Lindsey Graham opponent to get boost from 2020 presidential hopeful
A U.S. Senate candidate campaigning in South Carolina will get a boost from 2020 presidential hopeful Cory Booker in his efforts to win over the support of Democrats across the state.
The U.S. senator from New Jersey is returning to South Carolina this weekend to campaign for Jaime Harrison, according to a statement from Booker’s campaign. Harrison is running for the Democratic nomination and the chance to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Booker will attend Harrison’s official campaign kick-off event in Orangeburg Sunday at Memorial Plaza at 3 p.m. The stop gives Booker a chance to connect with Democrats who are excited about the potential for Harrison, the party favorite in the Democratic primary race, to compete statewide, a goal that has long eluded Democrats in South Carolina.
“Pumped to have my good friend @CoryBooker join us in Orangeburg on Sunday to help kick off this movement to defeat Lindsey Graham and bring hope back to South Carolina,” Harrison tweeted Thursday about Booker, whom he’s known since their days at Yale.
Harrison will get a boost from Rep. Jim Clyburn, of South Carolina, at his kick off event.
Earlier Sunday at 1 p.m., Booker is hosting a block party in Columbia at Booker’s South Carolina campaign headquarters at 2361 Taylor St.
The stop will be Booker’s first in South Carolina since early August, when he took to the pulpit at Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church to call on lawmakers to close the loophole named after the city. Since 2018, Booker has racked up nearly 40 campaign stops across South Carolina.
Though Harrison is running against Senate heavyweight Graham, the Democrat has managed to amass a small army of donors, raking in more than $1.8 million through June, the last fundraising quarter available from the Federal Elections Commission. The haul is unprecedented for a South Carolina Democrat in a U.S. Senate race.
Still, Harrison is facing a well-connected and cash-rich Graham, who has reported raising $9.6 million, according to the latest available federal campaign finance data.
Booker has struggled to gain support in South Carolina, consistently polling between 2-6% since May 2019, with the most recent polls showing him at only 2%. Harrison, on the other hand, remains popular with Palmetto State Democrats and national officials alike.
This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 10:48 AM.
