Cook Political shifts SC governor's race away from 'solidly Republican.' Here's why
Emily Bohatch, The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Apr. 30—COLUMBIA, S.C. — With former Congressman Joe Cunningham's entry this week into the South Carolina Governor's race, the Cook Political Report, a newsletter that forecasts possible outcomes in federal and statewide elections, has shifted their projections for the race.
The report, written by Cook's Jessica Taylor, shifted the race expectation from "solidly Republican" to "likely Republican," moving the needle sightly in Cunningham's favor.
Cunningham, like any Democrat running in a statewide race in South Carolina, faces tough odds.
He's running against an incumbent, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, who bested his last Democratic challenger, James Smith, by about eight percentage points in 2018.