COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - As South Carolina Democrats seek to unseat U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, their party unity got a boost Wednesday when one of their candidates dropped out to support the campaign of a former state party chairman.
In a news conference at the Statehouse in Columbia, Gloria Bromell Tinubu announced that she would suspend her campaign and back Democratic National Committee associate chairman and former state party chairman Jaime Harrison in his effort to unseat the three-term Republican. Bromell Tinubu, an economist who has previously sought other offices including South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, said in a release that Harrison “has the decency and character to be the kind of Senator we need at this critical time.”
Early on, Bromell Tinubu, 66, found herself waging an uphill battle for the nomination, with Harrison last spring receiving backing from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. That support brought the promise of help with fundraising and grassroots organizing support, both of which would be crucial in trying to flip a Senate seat in this deeply red state.
Since then, Harrison, 43, has posted record fundraising totals, including $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of last year and $4.6 million cash on hand to start 2020. Graham has not released his quarterly fundraising figures.
Flipping a Senate seat from red to blue in South Carolina could prove to be difficult; the state last elected a new Democratic senator in 1966, with Fritz Hollings. It’s also a challenge given Graham’s popularity among Republicans in the state.
Harrison has said he thinks it could take $10 million to win the race next year.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
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