The State is an American daily newspaper published in Columbia, South Carolina. The newspaper is owned and distributed by The McClatchy Company in the Midlands region of the state. It is, by circulation, the second-largest newspaper in South Carolina after The Post and Courier.

Narciso Gener Gonzales was an American journalist born in Eddingsville, Edisto Island, South Carolina. He founded The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina with his brother, Ambrose E. Gonzales in 1891. Gonzales was a frequent critic of Tillmanism. He was also a Democratic powerbroker in the state, directing patronage from the Cleveland administration within South Carolina. Gonzales was murdered in 1903 by South Carolina Lieutenant Governor James H. Tillman, the nephew of Senator Ben Tillman, after Gonzales effectively ended James Tillman's chances of becoming governor with a series of scathing editorials.