<P> The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the state of South Carolina . Under the South Carolina Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch . The governor is the ex officio commander - in - chief of the National Guard when not called into federal use . The governor's responsibilities include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the South Carolina General Assembly, submitting an executive budget and ensuring that state laws are enforced . </P> <P> The 117th and current Governor of South Carolina is Henry McMaster, who is serving the remainder of Nikki Haley's second term after she resigned as governor on January 24, 2017 to assume office as United States Ambassador to the United Nations . </P> <P> There are three legal requirements set forth in Section 2 of Article IV of the South Carolina Constitution . (1) Be at least 30 years of age . (2) Citizen of the United States and a resident of South Carolina for 5 years preceding the day of election . The final requirement, (3) "No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor who denies the existence of the Supreme Being," is of extremely doubtful validity in light of the 1961 Supreme Court decision Torcaso v. Watkins, which reaffirmed that religious tests for public offices violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . This requirement, however, has still not been removed from the Constitution of South Carolina . </P> <P> Under Section 4 in Article IV of the South Carolina Constitution, the governor serves a four - year term in office beginning at noon on the first Wednesday following the second Tuesday in January following his election and ending at noon on the first Wednesday following the second Tuesday in January four years later . Section 3 of Article IV states that no person shall be elected governor for more than two successive terms . For clarification, a person can hold an unlimited amount of terms as governor as long as such person does not serve more than two consecutive terms . Since Henry McMaster assumed the office of governor after Nikki Haley resigned, he is eligible to serve the remainder of Haley's term and two consecutive four - year terms of his own . </P>

Requirements to run for governor of south carolina
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