South Carolina to become Key Political Battleground State

[monsoon]

The Democratic National Party has voted to move South Carolina into the political leagues of Iowa and New Hampshire when it comes to the primary season. SC's primary will now occur the weekend after Iowa's and before New Hampshire, which breaks with decades of status quo of letting the NE decide first who will be party's candidate.

I predict this will give SC a lot of national exposure. The state has far more people than Iowa and NH combined, and is also very diverse in comparison. It's about time the national parties recognize the importance of the South.

[g-man430]

Thank you for moving it from the Greenville thread to the South Carolina thread monsoon, seeing how this is a state-wide thing and not just a Greenville thing. Here is the article on this topic: http://goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...364/1051/NEWS01

[goodbye]

This is exciting news, indeed! Thanks to SC Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin for his successful lobbying efforts. Anyone think we'll host another Democratic Presidential debate?

[g-man430]

I sure hope so. So, it's going to go Nevada, Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire, then somebody else or does it go a different way?

[GvilleSC]

This is exciting news, indeed! Thanks to SC Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin for his successful lobbying efforts. Anyone think we'll host another Democratic Presidential debate?

I wouldn't doubt that Greenville would host another democratic Presidential debate. Joe Erwin seems to have some clout with the party, which is great for Greenville.

[g-man430]

The Democratic National Party has voted to move South Carolina into the political leagues of Iowa and New Hampshire when it comes to the primary season. SC's primary will now occur the weekend after Iowa's and before New Hampshire, which breaks with decades of status quo of letting the NE decide first who will be party's candidate.

It says here though that it is going to be held after New Hampshire's, not before: http://goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...364/1051/NEWS01

-Here is the quote from the article i'm talking about: "The rules panel also awarded South Carolina an early primary, which would be held a week after New Hampshire's Jan. 22 primary." So, I guess it's going to go Iowa on Jan. 14, New Hampshire on Jan. 22, South Carolina on Jan. 29, then somebody else after that.

[krazeeboi]

Very interesting, considering that SC is a traditional Republican stronghold.

[SimCity]

Very interesting, considering that SC is a traditional Republican stronghold.

You took the words right out of my mouth I wonder what their justification is for locating in a Republican bastion? I predict Charleston or Myrtle Beach as the debating site, aren't they among the leading democratic cities in South Carolina?

[krazeeboi]

^I'm not sure if that was supposed to be sarcastic or not, but Columbia is easily the bluest major city in the state. It would be the logical choice, not only because of that, but also because it's the capital and centrally located.

[g-man430]

Yes, Columbia would be the most logical and the bluest place to have a debate, but not to start a debate or anything, Joe Erwin who is the South Carolina's Democratic Chairman lives in Greenville and is the city that hosted the Democratic debate in 2004. It will be interesting for sure though to see where the debate is held if there is one in 2008.

[krazeeboi]

True, any one of our largest cities could play host. I guess it's similar to traditionally red states hosting the DNC and traditionally blue states hosting the RNC.

[waccamatt]

You took the words right out of my mouth I wonder what their justification is for locating in a Republican bastion? I predict Charleston or Myrtle Beach as the debating site, aren't they among the leading democratic cities in South Carolina?

No, Columbia is the center and, by far, the stronghold of the Democratic Party in South Carolina. Dems don't just win in Richland County, they win by landslides and they win in nearly every demographic area.

^I'm not sure if that was supposed to be sarcastic or not, but Columbia is easily the bluest major city in the state. It would be the logical choice, not only because of that, but also because it's the capital and centrally located.

Sorry, Krazee, I responded to the earlier post before reading the rest. Mea culpa.

[krazeeboi]

No prob.

[monsoon]

Very interesting, considering that SC is a traditional Republican stronghold.

Only since 1980. Prior to that, SC mostly voted for democratic presidents. SC went to the republicans when Ronald Reagan and is branch of conservatives figured out how to attract white chrisian evangelicals. Also the state sent a Democratic senator to the Senate for decades.

In the 2000 election the state went as follows:

• Bush - 786,892

• Gore - 566,037

• Nader - 20,279

• other - 10,694

The reason that Democrats don't do well in the South as they have been putting up lousy candidates. Kerry was a horrible candidate for the party in 2004. The first words out of his mouth were "I don't need the South to win" which immediately ended the election for him. It was a stunning loss considering that he was running against what has to be the nation's worst president of all time. The democrats have come to their senses and realized they can't keep nominating NE liberals to the ticket and expect to win elections. The last time one of them did, it was 1960 and then just barely. The move of SC to the front of the primary season is a recognization the South is the most important part of the country now from a political perspective.

[Pillsbury]

This is great news for SC and us Democrats. Finally the national party can see what southern Democrats are thinking and I won't have to see John Kerry and Howard Dean walking around the cornfields of Iowa talking to all these old people and wondering why they're the ones about to choose the next Democratic candidate.

[Spartan]

Columbia hosted a debate a couple of years ago at USC at Longstreet Theatre. It was very crowded that weekend.

IMO, Columbia would be the logical choice if only becuase it is the capital of the state and the political center as well. It also has the most facilities to handle it. That said, Charleston or Greenville could easily hold a debate as well.

And it is a good move for SC. We are also traditionally the first Southern state to hold a Repbulican primary...

[Greenville]

Only since 1980. Prior to that, SC mostly voted for democratic presidents. SC went to the republicans when Ronald Reagan and is branch of conservatives figured out how to attract white chrisian evangelicals. Also the state sent a Democratic senator to the Senate for decades.

In the 2000 election the state went as follows:

• Bush - 786,892

• Gore - 566,037

• Nader - 20,279

• other - 10,694

The reason that Democrats don't do well in the South as they have been putting up lousy candidates. Kerry was a horrible candidate for the party in 2004. The first words out of his mouth were "I don't need the South to win" which immediately ended the election for him. It was a stunning loss considering that he was running against what has to be the nation's worst president of all time. The democrats have come to their senses and realized they can't keep nominating NE liberals to the ticket and expect to win elections. The last time one of them did, it was 1960 and then just barely. The move of SC to the front of the primary season is a recognization the South is the most important part of the country now from a political perspective.

The numbers from 2000 were not as "heavily Republican" as people like to suggest. Republicans certainly have a better chance of winning in South Carolina than in, say, Massachusetts, but I agree that the Democrats would put up a good fight if they had decent candidates. If you think about it, the two main parties have had crappy candidates in the last couple of elections. What both parties need to realize is that moderate candidates will do better, since their views tend to represent more of the population. These radically right-wing and left-wing nuts do nothing good for the voting public. But when those are the only ones from which to choose, people are left to vote for the lesser of two evils.

It's a shame that campaign financing and media advertising basically eliminate the ability of third-party candidates to have a chance to get their views out on the table. If things were better, perhaps candidates from the two main parties would be forced to get with the program.

Sorry for that tangent.

[SimCity]

^I'm not sure if that was supposed to be sarcastic or not, but Columbia is easily the bluest major city in the state. It would be the logical choice, not only because of that, but also because it's the capital and centrally located.

That's interesting, I didn't realize that Columbia was so democratic. I wonder if the large state employee population and the colleges with their large student and college professional populations play an important role in that? These demographic groups tend to be more liberal.

[krazeeboi]

It's a shame that campaign financing and media advertising basically eliminate the ability of third-party candidates to have a chance to get their views out on the table. If things were better, perhaps candidates from the two main parties would be forced to get with the program.

Excellent point. And even if someone were compelled to vote for a third party candidate, he/she may not do so due to fear of "wasting a vote."

That's interesting, I didn't realize that Columbia was so democratic. I wonder if the large state employee population and the colleges with their large student and college professional populations play an important role in that? These demographic groups tend to be more liberal.

Not sure about state employees, but I'm sure USC has something to do with it, as well as the significant Black population. Columbia has historically had a few "liberal" trends.

[Greenville]

I did not know that about Columbia either. For some reason I always thought Charleston was the most liberal area of the state (relatively speaking, of course).

[SimCity]

I did not know that about Columbia either. For some reason I always thought Charleston was the most liberal area of the state (relatively speaking, of course).

Isn't the current Columbian mayor, Coble, a democrat? I believe I heard something about him not running for office again after his current term is up.

[waccamatt]

I did not know that about Columbia either. For some reason I always thought Charleston was the most liberal area of the state (relatively speaking, of course).

At least as far as voting trends are concerned, Columbia is significantly more liberal than any other major city in SC. Kerry won 70+% of the vote in the city in the last election and about 60% of the county's vote. Richland County's voting trends more closely mirror a NE U.S. county than one in the Deep South.

To answer the "why" question; younger people tend to be more liberal and Columbia has a very young population as a college town; people with college and advanced degrees tend to be more liberal and Richland County has, I believe, the highest percentage of college graduates in the state; The population is very much racially diverse in Columbia and Richland County; Columbia has a large Gay and Lesbian population and we tend to be more liberal than average and a sizable percentage of people in Richland County come from the NE - the most liberal part of the country.

Isn't the current Columbian mayor, Coble, a democrat? I believe I heard something about him not running for office again after his current term is up.

Technically, city elections are non-partisan, but Bob Coble used to be the director of the SC Democratic Party.

[SimCity]

At least as far as voting trends are concerned, Columbia is significantly more liberal than any other major city in SC. Kerry won 70+% of the vote in the city in the last election and about 60% of the county's vote. Richland County's voting trends more closely mirror a NE U.S. county than one in the Deep South.

To answer the "why" question; younger people tend to be more liberal and Columbia has a very young population as a college town; people with college and advanced degrees tend to be more liberal and Richland County has, I believe, the highest percentage of college graduates in the state; The population is very much racially diverse in Columbia and Richland County; Columbia has a large Gay and Lesbian population and we tend to be more liberal than average and a sizable percentage of people in Richland County come from the NE - the most liberal part of the country.

Technically, city elections are non-partisan, but Bob Coble used to be the director of the SC Democratic Party.

This is very interesting, in relation to what you said about Columbia having the highest percentage of college graduates in South Carolina, I just found out that Columbia has been listed as a Five Star Knowledge Metro by Expansion Mnagement. The US Census reports that 35.7% Columbians have a bachelors degree or higher while the state and national average is 20.4% and 24.4% respectively.

[vicupstate]

Glad to see SC will get some exposure/tourism dollars from this. Hopefully SC will be one of the states to put some logic into the party's nominee selection. One big reason that SC was choosen was that it has a large black population, which Iowa and NH lack.

While Coble has been elected as mayor in a nonpartisan election, he was elected as a Democrat to County Council and is one of the party's biggest leaders. Charleston has a similiar situation as Mayor Joe Riley was most recently elected in a non-partisan race, but previously elections were partisan and he won as a Democrat.

Columbia/Richland is without a doubt the most Democratic-voting city/urban county in SC. Charleston is Republican, but will bolt parties pretty easily. Greenville County is solid Republican, but the city much less so. While they have a GOP mayor,in an open seat, a Democrat could win it. Two at-large city councilwomen are Democrats.

[CorgiMatt]

This is very interesting, in relation to what you said about Columbia having the highest percentage of college graduates in South Carolina, I just found out that Columbia has been listed as a Five Star Knowledge Metro by Expansion Mnagement. The US Census reports that 35.7% Columbians have a bachelors degree or higher while the state and national average is 20.4% and 24.4% respectively.

That's great to hear. Can you put a link to the article?