A handful of Democrats continue to wield considerable, disproportionate influence within the left-leaning S.C. General Assembly – which is run by fiscally liberal Republicans – but beyond that, the party is deader than a doornail in the Palmetto State. A caricature of a career politician, McMaster should have been toast in a general election … badly burnt toast … but Democrats (as they always do) failed to seize upon the deep divisions within the GOP base. According to reporter Kirk Brown of The Anderson Independent-Mail, a broadside from the S.C. Democratic Party (SCDP) intended to damage GOP attorney general candidate Alan Wilson has been rebuffed by none other than James Smith – the Democratic party’s nominee for governor.