Kamala Harris scores SC endorsements after debate performance
U.S. senator and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris scored several new South Carolina endorsements after Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, according to a statement from the California congresswoman’s campaign.
Among the endorsers is Rev. Sharon Risher, a Charleston native whose mother, Ethel Lee Lance, was killed more than four years ago during the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
Risher has become an advocate for gun reform, joining groups like Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. According to Risher’s website bio, she was present when President Barack Obama signed gun-related executive orders.
“Kamala Harris is the candidate of action,” Risher said, according to Harris’ campaign. “Congress has been hijacked by special interests and the NRA, and Kamala is the only candidate who has detailed executive actions so that she can lead on preventing senseless gun deaths. I’m proud to endorse Kamala Harris because four years after my mother died as part of the Emanuel 9, I need a leader who is focused on real world solutions instead of ivory-tower debates.”
Harris also received endorsements from Horry County Young Democrats 2nd Vice Chair Tiffany Gamble, community leader James Johnson, and former Berkeley County Education Association President Barbara Bodison and Sumter School District Board Member Brian L. Alston.
Moving forward, Alston will be spearheading the campaign’s effort to mobilize and organize members of historically black colleges and universities in the Sumter region, according to the campaign.
This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 12:00 PM.