By Bob Gatty
Horry County and the turnout of African American voters throughout the state will be the key to Democrats carrying South Carolina in 2020, predicts state Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson.
“There is something happening in South Carolina,” declared Robertson as he addressed the sold-out 2019 HCDP SHORE Dinner Sept. 28.
“I’m here to tell you tonight that I believe in Horry County,” he said.
“There is a reason that Lindsey Graham came to Horry County with Vice President Mike Pence” declared Robertson. “And the reason is because they are losing votes in the upstate. James Smith lost Greenville County by 28,000 votes. We normally lose by 50,000. There are 40,000 non-white voters that didn’t vote in Greenville County and there are 38,000 non-white voters who are not registered to vote. And we only lost by 28,000.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it means as I have told you before the fight is going to come to Horry County and we have to be prepared,” said Robertson.
He pointed out that in the 2018 off-year election, when James Smith challenged Gov. Henry McMaster, that a total of only 1.2-1.3 million votes was expected, compared to the 1.7 million that actually were cast.
Of those votes, 65 percent, or some 1.2 million were cast by women and people of color, he said, emphasizing the importance of those voters in 2020.
Noting that Sen. Lindsey Graham, in 1999, led the impeachment effort against President Bill Clinton as a result of the scandal involving White House intern Monica Lowinsky, Robertson said that “at the end of the day it was about sex as opposed to Donald Trump who believes it is OK to use $400 million of our tax money to extort a hostile government to investigate a United States citizen running for President of the United States.”
“That’s treason! Sex – Treason. Sex – Treason,” declared Robertson. “I’m not in any way supporting that type of behavior, but at the end of the day, Sex – Treason. Traitor Trump is going to be held accountable and Leningrad Lindsey is going to be voted out of office.”
