Lindsey Graham's challenger, Jaime Harrison, has put S.C. back in play for Democrats
GOOSE CREEK, S.C. — Kenyatta Grimmage likes to talk politics with his customers during the 20 or so minutes it takes to give each of them a haircut at Howard’s Barber Shop, which is Black-owned and also a school for apprentice barbers that takes up two small ranch homes along a busy roadway near the Charleston Naval Weapons Station.
Story continuesHarrison has done that by reinvigorating a Democratic state party that, like many in the South, had not received much attention or investment from the national party in recent decades. He has helped expand voter outreach and taken advantage of party operatives who organized in the state during a contentious presidential primary, one that helped secure the presidential nomination for Joe Biden.
Another indication of Democrats' excitement in South Carolina is that blockbuster fundraising haul that Harrison pulled in during the third quarter: The $57 million shattered the previous single-quarter fundraising record of any Senate race in American history. Voters said they continuously see his ads on everything from YouTube and Instagram to banner ads at the bottom of a free calculator app. His message is also seeping into the media markets in neighboring states, in Augusta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
His funding and championing of Democrats in the state could have major implications in down-ballot races, including the state Senate, where Democrats are competitive in races that could lead them to take control for the first time since 2000. That could have quite a ripple effect as the state examines redistricting next year.
Harrison, who cut his teeth working as political floor director for Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., when Clyburn was House majority whip, is well versed in counting votes. He knows how to make the math work to pass legislation or get a candidate elected. What Harrison is banking on is that this coalition has moved away from Graham, many taking issue with the senator’s tightknit relationship with Trump and Graham’s abuse of Democrats, who he called “nuts” during a debate earlier this month.
“We were all proud of him, even if we didn't agree with him on everything," Hemlepp, who lives in Columbia, said of Graham."He never embarrassed us. Then Donald Trump got elected and people can debate how and why, but Lindsey Graham changed. I don’t know what happened to him.”Related: Recent polls show the South Carolina senator tied with Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison in a state that Donald Trump carried by double digits.
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