Good morning friends and fellow Democrats.
As with any election, the day after is a mixture of bad news (here in SC) and good news (what happened nationally).
These stunning nation-wide results cannot be understated. Given the issues with the economy, inflation, war abroad, and the general unease in our nation – the results from last night should have been impossible! Yet from coast to coast, there was much to celebrate.
However, as your local Party chair, I have to accept the reality that the rejection seen elsewhere in our nation of hate, oppression and conspiracy did not find its way here in South Carolina. Whatever problems our state has had under recent Republican supermajority (violent crime, poverty, healthcare, education) the majority of voters in South Carolina said “More of it, please!”. While Joe Cunningham’s loss is a loss for all of us, the fact that Lisa Ellis will not be the Superintendent of Schools has me so very concerned for the very fabric of the public education system in our state.
The loss of Rep Anne Parks in District 12, a true servant of Greenwood for decades, hurts just as much as losing Senator Floyd Nicholson did in 2020. Despite a vigorous campaign that was hard-hitting while maintaining the high ground, I was not able to move the needle at all in House District 13. The story across the state was not much different with four other House seats flipping to Republicans and only one seat going the other way. We are going to have some serious conversations within the Greenwood County Democratic Party in the upcoming weeks as we assess our performance, including mine as your party chair.
On a positive note, we congratulate Teresa Griffin and Johanna Bishop who will join Greenwood County Council and serve their districts with distinction! We also thank those who ran in the non-partisan races at the city level.
Finally, we thank YOU for being in a participant in this fight. You can hold your head up high if you donated to a candidate, put out a yard sign, made calls or texts, knocked on doors, hosted a meet & greet, wrote postcards, or even convinced a family member or friend to vote. You got off the sidelines to make a difference – and we need to keep doing it! I heard a rumor that there’s another election in two years where we might be able to correct some of these problems of today.
I HAVE A FAVOR TO ASK
We need to remove candidate yard signs from public areas. If you see any for Democratic Candidates (Joe Cunningham, Lisa Ellis, Anne Parks, Bill Kimler) would you please grab and hold onto them? Send a message by replying to this email or texting (864) 715-2341 and we’ll arrange to take them off your hands.
THANK YOU!
I want to leave you with this drawing that was making the rounds in social media yesterday. I think it beautifully encapsulates how many are feeling today.
Yours in Democracy,
