News

Harrison vs. Graham

By Leo Kugel

Can Jaime Harrison, a 44 year-old Democrat, really beat Lindsey Graham, the long-tenured incumbent Republican, in the battle for South Carolina’s up-for-grabs senatorial seat? Some think he might.

At the onset of the campaign, very few thought Harrison stood a chance against Graham, a close ally to President Trump and one of the leaders of the modern Republican Party. However, consistent displeasure from South Carolinians in the Covid response from both Graham and Trump, along with historic fundraising have propelled this race into something of a competitive race.

Despite initial confidence from the Republican side, Graham admits he’s a bit flustered by the opposition campaign’s influx of cash, “I’d like to know where the hell some of it’s coming from,” he remarked on a recent Fox News broadcast. Much of it, fortunately for Graham, has come from out of state.

Last quarter’s results, released on Oct. 11, showed Harrison raised an outstanding $57 million dollars, surpassing Beto O’Rourke’s record for fundraising in a senatorial campaign. However, while the specific figures have not been released, political analysts believe a significant portion of the money is not from South Carolina residents and thus not representative of the state’s actual feelings for the Senate seat.

According to FiveThirtyEight, Graham has a 78% chance of winning, a number that has swayed very little throughout the campaign, even during Harrison’s fundraising bonanza. While Democrats’ attempt to flip a seat in South Carolina seems relatively unlikely, Harrison will certainly leave it with the respect of the country.

The likes of Magic Johnson and Barack Obama have even chimed in to voice their admiration for the up-and-coming politician. Johnson called him “intelligent” and “charismatic” and Obama encouraged South Carolina to vote for him if they want “criminal justice reform” and “lower college costs.”

In all likelihood, Jaime Harrison will not emerge from this political match up with a flipped Senate seat. What he will have done, though, is show that South Carolina might be more of a battleground state than anyone could have anticipated just a few years ago.