For months Democrat Annie Andrews failed to publicly disclose her personal finances as a South Carolina congressional candidate, only doing so this week after the S.C. Republican Party filed a complaint against her with the House Committee on Ethics.
Andrews, a pediatrician at the Medical University of South Carolina, is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in the coastal 1st Congressional District, the wealthiest in the state.Â
In his five-sentence complaint emailed to the ethics panel Sept. 21, state GOP Chairman Drew McKissick highlighted the fast-approaching Nov. 8 elections and Andrews' missing financial disclosure report.Â
"What is Democrat Annie Andrews hiding? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to file these reports, but even if they were challenging, are they too complicated for a doctor?" McKissick told The Post and Courier after sending the complaint.
"Either Andrews can't figure out how to file them or ask for an extension, or she's hiding something," he added." We're not sure which reason is worse."
 The Ethics in Government Act requires congressional members and U.S. House candidates, along with officers and certain employees, to file annual financial disclosure statements. The document details personal investments, employment and side income, as well as debts, from mortgages to outstanding student loans.
It must be filed shortly after a candidate raises or spends $5,000 in campaign cash, according to House ethics guidelines and federal law. Andrews jumped into Charleston's race for Congress on Nov. 8, 2021, and reported raising more than $200,000 in the first 24 hours of her campaign launch.
When asked about the missing report, the Andrews campaign said it was an oversight and that they received "no communication or notice about this particular filing."
"(We)Â only found out after you brought it to our attention," said Bri Carpenter, Andrews' campaign manager.
The financial reporting requirement for U.S. House candidates is not new, and deadlines and forms are publicly listed on the committee's website, where it states: "The next annual Financial Disclosure Statement will cover 2021 and must be filed on or before May 16, 2022."
The standard fine for a late personal financial disclosure filing is $200, payable to the U.S. Treasury. Mace filed her financial disclosure report on May 16, the deadline.Â
In a statement, Carpenter said Andrews "immediately began the process of completing her full financial disclosure" after the newspaper asked about it, and said Andrews submitted her report Sept. 22.
But in the same statement, the Andrews campaign also slammed Mace for failing to pay the thousands she still owes the state Ethics Commission from when she served in the S.C. Legislature.
The fines, which now total $16,600 as of Sept. 12, are because Mace has been months-late in filing various campaign reports for her S.C. House campaign account that she hasn't closed.
"Considering Nancy Mace has been slapped with fine after fine by ethics officials for years of missing deadlines to file standard paperwork, it’s pretty comical that her cronies at the SCGOP now want to make this a campaign issue," Carpenter said.
As part of The Post and Courier's "Uncovered" investigation, the newspaper asked Mace about these unpaid fines in 2021Â when Mace then had a $5,100 fine which must be paid out of pocket and not with campaign money. At the time, her spokeswoman said Mace would address the fine and close the account.
"It’s time for Nancy Mace to tell the people of South Carolina why she believes the rules should apply to everyone but her and why she chose to lie about paying her debts," Carpenter said.
The Mace campaign responded by characterizing the attack as an attempt to shift the focus away from Andrews' mistake. The campaign also said they are in the process of addressing the outstanding fines and closing the Statehouse account. They did not directly state why the debt has not been addressed to date.
"There's no changing the subject: Nancy Mace has never failed required disclosure of her personal finances, unlike her opponent who is hiding something. How much do taxpayers pay her to inject her politics into medical training at a children's hospital? Taxpayers deserve to know," said Austin McCubbin, Mace's campaign manager.
A copy of the report, which was reviewed by The Post and Courier, shows Andrews made a combined $221,200 in earned income that came from a $19,000 salary from MUSC and a $206,200 salary from University Medical Associates, MUSC's doctors group.
 Mace's earned income lists her congressional salary: $174,000.
It also shows Andrews' has a 30-year mortgage ranging from $250,001-$500,000 on a "vacation home," in addition to a 30-year mortgage on her principal residence in Mount Pleasant.
 The Charleston-anchored district hugs much of the southernmost part of the state’s coastline, from Hilton Head Island to parts of downtown Charleston, along with portions of Berkeley, Dorchester, Colleton and Jasper counties.
The general election is set for Nov. 8.
