MY TURN, Benjamin: 10 rules for winning the S.C. Democratic primary

Editor’s note:  Earlier this week, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin welcomed more than 200 political thinkers and activists to a forum hosted by a centrist Democratic think tank to broaden the party’s appeal ahead of the 2020 elections.  Below are excerpted remarks from his speech.

By Steve Benjamin, special to Statehouse Report  |  Over the past 12 months, something has happened to me that I never would have suspected. I have met with 15 people running for President of the United States. For a kid who came to South Carolina for college, fell in love and stayed – that’s pretty cool stuff.

Now, I’m not naïve. I know it’s not my winning personality that is attracting all of these candidates. It’s winning South Carolina.  We are the last of the early four primary and caucus states. We are the biggest delegate haul of the early four states. We come right before Super Tuesday. Three days after we vote, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia vote with their 461 delegates. And as South Carolina goes, so goes much of the South in Democratic primaries.

So for the 15 candidates who have already stopped by, the others who will stop by, for all of you in the media covering the race, and for everyone here concerned about electing a Democrat who can and will beat Donald Trump – here are ten rules for winning the South Carolina Democratic Primary.

Rule 1: There is a key word in South Carolina and it is “opportunity.”

Families want to know that they will have the opportunity to earn a good life right here in South Carolina.  Families want to know our kids will have an opportunity to earn a good life right here in South Carolina.

People are concerned about bringing jobs here and being able to have the skills to qualify for those jobs. Many people feel disconnected with the promise —-that working hard is enough to achieve success. But they want to reconnect to that promise.  They want a real shot at earning a good life.

Be affirmative, be positive, speak to our economic hopes, dreams, and needs. The key word is “opportunity.”

Rule 2: When you speak to our hopes, dreams and needs, et out of the ether and get to the kitchen table.

South Carolinians talk kitchen-table economics at home and in g neighborhoods. It’s about the cost of health care, the quality of schools, the quality of the roads and highways.

South Carolinians are realists and pragmatists. We want a president who will get something done and cares about getting something done, not just furthering an argument.

Rule 3: Don’t confuse black with liberal.

In South Carolina, if you’re African American there is a very high likelihood that you’re a Democrat. It does not mean liberal. Nearly two-thirds of the Democratic primary electorate here is African-American. They are center-left, center-center, and yes,  even center-right.

Appeal to them from the middle out – on the economy, on the value of work, on responsible use of our tax dollars and even thoughtful consideration of the Second Amendment.

Rule 4: There are three types of barbecue in our state.

When you are in South Carolina, choose wisely. I’ll give you a hint, if you choose a barbecue that is tomato-based – you have not chosen wisely. If you choose a barbecue that tastes like brisket – you’re in the wrong state.

Rule 5: Trade matters here — a lot.

South Carolina is number 1 in foreign direct investment per capita from Europe. We have a massive trade relationship with Europe, with Taiwan, with Mexico and with China.  The Port of Charleston is the lifeblood of the economy.

Trade wars aren’t good for us. Neither is protectionism. South Carolina is pro-trade, pro-Trans-Pacific Partnership, pro-globalization. We’re not protectionists.

Rule 6: Don’t forget rural South Carolina.

We are happy to have presidential hopefuls come through Charleston, Columbia and Greenville. But don’t neglect rural South Carolina. There are lots of good people and lots of votes there.

There are a dozen rural counties that voted for Clinton over Trump last time around.  That is because much of South Carolina’s rural counties are majority black. There are 4,000 Democratic primary votes in Clarendon County, 13,000 in Orangeburg County, 5,000 in Williamsburg County, 4,000 in Marion County, 2,500 each in Jasper, Hampton, Chester and Marlboro counties.

You won’t reach them with your online pleas for donations or clever tweets. Half the voters in these counties don’t have broadband. One-quarter live in poverty. There’s no tax base to fund our schools. In some of these counties, only one in 10 has a college degree. More businesses are closing than opening. Many are disconnected from opportunity. And they need to be connected to opportunity.

They want hope and change.

Go there. Sit on a porch and have some incredibly sweet tea and talk to the people there. Tell them your plan to lift up people and communities. And listen to the people there. You’ll learn from them.

Rule 7: Don’t underestimate Palmetto Pride which means don’t shortchange Palmetto accomplishments.

South Carolina is number 1. Of course, I could be talking about our Clemson Tigers who won the national football championship … again.

But we’re number 1 in something even more important than college football. The Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina is the number one international business school in America. There are big, positive, future-oriented successes happening in this state.

Candidates need to have a big, positive, future-oriented attitudes to win here. And South Carolinians have a lot of pride at how much of our economy is a 21st century economy.

Rule 8: Learn a bit of the language.

You don’t need to speak the language of South Carolina, but you should at least understand it.

• • A “coke” is any kind of soft drink.
  •  “Frogmore stew” is not a stew and doesn’t have frogs. It means a “Lowcountry boil.” It’s a delicious meal you must try.
  •  A “fish fry” is about the best way any South Carolinian can spend their day.
  •  If someone says they “carried” a neighbor to the store, they are giving her a ride.
  •   If someone says, “Aren’t you precious!” you’re probably in trouble.
  •  “Y’all” is still the dominant gender neutral term

Rule 9:  You are not in the Blue Bubble.

If you’re only getting your message out on Twitter, South Carolinians won’t hear you. If you’re only getting your message out on MSNBC, South Carolinians won’t hear you.  If you killed it on a podcast, South Carolinians won’t hear you.

You’ve got to get into the churches, over to the fish fry’s, onto the porches.

Rule 10: I started with opportunity, I’ll end with opportunity.

There are a lot of success stories in South Carolina. Advanced manufacturing, trade and tourism. But the final rule is you have to understand that just like most of America, opportunity has become concentrated here.

Thirty-one of 46 counties lost jobs between 2000 and 2016.  Thirty-one of 46 counties had fewer business up and running between 2000 and 2016.

A plan, a vision to bring opportunity to more people and more places, to help people without a college degree earn a good life … that will help you here and all throughout the Democratic South.

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin has served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors for the last year.

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