I’ve been in South Carolina only a short amount of time, just over a year. Politically, I knew there was a hard-leaning Republican base here, but I also knew I could not be the only Democrat moving into or living in Horry County. Since getting involved as a volunteer for the Horry County Democratic Party in the past 2 months, it’s been nice to find community. Election time seems tough around here. But we have seen it before—and we could see it again—where a place that was thought to be “deep red” turns itself purple and becomes competitive. We all have been really excited for Kamala Harris to step into the race – and the energy comes from a renewed sense that we can have some hope of winning, and winning decisively. Harris made news at her rally in Erie, PA on Monday, October 14, when she played a video of Trump’s ‘enemy from within’ comments. Even though that’s what made a splash, what stuck with me even more than that was the way she started the rally by saying: “We are the underdog, we are running like the underdog, we have some hard work ahead of us. But here’s the thing also, “We like hard work. Hard work is good work.”
We have some amazing local candidates that could borrow some of that enthusiasm, so if you’re motivated to vote for Harris/Walz, please remember to hype up and vote for our local Democratic candidates, too!
Mal Hyman (D) is running for U.S. Congress in our Congressional 7th District, hoping to unseat Russell Fry (R). Fry only displaced incumbent Tom Rice (R) 2 years ago. How did Fry beat a 10-year incumbent? Rice voted to impeach Trump, then Trump endorsed Fry. Oh heavens, the tangled webs we weave. Aren’t we ready for someone reasonable? Maybe not bound to a cult?
I met with Mal Hyman on October 11th after he appeared at the Beach Dems meeting for lunch. Mal has said that the local climate has not been friendly to a Democrat, and he has been having difficulty getting in front of an audience that might have moderate or undecided voters (i.e., the Chamber of Commerce) because of basic political ideology. “I can demystify the democratic positions…We’re facing propaganda that would have made Joseph Goebbels envious. And communication professors at my college did not want to write about it because it’s not popular to be saying that. But I’m convinced that’s what we’re looking at…But they are going even further because they are constantly lying. It’s a firehouse of lies, and they know they can lie faster than we can fact-check them.” (Joseph Goebbels was a German Nazi politician and Master of Propaganda during Hitler’s reign. So that was a guy who knew how to create animosity, shall we say.) But more to the point, we have a democratic candidate who can call it like he sees it and understands the risk our country is in.
“Everything sacred is on the ballot this time. Democracy is on the ballot. Diversity, dignity, women’s rights, the environment. This is gut check time.”
Hyman has been a teacher for more than 50 years, serving in public schools, prisons, and university settings. Well-educated, well-spoken, and published. He’s written his own book called “Burying the Lead: The Media and the JFK assassination,” which illustrates how the media neglected its responsibility to fully follow and report on the important facts of the assassination. Hyman will speak about your general democratic platform – what’s important to most of us who are left-leaning.
You can count on Hyman to support these issues:
- Universal childcare, with early childhood giving $7 return on investment per dollar spent, and benefits the health, education, and development of young children and supporting parents at the same time. Studies also show that it leads to increased earnings, employment and safety in the future. Hyman supports fully funding Head Start, school lunches, after school programs, SNAP, and summer jobs for adolescents.
- Combatting climate change, by voting to support renewable energy and protecting natural resources. He also supports a moratorium on fracking until the impacts can be better studied. He would like to see an expansion of renewable energy options, which many cities are using and have found those options to also be financially cost effective.
- Closing loopholes to ensure that corporation and the uber-wealthy are paying their fair share in taxes.
- Continuing to reform our criminal justice systems; “Either we have liberty and justice for all, or we don’t.” Hyman supports more police training, new ways of training law enforcement officers, reviewing mandatory minimum sentencing and prison reform (having been there first-hand and seen what changes are really needed). He also supports providing access for drug treatment, expanding drug courts, and further study of addiction so we can improve our treatment of it.
- Lowering drug prices.
- Rejecting extremism in our communities and our politics.
- Honoring our commitments abroad and supporting our allies.
- Protecting LGBTQ+ rights. “I believe that our country derives its strength from our diversity.”
- Protecting social security
- Reviewing strategies to reforming the Supreme Court, including possible term limits, expanding the number seats, and implementing a code of ethics.
- Exploring options to make sure more people get more access to affordable or universal healthcare. In addition, he cites Veteran healthcare as not only keeping a promise, but honoring their service so that they can lead fulfilling lives after their time in uniform.
- Protecting women’s rights, including equal pay for equal work, her right to choose what happens to her body, and seeking a standard of paid leave after giving birth.
Hyman stated that “in order to win in Horry County, I know I have to present myself as a pragmatic centrist that they’re not afraid to vote for” (which, in ordinary times, this would be the ordinary approach), but Hyman also knows that he needs to ratchet up the rhetoric going into the election. This is his second attempt at the seat, feeling strongly that we should be running quality candidates in our county, and there’s not enough to go around. He stated his campaign has been a “listening tour,” trying to meet people where they are, even if people are unsure of a Democrat, or unsure of politicians altogether. “It’s humbling.” But he keeps going back to listen and listen again, working to build trust and discover what the needs are. “I’m convinced if I had a million dollars, it would be a really close election this time. Russell Fry is not that popular, he’s not that well-known. He has not campaigned much outside of Horry County. He’s more vulnerable.”
Hyman is focused on running for office, yes, but he’s interested in building the local party. He approached several state representatives about running in the district before throwing his own hat in the ring. “Somebody has to build the party. And if we don’t run anybody that’s serious, we’re not going to build the party. If we even get close, there will be national and state money that comes in the next time.” Sometimes the win won’t be about winning the seat. Sometimes winning is going to be taking two steps forward even if one step is backward – but you’re building something in the process. And if the Harris/Walz campaign is any sort of model, it’s about building a coalition and fostering excitement. There are some excellent ways that you can contribute to the process, too. Let’s get in the game and do some of the good work. The hard work.
If you have the time, you can help Hyman build his coalition and support his election chances by phone banking. Contact volunteer@horrydemocrats.org for information on how to support the campaign and assist with phone banking.
You can also support Hyman’s campaign by making a financial contribution.
Don’t forget about other local Horry County Democrats! Know these names. Look for them on the ballot!
Kent Williams – SC Senate, District 30
Ronnie Sabb – SC Senate, District 32
John “Pete” Bember – SC Senate, District 33
Jackie “Coach” Hayes – SC House, District 55
Lucas Atkinson – SC House, District 57
Carl L. Anderson – SC House, District 103
Brian Palmer – Horry County Council, District 10
Michelle Green – Horry County School Board, District 9
Voting is November 5, 2024. If you’re not sure where to go to vote, you can Horry County Polling Places here.
Better yet, VOTE EARLY if you can. Early voting locations are open October 21-November 2 (except Sunday, October 27) from 8:30AM to 6:00PM at the following locations:
Aynor Town Hall (600 S. Main St., Aynor, SC 29511)
Carolina Forest Library (2250 Carolina Forest Blvd., Myrtle Beach, SC 29579)
Grand Strand Senior Center (1268 21st Ave. N., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577)
Loris Public Safety Center (3909 Walnut St., Loris, SC 29569)
North Strand Recreation Center (120 Hwy. 57 S., Little River, SC 29566)
South Strand Recreation Center (9650 Scipio Ln., Myrtle Beach, SC 29588)
Voter Registration & Elections Office (1515 4th Ave., Conway, SC 29526)
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Choosing Integrity Over Corporate Interests: Mal Hyman vs. Russell Fry in SC District 7
