45 second sound bites and other takeaways from 1st SC GOP governor’s TV debate
State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and Attorney General Alan Wilson were on stage for the first time during the election cycle in what was a rapid fire and cordial encounter.
Here are six takeaways from the debate Wednesday night at the Newberry Opera House.
No direct attacks
In a state where politics can be a blood sport, candidates only had 45 seconds to answer questions, so they were forced to speak in sound bites and avoid in-depth policy discussions. With four candidates on stage, the gloves stayed mostly on with no direct attacks on one another.
The shorter format kept Kimbrell on point as being in the state Senate, members do get long-winded. “Forty-five seconds requires you to condense down a complex subject into a simple answer,” Kimbrell told reporters afterward. “But that’s what folks are going to listen to. Most people aren’t gonna sit there and watch ETV and watch a Senate session. That’s just reality. I’ve had a lot of practice in condensing it down, and frankly, if we can’t condense it down means we don’t understand it.”
Mace and Wilson cordial
Wednesday was the first time Wilson and Mace were on stage together and had an extended conversation since she accused him on not prosecuting a case involving her former fiancé. Wilson has said the case was not sent to his office. Instead, they appeared to exchange pleasantries as they were standing right next to each other.
Mace said she refrained from a direct attack on Wilson citing she’s leading the polls.
“I think that you’ve seen the gloves come off for people who are fighting for second right now. And there’s not a need for us to do that. I want to be very policy driven and substantive right now,” Mace said.
Wilson said he didn’t know what Mace’s strategy would be.
“My strategy was to come here tonight to talk to the people of South Carolina about my vision for our state, and that’s what I was there to do,” Wilson said.
What’s the biggest issue facing South Carolina?
Kimbrell, Mace and Wilson all talked about affordability.
Kimbrell pointed to his push for income tax cuts since he’s been in the state Senate and support for property tax cuts by increasing the homestead exemption.
Wilson spoke about how he would eliminate income tax, and cut property taxes, while finding efficiencies in government by DOGEing government.
Mace touted her plan to eliminate the state income tax in five years by capping spending at $11.6 billion.
Any plan would have to build on an income tax reform plan signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster this week that sets the state’s top rate at 5.21% with a lower rate of 1.99% on the first $30,000 of income. The lower rate would come down as revenues to the state grow. The plan then phases out the state income tax. Norman pointed to a different issue. He said government is awash with “fraud, abuse and corruption.” He pointed to the problems with how judges are elected by the state legislature, which has many lawyers.
“It’s (like) .... asking Clemson and Carolina to choose their own referees. It makes no sense,” Norman said.
Would they authorize deployment of the national guard to go to Iran?
Kimbrell said yes.
“Absolutely. I believe that Iran presents one of the most clear present dangers to the security the United States and to our state,” Kimbrell said.
Wilson used the question to speak about his own combat experience in Iraq.
“As governor, I do not want to see boots on the ground, but actually the governor has no authority to stop the federal government from federalizing the National Guard,” Wilson said. “That is not something we can legally do, but I would absolutely support South Carolina National Guard remaining in South Carolina and supporting the president a diplomatic level.”
Mace spoke about her recent trip to the Middle East to help evacuate U.S. citizens. She agreed with Wilson’s stance.
“I will tell you, being under the canopy of missiles and cluster munitions as they’re raining down on Jordan and Tel Aviv and Israel, gave me a greater appreciation for what our men and women in uniform are doing and serving in sacrifices overseas,” Mace said.
Norman said he would send troops if asked by the president.
“If the president requested we would do that. He took out the number one sponsor terror And I also supported the National Guard when it went to Washington and made it a lot safer. It was a haven for crime,” Norman said.
Suspending the gas tax?
Wilson, Mace and Kimbrell favored suspending the state’s 28-cent per gallon motor fuel tax as prices at the pump rise during the war in Iran. Wilson and Kimbrell for 30 to 60 days. Mace said for 180 days.
Norman took a different approach on the question.
“It’s irresponsible, just to say you’re gonna cut taxes, you’ve got to do a forensic audit of every agency and tell the people of South Carolina what you have to cut in spending,” Norman said.
Who wasn’t there?
This was the first debate among the GOP candidates for governor, but Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, businessman Rom Reddy and Jacqueline Hicks Dubose did not attend.
Reddy objected to the qualification requirements to have a certain amount of donors, as he’s self-funding his campaign. The party waived the that qualification for the debate. Reddy also said Wednesday night he had a previous family obligation.
Evette objected to the sponsorship prices set by the party for people to get tickets to attend the debate.
But the decision not attend to appear in all the state’s television markets was criticized by those who did show up.
“I had a little bit of respect for the people that were up there on the stage. They actually bothered to show up. So I felt like this was an opportunity for us to be positive about our vision for the state of South Carolina, to talk about the issues that people are talking about,” Wilson said.
“I can’t speak for somebody else or their decision to show up or not show up to a debate. I think the voters deserve to hear from those who are running for office,” Mace said. “It’s very important that they get to hear from all of us whenever they can.”
