Outraged SC Sen. McLeod releases tweet storm after Richland lawmaker backs opponent
A candidate running for the Democratic nomination for South Carolina governor took to social media Tuesday to blast a State House colleague after he endorsed her opponent a week before the statewide primary.
On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, endorsed Joe Cunningham for governor.
Cunningham, a former Lowcountry congressman, is a frontrunner in the Democratic race for governor, along with state Sen. Mia McLeod, a Richland County Democrat.
In his remarks, Rutherford said Cunningham was the best candidate to take on Republican incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster and criticized McLeod, in part, for failing to pass any major legislation.
In a multi-tweet thread in response, McLeod called Cunningham and Rutherford “birds of a feather” and raised previous allegations about circumstances surrounding Rutherford’s wife’s attempt to become a magistrate judge, using the state plane and his mother-in-law’s nonprofit. Rutherford has previously addressed these allegations, and there was no evidence he did anything illegal.
In response to McLeod, Rutherford defended his wife and said she met “all the qualifications to be a magistrate — passed the test twice.”
Cunningham did not address McLeod’s tweets directly, but minutes later tweeted, “The challenges we face in this state are real and deserve serious leadership. Failing schools, crumbling roads, hundreds of thousands without health coverage. I’ll continue to keep my campaign positive and focused on the issues because thats what you deserve. Time to get to work.”
McLeod and Cunningham will meet on the debate stage Friday.
The primary is Tuesday, June 14.
HOW TO WATCH
What: S.C. Democratic debate for governor
When: 5 to 6 p.m. June 10, and again at 8 p.m. June 13
Where: Viewers can watch the debate live on ETV’s statewide network, its livestream on the ETV website, or on ETV’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 5:41 PM.
