SCDems News
Democrats not counting out SC in Nov. election
September 15, 2008
For a state some are calling out of play in the November presidential election, South Carolina seems to have a lot of game.
Republicans say it isn't a case of winning the general election in this traditionally red state - it's a case of winning it by a substantial margin.
But Democrats point to the huge turnout they saw in January - more than 530,000 voted in the South Carolina Democratic primary, compared to about 443,000 people who voted in the Republican nominating contest - and say they can tap into that energy once again.
RealClearPolitics.com labels South Carolina as "solid" for the Republican ticket of John McCain and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The Web site, which - among other things - keeps tracks of polls in every state, shows McCain with more than a 9-point lead here over Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden.
But that's data from June and July, before either candidate announced their vice presidential pick, and no South Carolina-specific poll is listed since then.
"We're not taking any votes for granted in South Carolina," state GOP spokesman Rob Godfrey said. "We're going to run harder than ever to ensure that Republicans win up and down the ballot in November."
The state Republican Party, through its Victory '08 organization, has deployed six paid regional field directors - including Allen Klump, who is based in Greenville and is responsible for that county, Spartanburg and Laurens - and will have volunteers in place in all 46 counties. Victory '08 is the coordinated effort to elect Republicans to federal, state and local offices.
"The Victory effort in South Carolina is the way the McCain campaign will be active in this state," Godfrey said.
But the Obama campaign is countering by deploying paid operatives across the state. Ann Smith, who is working out of the Spartanburg County Democratic Party headquarters on Henry Street, is responsible for Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties. She's one of up to 30 paid staffers the Obama camp has placed in South Carolina.
"We wouldn't be working as hard as we are on the ground here if we didn't think South Carolina is in play. I've been involved in campaigns across South Carolina, and I've never witnessed the excitement among Democrats, independents and swing voters as I have with Barack Obama's candidacy," said Trav Robertson, Obama's state campaign director.
"We've got organizations in all of the counties, and the fact of the matter is the infrastructure was put in place in South Carolina during the primary. That included nearly 15,000 to 20,000 volunteers on the ground. We also are adding a bunch of Hillary Clinton supporters to that. We've added some Biden supporters. So, that number has grown significantly in the last three weeks."
At a Spartanburg County GOP function in August, Victory '08 Executive Director Warren Mowry said that not only has the McCain camp decided this state won't be competitive and doesn't plan to spend much time or resources here, it has asked South Carolina activists to start reaching out to voters in battleground states.
The resources of the South Carolina Republican Party, funds raised by the Victory campaign's two financial co-chairmen and incumbent U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's war chest - he had about $3.6 million cash on hand at the end of June - "will be able to match Obama dollar-for-dollar in South Carolina," Godfrey said.
Robertson would not say how much the Obama camp has spent toward the general election in this state.
Getting the message out
Both major parties say campaign paraphernalia - signs, bumper stickers and the like - should reach Columbia within the week, and that it will be distributed down to the county organizations and activists free of charge.
In the meantime, Spartanburg Republican Party Chairman Rick Beltram is selling McCain-Palin rally signs, buttons and bumper stickers out of the county GOP office on Pine Street. Beltram said he bought the items - about 500 stickers, 500 buttons and 300 signs - from a vendor licensed to sell them after he came home early from the Republican National Convention. He's selling them, along with a "nominal markup to cover freight and handling," at $2 a button, $1.50 for bumper stickers and $3 for each sign.
Beltram said he expected to sell out of those items by Friday night - he's been selling to other county organizations in both Carolinas, too - but has already placed a second order.
The Greenville County Republican Party office, where Klump is stationed, sill has McCain bumper stickers and rally signs from the primary, Chairman Samuel Harms said. They are being given away free while everyone waits for the McCain-Palin paraphernalia.
The Spartanburg GOP has received a box of cell phones and scripts to begin calling potential voters in this state and others. Their first assignment: Wayne County, N.C., the home of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. That script not only promotes the McCain-Palin ticket, but also Sen. Elizabeth Dole's re-election bid and Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Pat McCrory, who is running for governor.
Volunteers will call voters here and in other assigned places Monday through Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, Beltram said.
"That's great," Spartanburg County Democratic Party Chairman Glenn Lindman said with a laugh. "Spend your resources somewhere else."
Lindman said his organization is supporting Smith, the Obama operative, and had a list of volunteers ready for when she began working out of an empty office in the headquarters - on top of working with state and local candidates.
"The primary numbers show that the state is in play, how many people turned out to vote," Lindman said. "And the voter registration drives have been huge since then. I can't say they're all Democrats. But that has the potential to change the outcome in the state."
Beltram said the county GOP has been able to recruit 200 volunteers and asked for extra work. The county party is trying to take advantage of the higher turnout that's typically seen in presidential election years whenever someone comes in for a sign, button or sticker.
"I well know by just the people who walk into our headquarters that if you can grab a Republican voter because they're going to vote for president, then that's going to help candidates down ballot," Beltram said.
"So, for Spartanburg County, if I can break 60 percent for John McCain, and break 65 percent for Lindsey Graham, then that gives me a chance to win practically everything else down the ballot. That's really the reason you push so hard, whether you think you're going to win or not, because it helps everyone else down the ballot."
Volunteers recruited through Victory '08 will soon be licking stamps, stuffing envelopes, making phone calls and going door-to-door for all Republican candidates, Godfrey said.
In addition to phone calls and other routine campaign practices, the Obama camp will continue to use the practices developed during the primary - from house parties to tapping into social networking sites - in the weeks leading up to Nov. 4.
"Sen. Obama offers our country something my generation has never seen," Robertson said. "For the first time, we have a candidate who has tapped into and helped create a movement where ordinary people were empowered, enabled and trained to take democracy into their own hands, so that they had the power to change the face of South Carolina."
The Herald-Journal
