Democratic forum in Rock Hill should be a big event
Hillary Clinton’s march to the Democratic presidential nomination was supposed to resemble a coronation. But with the steady drip-drip-drip of questions about her use of a private email server as secretary of state and the unexpected popularity of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the sheen of inevitability seems a bit tarnished at this early stage of the process.
Come November, the Democratic race might look as topsy-turvy as the Republican race is now. And where will voters turn to see how the Democratic field shapes up? To Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.
Winthrop, coordinating with the S.C. Democratic Party, will sponsor a forum of the Democratic presidential candidates on Nov. 6 in Byrnes Auditorium. The event will be televised nationwide by MSNBC, the NBC cable affiliate.
The forum will be sandwiched between the first and second scheduled Democratic debates. At the moment, five candidates have declared in the 2016 Democratic primary race: Clinton; Sanders; former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley; former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb; and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee. All have been invited to the forum and are “holding the date open,” according to state party officials.
And, who knows? If new revelations weaken Clinton further, the list of guests might grow.
York County political junkies have had a field day during the budding primary season. And it appears that candidates from both parties will continue to migrate to the area in the weeks and months ahead.
On Wednesday, both Kentucky’s Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-Indian Land, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina, the current shooting star in the GOP race, visited Rock Hill. They were part of a parade of Republican candidates who have come through town.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was an early visitor to Fort Mill on May 30, just three days after announcing that he would run again for the nomination. He was followed by Paul, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who announced last week that he was dropping out of the race.
Democrat Sanders also came to Rock Hill for a rally at Winthrop earlier this month. When the crowd estimates began to swell, the event was moved to Byrnes, where an estimated 3,000 people or more gathered to hear what he had to say.
But the Democratic forum is the most significant event of the season so far. It is likely to have an audience of millions.
That will be a boon to Winthrop, which will receive some much-deserved publicity as a center for political discourse in the region. The televised forum also could serve as advertising to prospective students who don’t know much about the university or what it has to offer.
And, as with all the political events held there, the forum will be a great opportunity for students to learn about the candidates and where they stand on the issues, and to get involved in the political process. This is a chance to see what a presidential campaign looks like at close range.
What makes this opportunity even more exciting is that South Carolina voters – including many Winthrop students, we hope – could have a real impact on the outcome of the primary process for both parties. South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primaries in February are likely to be critical to contenders in both parties.
We look forward to the November Democratic forum, when all eyes will turn to Rock Hill for the day. And we hope the procession of candidates and other political events will continue right up to Election Day 2016.
This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Democratic forum in Rock Hill should be a big event."