As you probably know, everybody and his sister has lined up to run for the GOP nomination for Mick Mulvaney’s congressional seat in the 5th District. As of last week:
So far, six candidates have declared on the GOP side of the race: former state party chairman Chad Connelly; anti-Common Core activist Sheri Few; Camden attorney Tom Mullikin; Norman; Pope; and Indian Land attorney Kris Wampler….
(Yes, Sheri Few is running again! If at first you don’t succeed…)
It’s a mad scramble; you can’t hold ’em back! I read that story at breakfast at the Capital City Club one day last week, then folded my iPad and stood up to turn to leave — and there was Chad Connelly sitting at a table yards away with four or five other people, already having a campaign meeting. Time’s a wastin’!
And on the Democratic side…
I received this today, about an hour ago, from Clay Middleton with the SC Democratic Party:
It is my privilege to lead the SCDP’s candidate recruitment efforts for the 2018 cycle. The cycle is off to an early start with the upcoming special election in the 5th Congressional District. After conversations with many great Democrats throughout the district, we expect a candidate to announce their candidacy next week. The filing deadline is March 13th. To receive regular updates on this special election campaign,sign up here.While things are moving quickest in the 5th, it is not too early to start planning for a 2018 run for office! If you are potentially interested, or know someone else who would be a strong candidate, please email me at plan2run@scdp.org.Throughout the country, Democratic energy is higher than ever before. Earlier this week, in a special election in the reddest State Senate district in Connecticut, Democrats improved by 25 points over the 2016 general election result. South Carolinians are just as fired up, organized, and ready to vote. We just need great Democratic candidates to harness and capitalize on this energy.
Yeah, y’all are moving mighty quick in the 5th! You’re already up to the crucial, Let’s look and see if we can find somebody willing to run stage. You might even have one next week! The Republicans are probably wrenching their necks looking back at you! Or would be, if they gave you a thought.
And to think, this is the seat held by Democrat John Spratt for a generation before Mulvaney replaced him in the Tea Party wave of 2010.
If you’re a Democrat, and even if you aren’t, this is sad, folks…
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I want Thomas McElveen from Sumter. A little young, but as politically astute and solid an individual as you can find. I suspect he and his wife don’t want to disrupt their lives at this moment (if ever) since they have a young child and are both doing good work. I’d have been delighted to have Vince Sheheen, but likely twice bitten is once too much. There are some solid candidates who could be recruited, but Democratic turnout in off-year and special elections isn’t usually even respectable and the money deficit would be huge. Winning Sumter County would be no problem, but York has grown so and become so heavily Republican that an overall win would be daunting.
Yeah, Spratt had a lot of trouble in his last few races even before he got sick…
Ever since the 1990 census, the Republicans in the State House have been unrelenting about cramming all the black voters they can find into Clyburn’s district, while white Democrats became scarcer and scarcer, making the 5th and other districts harder and harder for Democrats, even for a good man like Spratt…
Spratt was president-level timber whether measured from afar or as a genuine personable neighbor. He reminded me of Richard Riley, a brilliant policy mind wrapped in the finest gentleman you would ever want to meet. John Spratt was swamped by the bogus rhetoric and tide of me-and mine-first conservatism that the TEA party used to elect doctrinaire know-nothings at all levels of government. Gerrymandering has cemented many of them in and exacerbated the polarization in Congress, and in my view put the Republican party at the mercy of extremists.
No argument from me on any of that.
Ha… run for congressional seat as a Democrat in SC… I think I’ll move to San Francisco and try to unseat Nancy Pelosi by running as a Republican.