Obama endorses Harrison, Cunningham in their 2020 SC races
Former President Barack Obama on Monday endorsed Jaime Harrison in his bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and backed U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham’s re-election campaign.
Obama announced his backing of the two S.C. Democrats on Twitter in a list of endorsements of dozens of Democratic candidates around the country.
“I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic and highly qualified Democrats,” Obama said. “Together, these candidates will help us redeem our country’s promise by sticking up for working class people, restoring fairness and opportunity to our system, and fighting for the good of all Americans — not just those at the top.”
Harrison is vying to unseat Graham, a three-term incumbent in the U.S. Senate. Even though Harrison has been able to challenge Graham when it comes to fundraising, election forecasters have pegged the race as “likely Republican.”
Cunningham is seeking a second term in Congress. He is being challenged by Republican State Rep. Nancy Mace.
Election forecasters are calling the SC-1 race a toss-up.
“They make me optimistic not just about our party’s chances in November, but about our country’s future long after that,” Obama said of the candidates he endorsed.
Harrison and Cunningham were the only two Democratic candidates from South Carolina that won the former president’s backing Monday in what Obama described as his first wave of endorsements.
“It is an honor to receive the endorsement of President Barack Obama, and I will continue to fight to restore hope to South Carolinians in the midst of this pandemic,” Harrison said in a statement.
S.C. GOP Chairman Drew McKissick said Obama endorsing Harrison and Cunningham won’t make a difference with voters in the state, and he repeated a GOP strategy of connecting the two candidates to lead Democrats on the national level.
“We’ve seen these two candidates tout endorsements from radical liberals like they’re a badge of honor. But the reality is, these endorsements don’t help their slim chances of winning,” McKissick said.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 12:01 PM.
