2020 hopeful Tom Steyer gets backing of longtime Richland County lawmaker
Longtime Richland County lawmaker state Sen. John Scott said he will back Tom Steyer in South Carolina’s Feb. 29 presidential primary election after his first choice for the White House — U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California — ended her 2020 campaign last year.
Scott, a Democrat who in 2018 was a pick for lieutenant governor, said he looked closely at former Vice President Joe Biden, but ultimately decided to back the billionaire hopeful after the two had a chance to meet and talk about state-specific issues.
The senator said he was tired of candidates offering just soundbites, and found Steyer, 62, authentic.
Scott said he would help Steyer’s S.C. efforts but had no plans to become a paid staffer on the campaign. Steyer has hired state Rep. Jerry Govan, an Orangeburg Democrat who also is the chairman of the state Legislative Black Caucus, as a senior adviser.
“Tom is (about) moving forward, talking about issues a lot of folks don’t want to talk about,” Scott said, dismissing drama between the Harris and Steyer campaigns. “I’m not interested in chaos. I’m interesting in working with a candidate and moving the ball forward.”
Asked whether Steyer has a chance in the “First in the South” primary, Scott said, “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Steyer jumped into the 2020 race in July, but was a familiar talking head in South Carolina with splashy television ads denouncing President Donald Trump and calling for his impeachment. Steyer has since spent millions of dollars blanketing televisions and the digital market with ads aimed at setting himself apart from Trump, who in 2016 also ran with no political experience.
That spending — and Steyer’s outreach to black voters, who make up two-thirds of the state’s Democratic Party primary electorate — has paid off, at least according to one South Carolina poll.
This month, a Fox News poll said S.C. Democratic Party primary voters prefer Steyer at 15% — up from 4% in October — second to Biden’s 36%.
“Anything can happen in the game,” Scott said. “Now, does Tom have political experience? No. But Tom is a good businessman. Does the president we have now have good political experience? No. And I’ll leave that alone. But I do think that Tom has the potential ... because he has the right heart to do the right thing for America and get us out of this chaos that we’re in.”
Scott will make a formal announcement backing Steyer on Monday during the NAACP’s 20th King Day at the Dome celebration.
The campaign said Scott makes for Steyer’s 11th endorsement in South Carolina.
In a statement, Steyer called Scott a “dedicated servant to God and his community.”
“He encompasses all the values we want in a selfless leader,” Steyer said, “and I couldn’t be more excited to receive his support for my vision to bring people-powered change to Washington.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
