South Carolina

Democrats Snub South Carolina

October 22, 2015 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

When Martin O’Malley visits South Carolina today it will be the first time in 40 days that a Democratic presidential candidate visited the state, National Journal reports.

“South Carolina is used to playing second-fiddle to the first two states on the nominating calendar, Iowa and New Hampshire, where presidential candidates have flocked repeatedly this cycle. Still, the lack of time and resources Democratic contenders have invested in South Carolina so far this cycle has some locals scratching their heads.”

Trump Way Ahead in South Carolina

October 14, 2015 at 1:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 55 Comments

A new CNN/ORC poll in South Carolina finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 36%, followed by Ben Carson at 18%, Marco Rubio at 9%, Carly Fiorina at 7%, Jeb Bush at 6%, Ted Cruz at 5%, Lindsey Graham at 5%, Rand Paul at 4%, and Mike Huckabee at 3%.

Clinton Holds Huge Leads in South Carolina, Nevada

October 12, 2015 at 8:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

A new CNN/ORC poll in South Carolina shows Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic presidential race with 49%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 24% and Joe Biden at 18%.

In Nevada, Clinton leads with 50%, followed by Sanders at 34% and Biden at 12%.

Trump Holds Big Lead in South Carolina

September 9, 2015 at 7:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 31 Comments

A new Public Policy Polling survey in South Carolina finds Donald Trump leading the GOP field with 37%, followed by Ben Carson at 21%, Jeb Bush at 6%, Ted Cruz at 6%, Carly Fiorina at 4%, John Kasich at 4% and Marco Rubio at 4%.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads with 54%, followed by Joe Biden at 24% and Bernie Sanders at 9%.

Quote of the Day

August 26, 2015 at 7:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

“I’ll beat his brains out.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by CNN, saying Donald Trump would be “a complete idiot” to run in South Carolina’s GOP presidential primary.

A new poll shows Trump leading Graham in his home state, 30% to 4%.

Confederate Flag Makes Last Stand in South Carolina

July 8, 2015 at 7:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

“Three weeks after the mass shooting at a predominantly black church in Charleston, the South Carolina House of Representatives is expected on Wednesday to step into the freshly revived debate about whether the Confederate battle flag should remain on the grounds of the State House,” the New York Times reports.

“With the flag perhaps facing its final days outside the Capitol, lawmakers have been circulating drafts of dozens of amendments that could jeopardize a bill that calls for the state to remove the flag and send it to the nearby Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.”

Charleston Post and Courier: “The bill received first reading in the House, but no vote can be taken until a bill has been on the calendar overnight. If the House approves the Senate bill on final reading Thursday, it could reach Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk by Friday. The Republican governor has called for the flag’s removal.”

South Carolina Braces for Confederate Flag Debate

July 5, 2015 at 7:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

“The South Carolina legislature is expected on Monday to take up the fate of the Confederate battle flag that flies on the State House grounds, responding to demands that it be removed after the June 17 massacre of nine people at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston,” the New York Times reports.

A survey of lawmakers found last month that there was most likely enough support in the legislature to approve the plan.

Behind the Collapse of the Confederate Flag

June 29, 2015 at 12:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

New York Times: “The stunningly quick collapse of support for the Confederate flag has been told largely through the public pronouncements of one governor, Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina, who persuaded the legislature to reconsider the flag’s prominent perch on the capitol grounds. But behind the scenes, powerful forces — capitalism, Christianity, social media, college sports and a Republican Party eager to extricate itself from the past — were converging. Within five days, decades of resistance in South Carolina, a state that had held fiercely to its Confederate identity, fell away.”

Lawmaker Calls on Police to Find ‘Jackass’ Shooter

June 18, 2015 at 9:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

South Carolina state Sen. Larry Grooms (R) called on police to catch the “jackass” who shot and killed his friend and colleague, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D), along with eight others during a Bible study last night in Charleston, TPM reports.

Said Grooms: “He was my colleague but he was also my brother in Christ, and the news of his death and the deaths of the others, made me physically ill.”

He added: “The first thing we do, we’ve got to find this jackass and bring him to justice. It’s evil. He is evil.”

South Carolina Shootings Likely to Influence Primaries

June 18, 2015 at 9:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

First Read says the shootings last night in South Carolina “will influence — one way or another — next year’s primaries in the state.”

“Do note that this is the second high-profile race-related crime in South Carolina — after a policeman was caught on camera shooting a fleeing black man. So these shootings will forge a backdrop to both the Democratic and Republican primaries that will take in South Carolina early next year. The two events aren’t connected, but yet they are.”

Graham Holds Small Lead in South Carolina

June 14, 2015 at 12:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

A new Morning Consult Poll in South Carolina finds favorite son Lindsey Graham leading with 14%, but followed closely by Ben Carson at 12%, Jeb Bush at 11%, Scott Walker at 10%, Marco Rubio at 8%, Mike Huckabee at 7% and Ted Cruz at 6%.

No Favorite Yet in South Carolina

April 15, 2015 at 8:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

A new Winthrop Poll in South Carolina shows Scott Walker and Jeb Bush leading the GOP field, with 14% and 13% respectively, and all other candidates in the single digits.

“However, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Bush show the most potential support in a series of questions that asked respondents whether they would consider voting for each candidate.”

No South Carolina Firewall for Jeb

March 24, 2015 at 4:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

Politico: “Twice before, South Carolina has delivered for the Bush family. In 1988, it famously served as George H.W. Bush’s firewall after he finished third in Iowa. Twelve years later, it served the same role for George W. Bush after John McCain’s New Hampshire victory.”

“But as Jeb Bush seeks to become the third in his family to win here, he’s finding the state almost unrecognizable. The electorate in the first primary state in the South is more conservative than before — and the former Florida governor is perceived as a moderate. Much of the old Bush team has defected to other candidates. And the presence of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is eating into Bush’s natural base of support.”