SC candidate for governor adds Richland senator to ticket as her running mate

The already crowded field in South Carolina's race for governor just got a little more crowded.

Florence attorney Marguerite Willis said Tuesday she had selected state Sen. John Scott, D-Richland, as her running mate in the 2018 governor's race.

Standing in front of the Governor's Mansion, Willis said Scott would be a great addition to her campaign for the Democratic nomination.

"I have strengths and experiences that he doesn't have, and he has strengths and experiences that I don't have," Willis said. "The two of us together cover all the bases that ... this state needs to really tackle the tough problems to move us forward."

Scott, the owner of a Columbia real estate company, has represented the northwestern portion of Richland County in the state Senate since 2009. Before that, he served nine terms in the House of Representatives.

Scott said Tuesday he has spent his time in the Legislature trying to expand the state's Medicaid program, fix crumbling roads and pass "common-sense" gun laws, only to see those initiatives blocked by the State House's GOP majority or vetoed by Republican governors.

"South Carolinians are starting to see that politicians don't have their best interests at heart," Scott said. "But, as the late Sam Cooke said, 'A change is gonna come.' "

Willis is optimistic that 2018 could be a good year for Democrats in red states, including solidly Republican South Carolina, because unrest with Republican President Donald Trump is energizing new voters.

"Democrats have opportunities in places that would have been impossible in the past," she said. "More women are answering the call to service. I know that's why I got into the race."

This November's election marks the first time South Carolina's two top jobs — governor and lieutenant governor — will be elected as a ticket. A constitutional change approved in 2012 ensured candidates for governor could pick their own running mates, rather than having the two offices elected separately.

So far, only one other candidate for governor has announced a running mate. Incumbent Henry McMaster named Pamela Evette, the Greenville chief executive of a payroll firm, as his running mate in November. Evette has given McMaster a surrogate on the campaign trail while he manages the governor's office.

Willis is a business attorney with the Nexsen Pruet law firm in Columbia. A Greenville native, Willis has worked for the firm for 18 years and co-chairs its antitrust practice. Her husband, former Florence mayor Frank Willis, unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006..

Willis faces state Rep. James Smith, D-Richland, and Charleston businessman Phil Noble in the June 12 Democratic primary.

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 11:14 AM with the headline "SC candidate for governor adds Richland senator to ticket as her running mate."