Judges appointed by Henry McMaster
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This page lists judges appointed by Henry McMaster (R) during his term as Governor of South Carolina. As of today, the total number of McMaster appointees was 2. For the full profile of McMaster, click here.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some South Carolina judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. McMaster.
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state. These lists are updated automatically with new appointments.
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
South Carolina Magistrate Courts |
||
|
South Carolina Magistrate Courts |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in South Carolina
| Judicial selection in South Carolina | |
 | |
| South Carolina Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Legislative election |
| Term: | 10 years |
| South Carolina Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Legislative election |
| Term: | 6 years |
| South Carolina Circuit Courts | |
| Method: | Legislative election |
| Term: | 6 years |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in South Carolina, including:
As of April 2025, judges of the supreme court, the court of appeals, circuit courts, and family court were appointed by the South Carolina Legislature. Judges on the Probate Court were elected by voters. Masters-in-Equity and Magistrate Court judges were appointed by the governor. Municipal Court judge selection varied by municipality.[1]
South Carolina is one of two states in the country where judges are elected by the General Assembly rather than by the governor or voters.[2] The other state is Virginia.
Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[3] |
|---|
|
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| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[4] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[5] | 1[6] | 17[7] |
State profile
| Demographic data for South Carolina | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 4,894,834 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 30,061 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 67.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 27.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.4% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 5.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.6% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 25.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $45,483 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 22% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Carolina. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
South Carolina voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Carolina, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[8]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Carolina had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More South Carolina coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in South Carolina
- United States congressional delegations from South Carolina
- Public policy in South Carolina
- Endorsers in South Carolina
- South Carolina fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: South Carolina," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ The Nerve, "S.C. Legislature Maintains Its Vise Grip on Judiciary," archived January 14, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
Federal courts:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of South Carolina • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of South Carolina
State courts:
South Carolina Supreme Court • South Carolina Court of Appeals • South Carolina Circuit Courts • South Carolina Masters-in-Equity • South Carolina Family Courts • South Carolina Magistrate Courts • South Carolina Municipal Courts • South Carolina Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in South Carolina • South Carolina judicial elections • Judicial selection in South Carolina
