McMaster, Cunningham hit SC pavement to woo voters one week before Election Day
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and his Democratic challenger Joe Cunningham are hitting the road in a final effort to woo voters before Election Day.
On Sunday, McMaster and his Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette started a 19-stop bus tour in Chapin that will take them across South Carolina. They’ll end Monday in Lexington.
Meanwhile, Cunningham and his running mate Tally Casey, without the aid of a big bus, will kick off one final tour of the state Tuesday, with stops in Beaufort, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, Orangeburg, Rock Hill and Sumter. Cunningham, who represented the 1st Congressional District for one term, will hold his final campaign event in Charleston Monday.
More than 238,000 South Carolinians, of 3.3 million registered voters, have so far voted in person during the state’s first week of early voting.
As of last week, Charleston and Horry counties reported the highest turnout, according to the State Election Commission.
McMaster starts multi-county bus tour
McMaster, who was elevated to governor in 2017 after Nikki Haley stepped down to join the Trump administration, is seeking his second full term in office.
In Chapin Sunday, standing in front of about 100 people, McMaster and Evette stepped off their red tour bus to chants of, “Four more years!”
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to get out and see the people,” McMaster told a reporter after the rally. “Our goal is to get everybody to go vote, because it’s a very important election and South Carolina is doing so well now.”
As he seeks a second term in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to the governor’s office since 1998 with Jim Hodges, McMaster said he’s not thinking about what his campaign’s internal polls say.
“It really doesn’t matter as far as I’m concerned. We always run hard, we run to win, we don’t leave a single stone unturned and you really can’t ever depend on the polls,” McMaster said. “The only one that counts for will be the one on Nov. 8.”
Republicans Sen. Ronnie Cromer, of Newberry, and Reps. Chip Huggins, of Lexington and Nathan Ballantine, of Richland County, attended McMaster’s Chapin event, where he touted tax cut legislation, teacher pay raises and economic growth. Democratic Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster also attended the event.
“I appreciate Gov. McMaster’s leadership,” said Doug Barnett, 68, of Chapin, who came to see McMaster speak for the first time in person. “I liked the way he handled COVID. I liked the way he was concerned about the economy.”
Cunningham stumps at HBCU to boost excitement
In his final campaign stretch, Cunningham paid a visit to voters whose support Democrats have relied on in the past.
On Saturday, Cunningham spent hours meeting with voters at the homecoming football game of Benedict College, one of two historically Black colleges in Columbia, to drum up support among key voting bloc for the state Democratic Party.
“This is the last push getting in front of as many people as possible, going where the crowds are,” Cunningham said. “Being up on TV helps and just compliment(s) my message with the on-the-ground touch.”
Still, he’s trailed in fundraising, only raising $3.4 million to McMaster’s $7.6 million for the cycle.
“We’ll be up on the air through the finish line, come hell or high water,” Cunningham said. “We’re working hard and the message that we’re getting out is a message that people are receiving and they’re investing in, and I got full faith and confidence that we’ll run across the finish line in a strong manner, and we’re going to end up first.”
Cunningham’s efforts to reach voters did not go unnoticed Saturday.
“I think he’s been good because he does a lot of outreach,” Sylvia Jackson, 77, of Columbia. “He goes out and talks with the people.”
She added, “He lends himself and makes himself available for everyone. You ask him a question, he’s going to answer it right then and there. He’s not going to wait two or three weeks and say, ‘You know what, I’ll get back to you.’”
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "McMaster, Cunningham hit SC pavement to woo voters one week before Election Day."
