Latecomer Deval Patrick says he’s investing in SC, opening Columbia office
Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who entered the race late for the Democratic nomination for president, is putting his focus into two early primary states including South Carolina, rather than the caucus states.
His investment includes having 10 staff members, including a political director, in South Carolina, and opening an office in Columbia soon.
The campaign has yet to release its fundraising numbers for fourth quarter of 2019, but Patrick faces an uphill battle against other candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, including some who raised tens of millions of dollars during the last quarter of 2019.
However, the campaign has raised enough to put resources into the early voting states.
Patrick’s campaign just bought air time in New Hampshire and South Carolina, including $60,000 worth of television and digital advertising in the Palmetto State, according to Politico.
“It’s not just about limited resources, it’s about wisely spending the resources,” Patrick said in an interview Tuesday with The State. “We are never going to be a billionaire’s race, but I still want to believe you can’t buy your way to the Oval Office. I still want to believe people can still be inspired to invest not only in my campaign, but in their own civic and political future.”
Although he does have presence in Iowa and Nevada, which hold caucuses before South Carolina, Patrick said his focus will center on New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is the favorite to win the state’s primary and has consistently led in South Carolina polls. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, have trailed Biden in surveys of the state’s Democratic voters.
Patrick, whose presidential campaign launched in November, is way behind in the polls and has yet to qualify for a debate.
“Finishing in the top four would be a real victory — I don’t know if that’s possible given how late he (started), and how much money and time Biden plus those other three have spent,” said Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston.
Patrick has made four trips to S.C. since announcing his candidacy and plans to return this weekend. He has made visits to Charleston, Spartanburg and Orangeburg, and attended December’s Spratt Issues Conference in Greenville. His campaign has spent time in churches, historically black colleges and universities.
“Polls don’t vote, people do and if someone is winning this race … it’s somebody called undecided. Sixty to 70% of the vote have not made up their minds,” Patrick said in an interview. “It’s also a comment on the candidates who are supposedly on time, who have spent months and months and in some cases, millions of dollars and haven’t closed the deal.”
How well candidates do in South Carolina is an indicator of how they’ll do among African Americans in southern states that vote later. support and can indicate how well presidential hopefuls do in the following states.
“The race in South Carolina, most people agree, the race is on to compete for second place to Vice President Joe Biden,” said Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist. “If (Patrick) can compete in South Carolina, that could land him some momentum going into Super Tuesday.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
