Jaime Harrison, the first African American man to become South Carolina Democratic Party chair, is trying to do what many see as a long shot: unseat three-term senator and prominent Trump ally Lindsey Graham.
Graham is among the 23 GOP senators who are up for reelection in 2020, and his seat is rated “solid Republican” by Cook Political Report. While South Carolina hews closer to the center than some Republican states, its statewide elected officials tend to trend conservative: The last time the state elected a Democratic senator was over 20 years ago in 1998.
Harrison is making the bet that his focus on independent voters and on issues like Medicaid expansion will change this narrative. A native South Carolinian who currently serves as an associate director for the Democratic National Committee, he’s got deep-rooted attachments to the state and a vision for what he calls the “new South,” a region that’s becoming more diverse, with more African American and Latino voters in particular.
Article submitted by, Great Gazoo.
