Elizabeth Warren scores endorsement from Columbia councilwoman ahead of SC primary
During a conference call with South Carolina supporters, 2020 presidential hopeful and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced a new endorsement.
Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, the first African American woman to serve on the city’s governing body, endorsed Warren Thursday.
“I am so proud to be able to say that I am supporting Elizabeth Warren for president,” Isaac Devine told Warren supporters on the phone.
Isaac Devine said she spent months meeting with several presidential hopefuls before making her decision on who to endorse.
“I will tell you that we’ve got some great candidates ... but I am so impressed with Elizabeth Warren,” Isaac Devine said. “She has a passion for our country and what our country is and can be.”
Specifically, Isaac Devine said Warren acknowledged that racism and white supremacy still affect communities today.
“She’s insisting that before we make change ... all communities ... need to have a seat at the table and their voices need to be listened to,” Isaac Devine said.
Warren thanked Isaac Devine for her support.
“I am deeply honored by your endorsement. It truly means the world to me,” Warren said. “I know when the two of us are joining forces, we can help make real change.”
The statement of support comes as South Carolina voters gear up to head to the polls for a presidential primary election on Feb. 29.
Days before the endorsement was announced, Isaac Devine and her family was featured on a campaign flier for billionaire businessman Tom Steyer, causing confusion in Columbia about whether the councilwoman had endorsed. Isaac Devine addressed the concerns in a Facebook post Thursday morning, saying Steyer was on her short list of candidates who she has considered supporting.
“Although we haven’t endorsed him, we have no problem with our picture being on his flier because we do consider him a friend,” Isaac Devine posted on Facebook. “This is the first campaign in which I remained undecided so long and I think that speaks to the strength of the candidates and the importance of this election.”
Isaac Devine has hosted campaign events with 2020 hopefuls before, including Steyer, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio — who has since dropped out — and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Isaac Devine’s endorsement represents a possible boost for the Warren campaign in South Carolina, where it has declined in some polls released in recent months.
In a Winthop University poll released Thursday, Warren only received the support of six percent of likely Democratic voters polled.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 5:16 PM.
