Biden implores Rock Hill voters: Don't take eye off ball on electing Clinton, Democrats

Vice President Joe Biden called Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “a believer,” and said congressional candidate Fran Person of Tega Cay was his “third son” in a passionate “Get Out The Vote” rally held Tuesday.

Speaking in front of a packed house at the Kenneth Monroe Transformation Center on Saluda Street, Biden said Clinton had been “battered” by the recent controversy around her use of private email servers, but that she and Person were needed in Washington to continue the work of President Barack Obama.

Biden implored the largely African-American crowd to vote for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket. The rally, just seven days before Election Day, came amid worries that a recent announcement by FBI Director James Comey may swing momentum toward Clinton rival and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“We don’t want to get up on the eighth day and find out we lost by 100, 200, 400 votes and say to yourself, ‘If I took my mom to the polls, if I made three more calls, if I did a little more...’ We can’t let that happen,” Biden said.

Clinton’s campaign is seeing a slip in the polls after Comey sent a vague letter about the discovery of emails that might be related to the investigation into the candidate’s email servers.

Biden was quick Tuesday to tout the merits of Person, his former aide for eight years, as the candidate continues to fight against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney of Indian Land for South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District.

Biden told voters that Person was an adept foreign policy mind who always looked out for the Biden family when Joe’s son Beau died of brain cancer last summer.

“Franny’s become my third son,” said Biden.

Biden said Clinton has been “really battered” and that Republicans have “thrown everything but the kitchen sink” as the Nov. 8 election approaches. Biden said Clinton was not the best candidate, but that she believed she could best help the American people.

Biden, Person and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of Columbia began a full day of speaking engagements with a rally in Sumter before heading to York County. The group ended its day by heading an engagement in Charlotte with U.S. senatorial candidate Deborah Ross.

Biden last visited Rock Hill in mid-September when he stumped for Person.

Democratic officials say South Carolina has the potential to be a battleground state. Jaime Harrison, the state’s Democratic Party chairman, said Biden’s recent visits underscore the opportunity for Person to join Clyburn as House Democrats from South Carolina.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Thomas Dixon of Charleston is running against Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of Charleston for a seat in the United States Senate.

“(Biden’s) here today, because our nation stands at a crossroads,” said Harrison. “At no time has the two political parties had two starkly different visions of America. ... Congressman Clyburn needs our help. Let’s send him help in the form of Fran Person and Thomas Dixon.”

To do that, Person will have to defeat Mulvaney, who won his seat in 2010 by defeating longtime Democrat U.S. Rep. John Spratt of York. Since then, Mulvaney has won comfortable re-election bids in 2012 and 2014.

Person, a former South Carolina Gamecocks football player, is running his first political campaign.

Clyburn told voters that he was simply helping Spratt, who celebrated his 74th birthday Tuesday, have a happy day by seeing a string of Democrats voted into office.

“Education is on that ballot,” said Person, echoing a popular Clinton phrase. “Opportunity, women’s rights, progress are on that ballot.”

Person and Clinton will rely on black voters getting out to the polls. The most recent Winthrop Poll showed Trump leading former Secretary of State Clinton by four points in South Carolina, which is within the survey’s 4.5 percentage point margin of error.

The 5th Congressional District covers York, Chester and Lancaster counties, as well as Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Newberry, Spartanburg, Sumter and Union counties.

“With seven days left to go, we can’t take our eye off the ball,” said Biden. “We’ve gone from crisis to recovery, and we’re on the cusp of getting back up and running.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 9:56 PM with the headline "Biden implores Rock Hill voters: Don't take eye off ball on electing Clinton, Democrats."