Hundreds of S.C. Democrats gathered in Columbia on Saturday for the party's annual convention to get fired up for the June primaries and election day in November.
All nine of the state's constitutional seats, including the governorship, are up for grabs as well as the 124 seats in the House of Representatives.
Minority House Leader Rep. Harry Ott, D-Calhoun, said Democrats have a real shot at many of the spots if they can get the message out to voters that Republicans have been in charge of state government and are responsible for South Carolina's budget crisis.
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"We must hold the Republican Party responsible for the bad decisions they've made. They've been in charge and gotten us into this mess," Ott said.
Ott said he's hopeful that the current and proposed budget cuts, which include returning public school funding to its 1995 level, will shake up voters.
"These cuts are reaching enough people that they're going to look around and ask more questions and look for new people to vote for," he said.
During the convention, held at Columbia's convention center, all three Democrats running for governor addressed the crowd, looking to sway minds.
Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, outlined his plan to bring video poker back to the state to shore up budget holes and touted his involvement in getting the Confederate Flag removed from the State House dome and establishing a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the state.
"I'm asking y'all to be your servant," he said to the packed convention hall. "I'm asking y'all to give me a chance to serve y'all."
Education Superintendent Jim Rex, who's also running for governor, said it's past time for new leadership.
"We need leaders who understand diversity is an asset, not a liability," he said. "The world is becoming browner, not whiter. The world is getting flatter, not rounder."
And Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Kershaw County Democrat also running for governor, listed the Republican scandals of recent years, including state Treasurer Thomas Ravenel's 2007 indictment on federal cocaine charges and Gov. Mark Sanford disappearance from the state last June to visit his lover.
He also admonished current Republican Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer for his remarks during a Friday debate, saying lazy South Carolinians are contributing to the number of illegal immigrants in the state.
"We can do better than this," Sheheen said.
- Gina Smith
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