South Carolina’s Most Expensive Election, Data Centers, and School Board Politics

South Carolina politics is heading into a record-breaking election season, while fights over data centers, energy costs, and local schools are giving voters even more to watch. Grace sits down with political content creator Nikki Hill-Johnson to look at why the 2026 election cycle could become the most expensive in state history and what changing voter attitudes could mean for races across South Carolina. They also examine the rapid growth of data centers, concerns about who will pay for their massive energy demands, and why local governments could become central to regulating them. Plus, they dig into the latest Charleston County school board drama, political outrage online, and the growing importance of local races. Nikki Hill-Johnson https://www.instagram.com/nikkihilljohnson 00:00 Introduction 04:05 SC’s Most Expensive Election Ever 12:01 Who Pays for South Carolina’s Data Centers? 16:29 Charleston’s School Board Drama 21:15 Why Online Politics Feels So Toxic 26:48 MAGA Cracks and Trump’s $5,000 Promise 33:10 How Nikki’s Politics Changed 38:33 Getting Political Content Right 41:28 True Crime, Politics, and What Comes Next Frogmore Stew brings context, history, and political analysis to the stories shaping South Carolina. There's more stew on Substack! https://frogmorestew.substack.com/ Learn more about Frogmore Stew at https://www.frogmorestewsc.com/ On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/frogmorestewsc on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@frogmorestewsc Frogmore Stew is brought to you by The Alliance Coalition The Alliance Coalition works to redistribute power back to YOU, the voter. We do this by collecting data on belief systems, providing clear and digestible political information, history and trends, while building a community for those of us who feel politically unhoused. We encourage all to engage in shaping our state’s future and communicating our thoughts about how to do that productively. https://www.thealliancecoalition.org/