SC’s Joe Wilson defends record as Democrat Adair Boroughs takes jabs in SC-2 debate
In their first and, likely, only televised debate, Democratic challenger Adair Ford Boroughs frequently highlighted what she sees as the failures of incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson to lead, while the 10-term Republican congressman celebrated his and his party’s achievements on a range of policy issues.
Boroughs and Wilson met at River Bluff High School in Lexington, where they took questions on topics ranging from national security to COVID-19 to jobs in the 2nd Congressional District.
While Boroughs, a former U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney, began the debate focusing on her blue-collar roots growing up in Williston, she quickly transitioned to taking punches at Wilson’s congressional record, accusing him of inaction.
Specifically, the Forest Acres Democrat called out Wilson, who has been in Congress since 2001, for not improving the district’s broadband, which she’s called her number one issue on the campaign trail.
The criticism came after Wilson talked about working with a utility to expand broadband to small towns in the district like Batesburg-Leesville and said he supported recent broadband expansion legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia.
“I’m glad that the Congressman finally recognizes that this is a problem,” Boroughs said. “It has been a problem for years and years and years.”
“We need someone to show up and do this work every single day, not once in a decade when he has a competitive race,” she added.
Wilson argued that broadband was an issue he had focused on for years.
“I’m confident we can achieve the full (access) across the nation,” Wilson said.
“And yet it’s not done,” Boroughs jabbed, interjecting at the end of Wilson’s speaking time.
The early exchange set the tone for the rest of the debate.
Boroughs also claimed the congressman had not been proactive enough at securing dollars for infrastructure problems across the district. The Democrat said leaders across the district told her they lacked a federal partner when it comes to securing grants or FEMA funding.
In September, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, a Democrat, held a press conference with Boroughs to criticize Wilson for not aiding the city in its fight to secure FEMA funding following the 2015 floods, when the Columbia dam broke.
“We deserve our fair share back,” Boroughs said.
Wilson said that Congress once relied on earmarks in the budget to secure funding for those sort of projects, but that the process was often abused. He added that he would be working with the city of Cayce to secure funding for projects to improve the city’s drainage system.
Boroughs is vying to unseat Wilson in what has become the Springdale Republican’s tightest competition in years. The Forest Acres Democrat has posted record fundraising numbers and has caught the attention of election forecasters.
But running as a Democrat will prove challenging for Boroughs, who is running in a district that has been represented by a Republican since 1965, and in 2016, was won by President Donald Trump by almost 18 percentage points. The district includes parts of Aiken, Barnwell, Lexington, Orangeburg and Richland counties.
Boroughs is also running during a presidential election year, where the top of the ticket is sure to influence voters choices. According to the S.C. Election Commission, more than a million voters in the state voted straight ticket in 2016.
It’s tough to know what impact Boroughs has had in the district, as no significant polling has been published on the race.
Tuesday’s debate marked voters’ first, and likely last, chance to see Wilson and Boroughs side-by-side before the Nov. 3 election.
Boroughs made sure to capitalize on the moment by introducing herself to voters in the 2nd District that may not know her.
She mentioned growing up in Williston, going to college on a scholarship and graduating with honors but choosing to work as a math teacher at a public school. She also mentioned graduating from law school with honors, but choosing to work at the Department of Justice rather than a large corporate law firm.
Her messages focused often on giving back to the community and helping its most impoverished members.
“I’m aware of what my community that raised me has given me,” Boroughs said.
Wilson’s answers focused on Republican successes, and he often made points touted by President Donald Trump, of whom Wilson is a supporter.
Wilson opened the debate by touting the late-2017 Republican tax cuts and job creation pre-pandemic, mentioning record low unemployment numbers for several demographics. The congressman also touted the Trump administration’s move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
He also applauded several Trump and Republican initiatives when it comes to the coronavirus, including Trump suspending travel from China during the early days of the pandemic and increasing funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Wilson also parroted a Republican claim that Democrats are in support of late term abortions, up to the 39th week of pregnancy, something that has been repeated by Trump at several campaign events.
“I would fight in any way that I can, the killing of babies,” Wilson said, adding that leaders should do more to promote adoption.
Boroughs, who maintains that the government should not be involved in decisions to have abortions, called the claim “a lie.”
“That happens exactly never,” Boroughs said, adding that abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy are rare and are done when the fetus has a condition incompatible with life or birth threatens the life of the mother.
Wilson did break on Trump with one issue: withdrawing U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan. Trump tweeted in early October that he would remove all troops from the country by Christmas, taking his own military leaders by surprise.
“Lightening is going to strike,” Wilson joked. “This may be an issue I disagree with the president.”
Wilson maintained that U.S. troops should stay in Afghanistan until the threat of al-Qaida is eliminated.
“The best ways to protect American families at home is to go overseas,” Wilson said.
Wilson also threw his own jabs, though they were far more infrequent that Boroughs’.
After Boroughs talked about her pledge to serve a maximum of six years in Congress if elected, Wilson said the term limit pledge would be her “defeating herself.”
“That means you’ll never get a bill through,” Wilson said, adding that he would be in favor of term limits if every member of Congress and state legislatures had them.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 9:08 PM.
