Staff reports | U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., now has two Democrats running to snare his seat in 2022 — second-term state Rep. Krystle Matthews and Spartanburg County Democratic Party chair Angela Geter.
Matthews, a Ladson Democrat who announced her bid last month, told the Charleston City Paper in a Q&A interview this week that she viewed Scott as an opportunist who didn’t represent the interests of South Carolina’s Black community.
When asked for her thoughts on Scott’s recent national response to President Biden’s address to Congress, she said, “His response was just horribly staining. It’s wildly ironic that while delivering an extremely contrasting speech of his own, he would call the president divisive. But, this is typical behavior of what we’ve seen, and so people are tired of it.
She added that she took issue with Scott’s claim the United States wasn’t a racist country.
“Do you know how many white people have inboxed me in the last 24 hours saying, ‘I’m white, and I know America is racist.’ And the god-awful pandering of the line, ‘cotton field to Congress,’ I mean … Because Black people are not smart enough to know that he’s pandering, right? We’re smarter than that.”
Geter to focus on three main issues
Meanwhile, Geter said she would focus on economic development, infrastructure and education during a May 6 announcement, according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
“I’m young enough for today’s issues. I’m old enough to distinguish between fact and fiction,” she said. “And humble enough to know when I am uncertain about that distinction and take steps to make it clear. … I believe in federalism. I do not see the federal government as a problem. Instead it is essential to ensure we all share in the promise in public goods produced by democracy.”
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