us and to receive an endorsement from our attorney general, a man who is very much responsible for building the Republican Party in the state of South Carolina, in addition to his good work as our attorney general.”