Top Democrat in SC House announces 2020 presidential endorsement
A powerful South Carolina Democrat, whose endorsements correctly predicted three of the last Democratic presidential nominees, announced his pick for 2020 Wednesday.
S.C. Rep. Todd Rutherford, a Richland Democrat and minority leader in the House, voiced his support for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a news conference at the State House.
Bloomberg will not appear on the primary ballot in South Carolina. When he launched his presidential campaign, he instead chose to focus on states voting on Super Tuesday, which comes days after the S.C. Democratic presidential primary.
Though disappointed by Bloomberg’s choice to skip campaigning in South Carolina, Rutherford said his endorsement was heavily influenced by who he thought could defeat President Donald Trump come November.
“I believe he’s the only one who can take the ball and push it across the finish line,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford is the second prominent black official in South Carolina to back Bloomberg. In November, Bloomberg snagged an endorsement from Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin.
In recent weeks, the Bloomberg campaign has faced backlash over comments the former mayor made in 2015 over the stop and frisk policy in New York.
“Ninety-five percent of your murders — murderers and murder victims — fit one M.O. You can just take the description, Xerox it and pass it out to all the cops,” Bloomberg said in 2015. “They are male minorities, 16 to 25. That’s true in New York. That’s true in virtually every city.”
Rutherford said he was concerned about those comments, but said Bloomberg’s apology about the clip seemed sincere.
“I’ve been black all my life, and so any time people make comments like that, it is a concern to me,” Rutherford said. “What I’m more concerned with is people who make comments and don’t apologize.”
In 2016, Rutherford backed Hillary Clinton, and eight years prior, he backed then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win the White House. In 2004, Rutherford supported John Kerry in his race against then-president George Bush.
Rutherford has been at the center of a national political controversy recently after he called on former Vice President Joe Biden to distance himself from S.C. Sen. Dick Harpootlian for tweeting about a fellow legislator receiving more than $40,000 from the Tom Steyer campaign. The conflict made its way to the debate stage in New Hampshire after Steyer called Harpootlian’s remarks racist and asked Biden to disavow the Richland senator.
Rutherford, on behalf of members of the Legislative Black Caucus and its chairman Jerry Govan, said if Biden didn’t comply with his requests, consequences could include losing support from members of the African American community, an important voting bloc in the S.C. Democratic Primary.
Rutherford said he decided he could not support the former vice president after Biden failed to distance himself from Harpootlian and apologize for his supporter’s words.
“As I looked at Joe Biden, I was concerned that he never once reached out to me, reached out to members of the Black Caucus to apologize for the racist comments made by Sen. Harpootlian, and I decided that I simply could not go that way,” Rutherford said.
Biden has long been the front-runner to win South Carolina’s primary, but recent polls show his support slipping. As Sanders wracked up delegates in early voting states and Steyer invested more in money in the Palmetto State, they have eaten away at Biden’s lead.
Rutherford said he also considered supporting Steyer because of the California businessman’s immense spending in the Palmetto State. Steyer has hired more than 90 people in the state and has spent about $10 million on ads.
“This has been something that I’ve been knocking around for a while, trying to figure out who the best person is, and admittedly Tom Steyer was the person I was drawn to just because of what he was doing in South Carolina,” Rutherford said. “I just don’t know that nationwide he can do what Michael Bloomberg can do.”
Steyer’s support in South Carolina has been growing for months, leaving him to jockey with Sanders for second place in the Palmetto State. Nationally, though, Steyer has been polling poorly.
Rutherford pledged to help the campaign in whatever way he could to push Bloomberg to a victory.
“I believe the mayor is the only path to victory,” Rutherford said.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 12:32 PM.
