GOP presidential hopefuls woo undecided SC conservative voters

Working to end his recent slide in GOP presidential polls, Scott Walker stood over Patty Conrad on Monday, chatting with the former teacher as she ate a plate of barbecue inside the Anderson Civic Center.

After the Wisconsin governor walked away, the Spartanburg great-grandmother said she thought highly of Walker. But like many at the campaign event featuring speeches by three Republican presidential hopefuls, she has not chosen a favorite.

“I don’t really dislike any of those running,” said Conrad, just before Walker joined his fellow GOP candidates — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and retired surgeon Ben Carson of Maryland — to speak at U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan’s annual faith-and-freedom barbecue.

The barbecue gave the trio trying to catch the GOP front-runners, New York business mogul Donald Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a chance to win over voters in South Carolina, which hosts the South’s first presidential primary.

Duncan, a three-term Republican congressman from Laurens, has attracted six of the 17 declared 2016 GOP candidates to his annual event over the past three years.

Most of the candidates come from the party’s right wing, including the three who appeared Monday. Duncan welcomed the candidates and the crowd to the “conservative beating heart of our state.”

Duncan said he invited the three Republican presidential candidates who were most requested in a spring survey of constituents. Duncan said he was unsure if Trump, the current GOP leader in polls who formally declared in June, would be one of the top choices if the poll was taken now.

But the Republican White House hopefuls should take note of how Trump’s campaign has fired up voters, Duncan said. “They should listen to some of the things that Donald Trump is saying because it’s resonating with the American people,” he said. “Maybe they need to incorporate some of that in their own platforms. Maybe, we as a party, need to incorporate some of that.”

Before his speech Monday, Cruz said he refuses to criticize Trump for his caustic comments about immigrants and fellow Republicans. “I like Donald Trump, and I am glad Donald Trump is in this election,” Cruz said. “No. 1, Donald Trump is shining a light on the problem of illegal immigration. And because Donald Trump is talking about it, all of our friends in the mainstream media are actually covering illegal immigration — an issue I have been leading the fight on.”

Still, national security remains a leading topic that candidates raise in South Carolina, a state known for its strong support of the military.

While in Spartanburg earlier Monday, Walker called on President Barack Obama to cancel a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping next month, citing Chinese cyberattacks, human-rights violations and currency manipulation.

At the barbecue, Walker said if he were president, he would have his staff talk with the Chinese government, rather than invite their leader for dinner at the White House. “If you’re going to have a state dinner, you should (do) that for counties and leaders that are actually allied partners with the United States, not for strategic competitors,” Walker told reporters ahead of his speech in Anderson.

On the stage Monday, Carson, who has surged in recent national polls, talked about concerns over tightening border security, fighting Islamic terrorists and funding shortfalls in entitlement programs. All have been common themes among the Republican presidential prospects.

“I believe we are in great jeopardy,” said Carson, who on Monday became the fourth candidate to submit a $40,000 check to get on the S.C. Republican primary ballot.

The candidates were looking for the right message to win over the Anderson crowd, filled with undecided conservative voters.

Conrad, the teacher, said she is worried about national security and the economy. Most of all, she said she wants a candidate who loves the United States. “I want to feel like they really care about it,” Conrad said.

Securing the U.S.-Mexico border and working for entitlement reform are the litmus tests for Stephanie Klein, an undecided voter who moved recently to McCormick from Texas. “The taxpayers can’t pay for everybody,” she said.

Mark Crowder, a corporate chief financial officer who lives outside Spartanburg, favors political outsiders, adding the the three candidates who spoke Monday were his favorite candidates. Crowder said among the candidates that he has eliminated from consideration are Jeb Bush — too moderate — and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — too much of a war hawk.

“We have to have someone who can fix this economy and get job growth going, and that’s how you have a great America,” Crowder said. “We’ve had too many of those bland candidates. They don’t win.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 10:18 PM with the headline "GOP presidential hopefuls woo undecided SC conservative voters."