Despite differences, Tea Party, other conservatives back Graham in SC Senate race
A conservative movement that spawned a field of Republican challengers to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham during his 2014 reelection campaign now has the senator’s back as he faces the toughest challenge of his political career.
Despite any rifts of the past with Graham, Tea Party members and other conservatives are backing the three-term incumbent.
The United Patriots Alliance, a group of S.C. grassroots conservatives, weighed in Wednesday on Graham’s close race with Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison. In a battle to turnout voters, doing well in the conservative leaning Upstate will be key for Graham to hold onto the seat.
At a Greenville news conference, Greenville Tea Party Chairman Pressley Stutts, state Rep. Josiah Magnuson, R-Spartanburg, state Rep. Stewart Jones, R-Laurens, and Michael LaPierre, who ran against Graham in the June primary, encouraged other conservatives to vote for Graham.
The group praised Graham for the work he did in confirming Supreme Court Justices, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
“He has done a yeoman’s job with the way he has shepherd(ed) through a lot of the judicial nominees of the president,” Stutts said. “We just think that he is heads and shoulders above Harrison when it comes to a choice for the citizens of South Carolina.”
The speakers also read a letter from Constitution Party nominee Bill Bledsoe, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Graham, calling on Harrison to take down ads the group called deceptive. However, Bledsoe’s name remains on the ballot and is the first name listed.
Harrison’s campaign has been airing commercials featuring Bledsoe touting his conservative stances on abortion and gun rights, and as someone who never wavered from supporting President Trump. In the ads, Harrison calls Bledsoe “too conservative” for South Carolina.
“Jaime has two opponents on the ballot and we are making sure voters know the facts about each, and about Jaime, before they vote,” Harrison spokesperson Guy King said.
In the past, some county GOP groups censured Graham for moderate stances such as on immigration reform and climate change.
“This is not about those issues. This is not about ... throwing Lindsey under the bus with those issues. This is about us supporting him,” Stutts said. “After the election, we’ll be glad to talk about those issues, but right now, we need people, particularly conservatives to know that Lindsey Graham is the only choice that we have in South Carolina.”
The press conference came as a new poll again shows how close the Senate race in the reliably Republican state.
Eastern Carolina University’s Center for Survey Research has Graham leading 49% to 46%, with 5% undecided.
According to the poll, Harrison has a 95% to 3% lead among Black respondents, and Graham has a 61%-34% lead among white voters.
The poll also found a divide between those with and without a four-year college degree.
Graham leads 52% to 42% over Harrison among those without a four-year college degree. Harrison leads Graham 50% to 45% among those with a four-year college degree.
