Politics & Government
Former University of South Carolina wide receiver running for Congress in SC
Moe Brown, a former University of South Carolina wide receiver who worked for six years at the state’s commerce agency, announced on Wednesday he plans to run for the state’s 5th Congressional District seat, saying it’s time for a new generation to step up in Washington.
“I’ve led teams my entire life,” Brown, 31, said in a statement. “Right now Washington needs leaders who can bring people together and start delivering real results for working families. We are more divided than we’ve ever been in my lifetime and Congress seems more interested in playing politics than solving problems.”
Describing himself in a statement as a moderate Democrat who pledged to oppose any tax increases on working families, Brown — should he win the June primary — would ultimately face Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. The Rock Hill Republican is a former S.C. House lawmaker, who succeeded then-U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney in a 2017 special election after Mulvaney joined the Trump administration as the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
So far, two other Democrats have filed to run against Norman, federal filings show — Mark Anthony Ali and Ramin Mammadov. Neither has raised any money, according to the filings.
A native of Belton, Mauricus “Moe” Brown now lives in Fort Mill and works at a Charlotte accounting firm.
His resume includes six years working at the S.C. Department of Commerce in economic development after he graduated from USC with a degree in marketing and finance. He also served on the university’s Association of Letterman board from 2013 to 2017 and was president of the association in 2016, and served on the college’s board of visitors and the Darla Moore School Young Alumni Board.
Before his career, Brown played wide receiver for the Gamecocks and was team captain his senior year.
“Growing up, football was the answer to things happening off the field, like having to get ourselves ready for school because my mom worked the late shift,” Brown says in a new video highlighting his campaign. “But struggling to get by taught me something — I’m a fighter.”
Brown was the first in his family to graduate college, known in school for his infectious personality and charitable works off the field, The State reported in 2010.
In his campaign video, Brown talks about facing struggles and obstacles in his life.
His mom was 16 when she had him. Years later, Brown’s dad died, and in the video, Brown mentions the death of his brother, Xavier, who committed suicide in a state prison in Bishopville. A day after, Brown received his degree during a commencement exercise.
Brown was arrested in 2009 in Columbia after police stopped him for speeding, WIS reported. He did not have proof of insurance and was charged also with unlawful carrying of a pistol, the TV station reported, after police found a handgun under the passenger street.
“I voluntarily informed the police officer that I had a registered gun in the vehicle,” Brown told WIS in 2010. “I was 21 years of age and the legal and registered owner of the pistol. However, I had the gun under my seat and since it was not in the glove box at that time, I was charged with unlawful carrying.”
A judge later dismissed the charge and it was erased from his record, WIS reported.
In the release, Brown said he although he’s succeeded “beyond subjective measures” in life, he wants to head to Washington and help Congress put aside partisan politics and “heal the divide in our country before it’s too late.”
“I’m a small town kid who grew up to live the American dream and wants to make sure every child in South Carolina has the opportunity to do the same,” Brown said. “I want to raise your wages, not your taxes. And I don’t need to watch a documentary to learn about the struggles of rural America or working people, I lived them. It’s time we started electing leaders who have actually lived the problems they hope to fix.”
Brown would not be the first USC football player to run for that seat.
Democrat Fran Person, a former aide to then-Vice President Joe Biden who was an offensive lineman for the Gamecocks, ran for the seat in 2016 but lost to Mulvaney — 38% to 59%.
Republicans have continued to hold tightly onto the district but came relatively close to losing it in a 2017 special election, when Norman only won the district against Democrat Archie Parnell by 2,735 votes. The two faced off again in 2018. This time, Parnell lost by more than 38,000 votes.
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