In just a few short weeks, South Carolina will hold its Primary Elections. This is a plea for you to participate in them. I’m going to tell you why this is important, but first let me give you some facts.
Our primary voting record in this state is dismal. Statewide in 2024, only about 12.9% of registered voters in South Carolina took part in the primary elections, as compared to about 61.6% in the general election (still dismal, but less so.) That divide gets even worse when you break it down by party. Now, I think we can all agree that the Democratic Party most closely matches the progressive values that we hold dear, which is why what I am about to tell you is so disturbing. More than twice as many people vote in the republican primary as in the democratic primary–3.6% voted in the democratic primary while 9.3% voted in the republican primary. We must do better, and now I’ll tell you why.
PRIMARIES ARE GOOD!
First of all, primary elections help bring the strongest candidates to the ballot in November. We can’t afford to send a weak nominee up against a conservative incumbent in the general election- they will lose. Even more importantly, in one party counties, the winner of the primary is almost guaranteed to be elected and that person should be our top choice. A well researched primary vote can assure that we elect a fighter to the state house.
Primary elections are great practice for the big show! This is especially true for first time candidates. It gives them a chance to learn how to talk to people who think like them before they have to talk to folks that don’t (the same can be said for campaign volunteers!) Candidates can nail down their elevator pitch, practice defending their campaign stances in debates and get used to asking people for money. Primaries also allow candidates more opportunity to fundraise because they are actively campaigning longer than an uncontested candidate.
These early races also bring much needed press to progressive candidates–press they might not receive in an uncontested race. How many times have you read an article about a crowded conservative primary and the last sentence is ‘And the winner will face progressive candidate X.”? Their candidates get all the coverage and ours gets a footnote.
It is a fallacy that South Carolina is a red state and that Democrats can’t win here. Our state is more likely purple, just wickedly gerrymandered. But if we don’t engage because we expect to lose, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We’ve proven that we can win repeatedly in municipal elections this year and last. In addition, South Carolina is the fastest growing state in the nation, and many of those folks come from blue states to enjoy our lovely weather. Our demographic is changing and we need our legislature to reflect that change in values. When more voters participate in the primary, it helps ensure that the candidates in the general election are more representative of the people.
Listen, competition is a good thing. I hear a lot of complaining that we don’t run progressive candidates in South Carolina. That’s just not true. The problem is we don’t always vote for them! The few people that vote in the primaries are so desperate for a legislator that at least comes close to reflecting their values that they vote for the safe candidate- the centrist they think might have a chance against a republican. This is not only often unsuccessful, but discourages more progressive candidates from even trying. The moral of this story is that if you want a progressive candidate to run against your conservative state house rep, vote for them in the primary election!
Here are some important dates to remember from the SC Election Commission: