Potential Clinton challengers make their cases in Columbia

State Democrats talked Saturday about whether anyone can beat Hillary Clinton in South Carolina, even though she wasn’t at the party’s convention in Columbia this weekend.

The 2016 presidential election and the first-in-the-South S.C. primary was the focus of the party convention at Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

Attendants heard from potential Clinton challengers for the Democratic nomination. Clinton’s popularity among S.C. Democrats was still evident, even though she was absent.

“Hillary knows that she has my vote,” said Dora Graham, 53. Graham is second vice president of the Horry County Democratic Party, and she attended the convention with another Clinton supporter, Irish Eickhoff of Conway.

Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe spoke on behalf of Clinton, and later showed a video of the former secretary of state.

Speakers weighing bids for the Democratic presidential nomination included former Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chaffee and Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who addressed issues including climate change, income inequality and healthcare.

David “Mudcat” Saunders spoke on behalf of U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia.

Saunders joked about the Republican-dominated Palmetto State by saying he is from “the South Carolina part of Virginia, where you can’t find a Democrat with a search warrant.”

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was last to speak, arriving late due to a delayed plane. In his speech, O’Malley touted his accomplishments as governor, including raising the minimum wage, freezing college tuition and passing marriage equality.

O’Malley has visited South Carolina at least five times in the past two years and helped campaign for state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, in his failed bid for governor in 2014.

O’Malley told reporters he has made friends in South Carolina, adding he was honored to help Sheheen and unsuccessful lieutenant governor candidate Bakari Sellers.

A reporter asked O’Malley if he had a different message from Clinton. “Was she here?” O’Malley asked, rhetorically. “I guess it was different in every way, then.”

O’Malley said S.C. Democrats want to know that when people work hard they’ll actually get ahead. “They know they’re working harder, and they know that in real-dollar terms, their bills are going up, college tuition’s going up, other things are going up, but not their paycheck,” he said.

Horry County Democrat Eickhoff said she is interested to see if O’Malley throws his hat in the ring. Eickhoff said she wants a Democratic candidate to run against Clinton in the primary so they can debate Democratic platform issues.

If Clinton doesn’t have a challenger, Republicans will use that against Democrats, Eickhoff said. Down the road, Eickhoff said she would want Clinton to pick O’Malley as vice president.

“That’s the perfect ticket,” Eichoff and fellow Horry County Democrat Graham said, nearly in unison.

State Rep. Jimmy Bales, D-Richland, attended what he said was probably his 40^th Democratic Party convention. Bales, 79, was confident in Clinton. “Hillary’s going to win it, and she’s going to be the president,” Bales said.

But in the general election, it will be hard for Clinton to carry South Carolina, a conservative state, Bales said. “We’ve got our heads in the sand here,” he said, citing the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid.

This story was originally published April 25, 2015 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Potential Clinton challengers make their cases in Columbia."