 "Photo: David Walters/The Daily Gamecock")
They’ve all campaigned across the state, but for one of the first times this campaign season, both Republican and Democrat gubernatorial candidates came together inside Capstone House to lobby for votes and discuss campaign initiatives.
Three Democrats — Vincent Sheheen, Jim Rex and Dwight Drake — along with Republican Nikki Haley, mingled with the crowd for about 30 minutes before each gave a brief, five-minute campaign speech. Henry McMaster III stood in as a proxy for his father, Attorney General Henry McMaster, who had a prior speaking engagement in Myrtle Beach. Gresham Barrett and Andre Bauer didn’t attend the forum.
It wasn’t the high-pressured campaigning that comes near the end of a season, but more of an informal gathering of leaders.
Each candidate set up tables around the room, hoping to enlist volunteers for the upcoming campaign season. The reason the candidates showed up is simple, Joe Wright, student government’s secretary of community relations said.
“South Carolina has been in the spotlight for a while now, and the biggest leader in our state is our governor,” Wright said. “They see that USC has 28,000 students, with 70 percent of them in-state students. This shows they want to hear our needs.”
Though each candidate’s message differed on government policy, all four used two similar appeals: they’re from humble upbringings, and they support higher education.
Haley’s message primarily focused on how government should interact with private businesses. She also pointed out her record as a proponent of on-the-record voting, and she called for term limits in the South Carolina legislature.
“I’ve seen how hard it is to make a dollar working with my family’s business,” Haley, who currently serves in the House of Representatives said. “And I’ve seen how easy it is for the governor to take the dollar away.”
That’s why Haley says she supports eliminating the small-business income tax, which she says costs businesses profit.
The three Democrat candidates noted a need to work across-the-aisle with Republicans. Democrats are typically at a disadvantage to win statewide office, they conceded, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
“The only way we’ll move forward in the state is if we move together,” Sheheen said to end his speech.
10 years ago, South Carolina’s unemployment rate was among the lowest in the nation, he said. Now, it’s among the highest.
“But it doesn’t have to be that way,” Sheheen said. “We can turn this around.”
Secretary of Education Jim Rex pointed to his 2006 victory over Karen Floyd for his current job.
“Democrats sometimes shoot themselves in the foot by electing a candidate that can’t win in November,” Rex said. “We need to elect someone that can win.”
Rex pointed to his service as a public university dean and his current work as Secretary of Education as reasons he’d manage the state well. Supporting education is “key” to the continued success of the state, Rex said.
For Drake, a seasoned statewide lawyer and lobbyist, it’s the first time he’s run for elected office. But he quickly pointed out that he’s worked on numerous campaigns and is well-known in political circles for his influence.
Drake brought the lawsuit that eventually overturned Gov. Mark Sanford’s decision to turn down stimulus funding.
“USC students should have 23 million reasons to vote for me,” Drake said, drawing laughs from the crowd. “That’s how much money the stimulus got the university.”
USC’s administration has often differed with Sanford on education priorities. Sanford has often been a vocal critic of Innovista, and he proposed closing down many of USC’s satellite campuses in budget cuts last year.
“I would characterize my relationship with Gov. Sanford as frank, not negative but frank. We’re honest with each other,” USC President Harris Pastides said. “I think it’s fair to say that if any of these candidates were governor right now, they’d be struggling with budget issues also.”
But Pastides also said that from previous conversations, he’d be “very surprised” if any of the candidates supported closing down any of the satellite campuses.
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