The order allows the South Carolina Freedom Caucus to fundraise and distribute election materials just like the House Republican, Democratic, Black and Women's Caucuses already do. The fledgling conservative faction had argued that a state ethics law limiting those abilities only to caucuses organized by political party, race, ethnicity or gender violated its freedom of speech.

“By prohibiting special interest caucuses from engaging in election-related speech, making expenditures for that speech, and soliciting contributions for that speech, South Carolina's law operated as ‘a ban on speech,’” Judge Cameron McGowan Currie wrote.

Ultraconservative elected officials in at least 11 statehouses have organized under the State Freedom Caucus Network banner in an attempt to gain influence by leveraging divisive social issues.

Those efforts are expected to get a boost in South Carolina after the decision. The South Carolina Freedom Caucus had said the statute favored the ruling parties and arbitrarily disempowered others. Special interest caucuses had previously only been able to solicit money for the cost of mail and conference attendance.

With the Tuesday ruling, state Rep. RJ May, the vice chairman of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus, said “the establishment's armor is cracking.”

“The career politicians in Columbia have created a system of the powerful, for the powerful, and by the powerful that benefits themselves and their cronies,” May said in a statement.

The judge also struck a prohibition on lobbyist contributions to legislative special interest caucuses. Gone is another requirement that the Clerk's Office maintain records for at least four years with identifying information about donors and the amounts donated.

Republican State Rep. Micah Caskey, named in the lawsuit as a member of the committee that enforces those rules, said the judge “blast(ed) a hole in our state ethics laws.”

Because any two legislators can form their own special interest caucus, Caskey fears the ruling will open the door for state lawmakers to raise undisclosed funds in coordination with their campaigns.

“The dark money is going to come pouring into our state because these guys and the judge think it's a good idea for any legislator to sidestep our campaign finance laws by creating a ‘special interest caucus,’" Caskey told The Associated Press in a text.

The lawsuit had backing from America First Legal, a legal group founded by Stephen Miller and other previous White House advisers to former President Donald Trump.

The backing comes as Scott and other presidential contenders aim to carry on with their campaigns as much of the political world parses the indictment of GOP front-runner Donald Trump on dozens of federal charges.

The list of supporters, shared with The Associated Press ahead of an official announcement on Monday, includes state Sen. Shane Massey, the current Republican leader of South Carolina's Senate, who called Scott “the authentic conservative leader we need in the White House right now.”

Daniel Rickenmann, elected in 2021 as the first Republican-aligned mayor of South Carolina's capital city of Columbia in decades, lauded Scott's career, which he said had been spent “focusing on people back home and supporting local government to solve real problems."

Scott also lists the official endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, whose 1st District congressional seat Scott won twice before he was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2011 by then-Gov. Nikki Haley — now among Scott's rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

The list also includes 28 other current state lawmakers, including Rep. Bruce Bannister, chairman of the powerful state House Ways and Means Committee, as well as former lawmakers including longtime House Speaker Bobby Harrell, 16 mayors of cities and towns across the state and dozens of county-level officials.

Scott said he was “honored to receive the endorsements of former colleagues and friends." He previously was endorsed by several Senate colleagues, including John Thune and Mike Rounds, both of South Dakota. Thune spoke at Scott's launch event last month in North Charleston.

The South Carolina endorsements of Scott come as Republicans aim to navigate the campaign amid Trump's unprecedented indictment on dozens of federal charges related to his handling of classified documents. Slated to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, Trump spent the weekend blasting the case against him as “ridiculous” and “baseless” during appearances at GOP conventions in Georgia and North Carolina.

Scott, who campaigns later this week in Iowa, is among the 2024 Republican hopefuls who have joined Trump in criticizing the case against him. Along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Scott has decried the “weaponization” of the Department of Justice in making its allegations against the former president. Haley called for an end to “vendetta politics,” and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to pardon Trump if he's elected.

Ramaswamy said the federal case was part of “an affront to every citizen” and called it “hypocritical for the DOJ to selectively prosecute Trump but not” President Joe Biden over his own classified documents case.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the federal indictment marked “a sad day for our country” and “reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign.”

Rep. Mace is also a member of the House Oversight Committee. She said the announcement of Trump's indictment came the same day that the committee would hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress over the refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee.

Rep. Mace said on Thursday those documents were released to the committee.

"It's no surprise that he got indicted on the same day that the House Oversight Committee got access to documents showing a bribery scheme with the President of the United States," she said. "It's sort of stunning from that perspective when you think about the weaponization of the federal government or the weaponization of the Executive branch to try and take out the current president's number one political opponent for 2024."

The grand jury indicted the former president on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Mar-A-Lago estate.

Trump now faces seven federal counts as the result of a months-long investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Rep. Mace pointed out that similar investigations have also been launched into how President Biden handled classified documents.

"I want to be really clear here - I've had my ups and downs with Donald Trump we have not always seen eye to eye," she said. "I just want everyone to be treated by the same legal standards -- it feels like Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden are treated in a different standard than Donald Trump and I think most people are going to agree with that."

Special Counsel Jack Smith spoke during a news conference on Friday about the indictment.

"We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone," he said.

The former president has been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday.

Preliminary election results show former state representative Chardale Murray as the winner of the mayor's race with 468 votes.

Incumbent John Dunmyer III came in second with 308 votes and Althea Salters came in third with 74 votes.

Three town council seats were up for grabs in the election and are expected to be filled as follows:

• Handy Miles Jr. (589 votes)
• Michelle Heyward-Dunmeyer (566 votes)
• Alexander Porter (485 votes)

A fourth candidate, Andy Reed, received 317 votes.

The bill was signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster on May 26, 2023. Hours after being enacted, lawsuits were filed by several women's rights groups challenging its constitutionality.

Less than 24 hours later, the law was temporarily blocked by a circuit court judge as the lawsuits played out.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson appealed that decision to the Supreme Court asking for the court to supersede the injunction issued by the lower court.

The SC Supreme Court denied the motion for supersedeas, but agreed to hear arguments on the matter.

Oral arguments are scheduled to begin June 27 at 9:30 a.m.

Editor's note: This story is breaking and will be updated.

The two main budget lawmakers in each chamber insisted they weren't at an impasse at Monday's meeting that lasted less than three minutes.

It was yet another sign something is gumming up the works as the clock keeps ticking to the end of the month. If the budget isn't passed before then, things like raises for state employees — which lawmakers have already agreed to spend with an extra $1 billion — can't start.

Both the House and Senate did give themselves some cushion in their game of chicken, agreeing last month to a resolution allowing the government to keep spending money at current levels if a budget isn't finalized before the fiscal year ends.

It appears neither side thought it might take this long. The House had to replace its Democratic negotiator because he is now on a planned two-week vacation.

“So far, we're making progress, not as fast as I'd like to see,” Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler said Monday.

Republican House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister was even cagier about any progress.

“We have a lot of things we have to clear up," Bannister said. “But we appreciate y’all. I think everybody is negotiating in good faith.”

If the two sides can't reach an agreement before the end of the month, the more than $1 billion in extra tax revenue the state collected this budget year couldn't be spent. The revenue is currently set aside for things like raises, building rural schools and hundreds of millions of dollars for local projects like downtown revitalizations, festivals and park improvements.

Neither chamber has specified what they can't agree on, but earlier conference committee meetings offered hints. As they went through dozens of items determining if they would agree to the House or Senate version of the budget, they skipped over some spending for the state's major universities.

Clemson University wants $87.5 million to build the first veterinary school in the state. Peeler, a vocal and proud Clemson graduate, persuaded the Senate to agree to the full amount. The House plan only offered $7.5 million.

Money for the University of South Carolina, Clemson's in-state rival in football and many other things, was another sticking point. The House plan gave the school $20 million yearly for science and math programs and an extra $5 million for its medical school. The Senate is only offering $10 million for this year.

House Speaker Murrell Smith has his members returning for a session Wednesday, although the reason isn't known. Both the House and Senate will need to approve the budget, which will be sent to Gov. Henry McMaster, who will have a chance to veto any spending item he wishes. Then the General Assembly can try to override any of those vetoes with a two-thirds vote.

Two weeks ago, Smith presided over an empty House chamber after what was expected to be a quick negotiation on a deal suddenly dragged. It was a parliamentary necessity so Smith could call them back whenever he likes.

Three other members of the 124-member House masked their voting button as present as Smith adjourned the session in less than three minutes.

The Rally 4 Raise in Wages is happening June 3 at the ILA Hall (1142 Moorison Drive).

The event will begin at 4:00 p.m.

Scott, the only Black Republican senator, made the announcement at Charleston Southern University -- his alma mater -- in his hometown of North Charleston, S.C. The announcement comes just days after Scott filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to make his bid official.

As he launches his campaign, Scott is officially wading into a GOP primary battle already largely dominated by two commanding figures: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

He will also join another South Carolinian in the Republican race – former governor Nikki Haley, who launched her campaign in February of this year.

For the past few months, Scott has embarked on his "Faith in America" listening tour, making several stops in key early-voting states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Scott's Christian faith has played an integral role in these stops, with the 57-year-old Senator often weaving quoted Scripture into his remarks.

In a video announcing his exploratory committee earlier this year, Scott positioned himself as the antidote to the “radical left: a self-made success story as the son of a single mother who overcame poverty. He also bemoaned Democratic leaders as needlessly dividing the country by fostering a “culture of grievance.”

On many issues, Scott aligns with mainstream GOP positions. He wants to reduce government spending and restrict abortion, saying he would sign a federal law to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy if elected president.

But Scott has pushed the party on some policing overhaul measures since the killing of George Floyd, and he has occasionally criticized Trump’s response to racial tensions. Throughout their disagreements, though, Scott has maintained a generally cordial relationship with Trump, saying in his book that the former president “listened intently” to his viewpoints on race-related issues.

If Scott is successful in his bid, he would be the first Black person to win the Republican presidential nomination and the second elected to the presidency, following Barack Obama in 2008.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.