GOP to candidate: Don’t call yourself a Republican
The state Republican Party is asking a candidate for governor to stop referring to himself as a Republican in his campaign ads, The State reported.
Tom Ervin, of Greenville, withdrew from the GOP primary for governor so that he could run as a petition candidate instead, saying that he wanted to give himself more time to share his message.
Chairman Matt Moore said at a Thursday news conference that the state party had sent Ervin a letter asking him to “cease and desist” from referring to himself as a member of the party, saying his portrayal of himself as a Republican candidate could potentially confuse voters.
Moore said that if Ervin refuses to stop, S.C. GOP will consider its legal options.
Utility’s profits rise after wintery weather
South Carolina’s cold winter increased earnings for the owner of South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. by 28 percent in the first quarter, The Post and Courier reported.
SCANA Corp., the Cayce-based utility, saw its first-quarter profits rise to about $193 million, or $1.37 per share. Revenue for the first three months of the year totaled $1.59 billion, which was higher than the $1.28 billion analysts expected.
Jimmy Addison, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said that the jump owed largely to a cold start to the year. Earnings at SCE&G, a subsidiary of SCANA, rose 40 percent.
Search crews find body in Congaree River
Search crews found a man’s body in the Congaree River on Thursday, The State reported.
Capt. Robert McCullough of the Department of Natural Resources said that the body has not been identified yet, but search crews were in the area looking for the body of a man who jumped off the Gervais Street bridge about two weeks ago.
Witnesses at the Riverwalk in West Columbia reported that they heard a splash and saw a man floating in the river’s current shortly after 10 a.m. on April 10. Rescue workers then began searching the area by water, air and land.
McCullough said that authorities are not making assumptions at this point and that the Richland County coroner identify the body.