Can SC’s Upstate Democrats rebuild? Here’s what gives Greenville and Spartanburg hope
Under a picnic pavilion at Conestee Park, burgers were being grilled. A disc jockey and a live musician took turns entertaining the crowd. Upstate Democratic Party candidates spent time meeting and taking pictures with small-dollar donors and volunteers.
It was a Greenville County Democratic Party candidate cookout where party activists listened to those running in November’s elections and where party leaders showed they have energy on their side.
That energy is what give Democrats in the Upstate hope they can rebuild the party and see success where Republicans dominate in general elections.
The effort to rebuild has been seen in an increase in fundraising by the Greenville and Spartanburg County Democratic parties compared to previous cycles, and more candidates running for office in the Upstate.
Like other regions in the state, it’s growing, but the population demographics in Greenville and Spartanburg counties are more conducive for Democrats.
Those who run the Greenville and Spartanburg county Democratic parties concede results in November’s elections mostly likely won’t be what they ultimately want to see: Democrats ousting Republicans. But they at least are looking for results to be closer than what most political watchers expect.
Democrats in the Upstate say there is a glimmer of hope to improve their fortunes at the ballot box, if not in November, but in future cycles because of who is moving into the area as the population grows.
Still, donors and volunteers have certain expectations in order to continue investing time and money into the party.
“We’re very clear with donors, at least I am, you know, as we might not win this year, but if we don’t have a good quality candidate that people can believe in, and then reinvest in this same district in the next, you know, two, four, six eight years, then we’re never gonna get there,” Greenville County Democratic Chairwoman Amanda McDougald Scott said.
Greenville, Spartanburg Democrats see fundraising uptick
Republicans have dominated the Upstate election cycle after cycle and Democrats trying to convince their voters to fight on is a daunting task. The Upstate is reliably Republican and districts are drawn to allow GOP candidates to win in the general election.
Despite that dominance, the Greenville and Spartanburg county Democratic parties have seen fundraising increased this cycle and totals for the 2024 cycle are higher than in the 2020 and 2022 cycles.
The Spartanburg County Democratic Party reported $30,000 raised in 2019-20, and $36,000 in 2021-22. It has raised nearly $90,000 in 2023-24.
In 2019-20, Greenville County reported raising $116,000, and $118,000 in 2021-22.
So far in 2024-24, Greenville County Democratic Party raised more than $185,000.
“What people weren’t really seeing, is that we needed to show that we were going to be doing something with the money, and that we were actually going to be working as a party towards something,” McDougald Scott said.
More Democrats are running in Upstate House districts in 2024 than in 2022, however, one fewer candidate for Upstate Senate seats in 2024 than in 2020.
Democrats, at least in the Greenville and Spartanburg counties, think the Upstate is the place to try to make inroads.
It’s a fast growing area. The median age in Greenville of 38.5 years, and 37.9 years in Spartanburg, are both lower than the state median age of 40.5 years.
The Hispanic population is higher in both those counties than the state average.
A Democratic rebuild just may not be possible in other places in the state such as the Grand Strand. Horry County has seen lots of growth in recent years, but much of it is retirees and Republican dominated, with the median age in Horry County at 48.9 years
Greenville County also has a higher percentage of people with bachelor’s degree than the state average.
“There are opportunities there (Horry County) but I think the candidates we have recruited or that have been recruited up here, this is prime real estate for us in 2024,” said Phillip Ford, a Democratic consultant working in the Upstate.
Part of the pitch is convincing donors and volunteers candidates have a chance to win.
For instance, Greenville Democrats are excited about Taylor Culliver’s race against state Sen. Ross Turner, R-Greenville, in Senate District 8. Turner has run unopposed in the last three general elections.
The race is a longshot for Democrats, but they point to how Trump’s vote share in the district dropped from 2016 to 2020 and how well Nikki Haley performed in the district against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
“I believe with Trump at the top of the ticket, we’re going to see more of a shift going forward,” Culliver told volunteers and donors said in Zoom call.
Culliver and his campaign manager Bre Spaulding laid out their goals. How many voters they need to turnout, which precincts the Culliver’s campaign should knock doors, and which ones the party should focus on. And they even shared a budget of how much money they want to spend on outreach efforts such as paid calls or text messages, paid canvassing, direct mail and social media ads to increase Culliver’s name ID.
And the goal is to get at least 34,602 votes in Culliver’s race, based on how many voters the campaign expects will turnout.
They estimate 69,000 to 70,000 votes cast and will need to reach out to about 22,500 voters. Culliver’s campaign won’t spend much time on people they know will cast a ballot in their favor.
“The stars are aligning for something really special to happen in the Upstate this November. We are perfectly positioned and well prepared for what has occurred,” Culliver said.
Rebuilding the parties will take multiple cycles
For a long-term rebuild to be successful, candidates and donors will need to accept that wins most likely won’t happen in heavily Republican districts in 2024. They’ll need to be prepared to keep working at it for two or three more cycles.
“We sat down with each of these candidates and said, ‘This is your path, right’ (and) made sure they understood what was possible and then managed expectations, just like we said. This is what’s gonna happen when we all do this together,” said Kathryn Harvey, the Spartanburg County Democratic chairwoman.
Harvey, who is also running for Congress in a long-shot campaign against U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-Greenville in the 4th Congressional District, became the Spartanburg County chair in 2022, as the nation came out from the pandemic.
She took over a county party that had not raised a lot of money to pay for its operations.
“I just knew that we needed to fundraise, build infrastructure and build community,” Harvey said. “By ‘23 we started the candidate pipeline, and the goal was to show the candidates that we were serious, so we could get them to run and then raise. Part of the coordinated (effort) is that we are actually supporting the candidates from a resource standpoint and strategy standpoint.”
Even though Harvey says she’s running to flip the fourth district seat this year, she also says she has a 10-year vision of running consistent competitive races up and down the ballot.
The Spartanburg party has raised money to do voter outreach to stay in contact with voters — engage with voters — outside election season as well.
“This is not ever going to be seasonal, ever again,” Harvey said. “Like it has to be a constant, and it has to have focused leadership.”
Candidates will need to see results trending in their direction. If Democratic candidates can narrow margins against Republicans, it may keep them willing to run in future elections, and keep donors willing to continue to contribute money.
“The growth has to be gradual, and it will be very gradual, and that’s why you shouldn’t give up just because they’re having a loss,” said Kinard Johnson, an 80-year-old Greenville County Democratic Party donor and retired family court judge. “Also, there does need to be some presentation of an alternative to the MAGA Republicans.”
But with the money that comes in, the county parties, who will be responsible for turning out the base, will have to use the money wisely for donors to continue to contribute and possibly even have smaller gaps than expected.
“I expect them to reach out and touch voters. And that’s why we door knock, we phone bank we lit drop,” said Kat Dunleavy, a volunteer coordinator for the Greenville County Democratic Party.
Stephanie Leonard, 42, a health care executive who lives in Pelzer, is the precinct coordinator for the Greenville County Democratic Party and serves as its secretary and also is a small donor.
“It helps fund our local candidates. It helps getting the awareness out there. And if you want real change, it’s with the local elections,” Leonard said.
But if the money wasn’t being spent wisely, she would probably donate her money “to another state’s candidate, because I also donate outside of the state,” Leonard said.
Harvey said she, building a foundation, creating a candidate pipeline and having consistent competitive races is a 10-year plan. She says she’s in year three of the 10-year plan.
“We’re going to see so much incremental movement coming out in ‘24 that will pave a path forward that there is literally undeniable that it’s going to be possible. And it’s an act of proving the theory,” Harvey said.
This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
