[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Top Image” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/democratsw2.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Top Image caption” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
Inside the South Carolina Democratic Party office, people write why they are Democrats.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/democratsw1.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
Josh Hughes, Sean Carrigan\u2019s campaign manager, talked about how the increase of Democratic candidates running for
\nmidterm elections this year is creating a \u201cblue wave.”<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/democratsw3.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
Steve Lough, a former professional clown, prepares to juggle. Lough has decided to run for Congress in the state\u2019s 5th District.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/democratsg.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light” \/][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 4″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
South Carolina is typically a red state, but Democrats think they can change that. This year, there is a Democrat running for midterm elections in every congressional district in the state, which almost never happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are candidates who\u2019ve never run for the (state) legislature before and they\u2019re challenging Republicans who are not accustomed to being ,\u201d South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson said.<\/p>\n
There are now 323 Democrats running for congressional and legislative office, compared to 371 Republicans, according to the South Carolina Democratic Party. 21 Democrats are running for Congress, outnumbering the Republicans who have 20.<\/p>\n
Take the\u00a02nd Congressional District in the Midlands,\u00a0won five times by Rep. Joe Wilson, who famously yelled \u201cYou lie!\u201d to President Barack Obama at a joint session of Congress in 2009. This year, there are two Democrats vying for the nomination to take on Wilson\u00a0on Nov.\u00a06. Sean Carrigan and Annabelle Robertson will compete in the Democratic primary on June 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in the wake of Conor Lamb and Doug Jones, you\u2019re seeing a lot more Democrats across the nation, but especially in South Carolina because we recognize it\u2019s not a lost cause,\u201d said Josh Hughes, Carrigan\u2019s deputy campaign manager.<\/p>\n
Lamb defeated Republican Rick Saccone in a special election to become the new U.S. representative\u00a0for Pennsylvania\u2019s 18th district. Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in an election in December to become the junior U. S. senator from Alabama. Moore\u2019s sexual misconduct scandal deterred many traditionally Republican voters from voting for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is potential to win elections that haven\u2019t been won, or have even gone unchallenged, for years now,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cYou have five or six candidates running in the South Carolina 4th Congressional District.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 4th district is located in the upstate of South Carolina. It\u2019s an open seat because incumbent Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy announced his retirement.<\/p>\n
Democrats all over the state\u00a0and the nation\u00a0have seemingly decided it\u2019s time to act on their dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you\u2019re witnessing is an explosion of democracy in resistance to the Trump agenda,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cPeople are making it clear that if you stand with Donald Trump, you don\u2019t stand with the electorate and we will vote you out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes said he thinks this Democratic influx will have a huge effect on Carrigan\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve looked at a lot of different pollings for elections. We\u2019ve looked at how elections in this district have historically turned out for Democrats, particularly for candidates similar to Sean Carrigan, including, of course, Rob Miller, who came the closest to beating Joe Wilson.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2010, Democrat Miller received\u00a038 percent of the vote to Wilson’s 62 percent. In his last re-election in 2016, Wilson also won comfortably, with 60 percent of the vote compared to Anik Bjorn\u2019s 36 percent.<\/p>\n
In the 5th Congressional District. Republican incumbent Ralph Norman will be running against Archie Parnell once again. Last year, Parnell lost by a slim margin, receiving 48 percent of the vote in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Mick Mulvaney when\u00a0Mulvaney joined the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
A former professional clown has also filed to run in the 5th. A circus clown for 31 years, Dartmouth graduate and long-time Democrat, Steve Lough from Camden is challenging Parnell for the party nomination. Lough volunteered on the Obama campaign and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 before backing Bernie Sanders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people that ran last time, and the people that have run before, they\u2019re not strong enough,\u201d Lough said.<\/p>\n
In the 1st Congressional District,\u00a0either Republican incumbent and former governor Mark Sanford, Dimitri Cherney, formerly a Democrat, 0r Katie Arrington will be challenged by Democrats Toby Smith and Joe Cunningham in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s fascinating,\u201d Robertson said of the increase in Democrats running this year. \u201cI think it clearly shows some dissatisfaction not just with the Republicans nationally, but there is some dissatisfaction with the Republicans running in state.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, there is still a steep hill to climb for Democrats in South Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe political balance in South Carolina is still heavily Republican,\u201d former longtime political correspondent for CNN Charles Bierbauer said. \u201cDemocrats will have to demonstrate they\u2019re coming back into the state by winning more than one safe congressional seat.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a state where Republican incumbents normally run unopposed, there are 247 Democrats filed as candidates. Will the Democratic wave touching Pennsylvania and Alabama hit S.C.? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":7229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
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South Carolina is typically a red state, but Democrats think they can change that. This year, there is a Democrat running for midterm elections in every congressional district in the state, which almost never happens.<\/p>
For example, take the Second Congressional District in the South Carolina midlands, normally won by Rep. Joe Wilson, who famously yelled \u201cyou lie!\u201d to former president Barack Obama. This year, there are two Democrats vying for the nomination to take on Wilson in the general election on November 6: Sean Carrigan and Annabelle Robertson will compete in the Democratic primary, which will be held June 12.<\/p>
\u201cI think in the wake of Conor Lamb and Doug Jones, you\u2019re seeing a lot more Democrats across the nation, but especially in South Carolina because we recognize it\u2019s not a lost cause,\u201d Josh Hughes, Sean Carrigan\u2019s deputy campaign manager, said.<\/p>
Lamb just defeated Republican Rick Saccone in a special election to be the new U.S. representative-elect in Pennsylvania\u2019s 18th<\/sup> district. Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in an election in December to become the junior United States Senator from Alabama. This was a surprise to many, because even though Moore had a huge sexual misconduct scandal going on at the time, Alabama is traditionally a deeply Republican state.<\/p> \u201cThere is potential to win elections that haven\u2019t been won, or have even gone unchallenged, for years now,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cYou have five or six candidates running in the South Carolina Fourth Congressional District.\u201d<\/p> The 4th<\/sup> district is located in the upstate of South Carolina.<\/p> Democrats all over the state, and even the nation, have seemingly decided it\u2019s time to take action.<\/p> \u201cWhat you\u2019re witnessing is an explosion of democracy in resistance to the Trump agenda,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cPeople are making it clear that if you stand with Donald Trump, you don\u2019t stand with the electorate and we will vote you out.\u201d<\/p> Hughes said he thinks this Democratic influx will have a huge effect on Carrigan\u2019s campaign.<\/p> \u201cTo an extent, it\u2019s been kind of the confounding variable,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve looked at a lot of different pollings for elections. We\u2019ve looked at how elections in this district have historically turned out for Democrats, particularly for candidates similar to Sean Carrigan, including, of course, Rob Miller, who came the closest to beating Joe Wilson.\u201d<\/p> This election took place in 2010, with Miller receiving 38 percent of the vote.<\/p> Another interesting race is the one in the 5th<\/sup> Congressional District. Republican incumbent Ralph Norman will be running against Archie Parnell once again. Last year, Parnell only lost by a slim margin, receiving 48 percent of the vote in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Mick Mulroney when Mulroney joined the Trump administration.<\/p> On a more lighthearted note, a professional clown has also filed to run in this district. Long-time Democrat Steve Lough from Camden is now running for Congress. Lough volunteered on the Obama campaign and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 before backing Bernie Sanders.<\/p> \u201cThe people that ran last time, and the people that have run before, they\u2019re not strong enough,\u201d Lough said.<\/p> Another noteworthy race is in the 1st<\/sup> Congressional District. Republican incumbent and former governor Mark Sanford will be challenged by Democrat Toby Smith.<\/p> \u201cI think it\u2019s fascinating,\u201d South Carolina Democratic Chair Trav Robertson said of the increase in Democrats running this year. \u201cI think it clearly shows some dissatisfaction not just with the Republicans nationally, but there is some dissatisfaction with the Republicans running in state legislature.\u201d<\/p> The Democrats have quite a large number of candidates this year compared to years past.<\/p> \u201cWe\u2019ve got 247 candidates,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cThere are 18 candidates who are running for congress for six congressional seats, and then you\u2019ve got 18 new candidates running for office. Those are candidates who\u2019ve never run for the legislature before and they\u2019re challenging Republicans who are not accustomed to being challenged.\u201d<\/p> It will be interesting to see if Democrats can unseat Republicans who have served for a plethora of years.<\/p> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\" fullwidth=\"off\" specialty=\"off\" prev_background_color=\"#000000\"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_video _builder_version=\"3.0.92\" \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7038"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7038"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7658,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7038\/revisions\/7658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}