On Saturday, Feb 4, Brandon Upson, leader of the South Carolina Democratic Party’s Black Caucus, publicly launched his campaign to be the next Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party.
Brandon spoke with the Greenwood County Democrats in 2021.
In this article from The State today,
His slate of leadership candidates [SC Forward Together] includes Mary Geren of Anderson County to run for the first vice chair, Melina Rodelo of Oconee County running for the second vice chair and Erica Sampson of Charleston County running for the third vice chair.
Brandon Upson, who has said the party needs to do more to support Black female candidates, says South Carolina Democrats need to rebuild a grassroots infrastructure to improve their chances of winning in the future.
At this time, Brandon is the only one to formally announce candidacy for State Party Chair. However, current chair, Trav Robertson, had this to say (also quoted from The State’s article)
Current Chairman Trav Robertson, an Anderson native who lives in Columbia and was elected to the position in 2017, says he has yet to decide whether he will run for another two-year term, and will make his decision after the DNC’s meeting in Philadelphia.
Reacting to Upson’s bid, Robertson called him a “talented individual with a bright future.”
“He will run a spirited campaign,” Robertson said. “However, I don’t think Democrats are going to elect someone who has actively campaigned against Democrats. Someone who has been paid by Republicans to defeat Democrats. We look forward to talking about his past campaign employment, business dealings and his business associates in the future.”
