♪ Welcome to "This Week in South Carolina", I'm Gavin Jackson.

A massive blue wave crashed into South Carolina on election night, with Dr.

Annie Andrews flipping the U.S.

Senate seat and former Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore flipping the first Congressional District.

Some ten State House seats also flipped, ending the Republican super majority in the State House.

There were closer margins for congressional and statewide races, as well.

Attorney General Alan Wilson won the governor's race over State Representative Jermaine Johnson by four and a half points.

We break down these major races with several folks, including Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright and Republican political analyst Nate Leupp from Greenville.

But first, let's take a look at what played out on Election Day.

South Carolina saw its share of upsets on election night, including the U.S.

Senate race in which Democrat Dr.

Annie Andrews bested Republican Senator Darline Graham by 4.6 points, which had massive down ballot effects and was just part of the blue tsunami for Democrats nationwide.

(cheers) Dr.

Annie Andrews> I think we just made some history.

(cheers) You have shown the nation that in this... era of partisan divides of vitriol and name calling in a politics dominated by billionaires and special interest groups and insiders in Washington, D.C., that we will not bow down.

(applause) That we will not back down.

And we will chart our own course.

(cheers and applause) You have shown the nation that we can come together to defend South Carolina.

(cheers and applause) And today you have elected a senator that will always put South Carolina first.

(applause) And to the South Carolinians who did not vote for me.

I know we may not agree on everything, and I may not have earned your votes today, but I want you to know this.

I will be your senator too.

(applause) I will listen to you.

I will show up for you, and I will fight just as hard for you and your children as I would my own.

That's the kind of senator that I'll be.

(applause) Gavin> Graham addressed her supporters at a watch party event that she shared with Attorney General Alan Wilson, who defeated Democratic Representative Jermaine Johnson by 4.5 points.

Sen.

Darline Graham> I still believe in the promise of South Carolina and the greatness of America.

Tonight was not the result any of us wanted in this room or around the country, but we cannot exit the fight.

This is a tough cycle and all of us need to be involved as we chart a path forward.

It is clear that we as conservatives have work to do, and that work starts tonight.

Gavin> Winthrop political science professor Dr.

Scott Huffmon was part of our election night coverage and offered this observation.

>> It was mentioned she didn't pay her dues.

She was kind of preordained.

The question was whether or not the conservative Republicans were going to follow through with their threats.

If they didn't, Darline Graham was going to win.

If they did, then Annie Andrews was much more likely to win.

It looks like they followed through.

They did not vote for Darline Graham.

In fact, it looks like many of them actually voted for Annie Andrews.

They sent that message.

Annie Andrews also converted clearly a lot of Independents and a lot of moderate Republicans.

You look where she's getting votes, and those are places where Alan Wilson won.

Those are places where Donald Trump won by 20 plus points.

So she was able to convert voters, whereas Darline Graham couldn't excite her base.

So her lack of experience, her inability to excite her base, the way she got the, the nomination and it angering the party... Again, it all came down to a perfect storm that just, you know, overwhelmed her little ship of a campaign, that outside money could not save.

So again, yes.

Annie Andrews, phenomenal candidate.

But Darline Graham had advantages going in, and every single one of them ended up being squandered.

Gavin> At the top of the ticket, Alan Wilson won by a slightly higher margin than Nikki Haley did in her 2010 election.

He addressed his supporters following two weeks of crisscrossing the state with other statewide elected officials, who also saw slimmer than normal margins.

(applause) Governor elect Alan Wilson> Elections are always about change.

And it's clear that South Carolina is ready for change.

Everyone who voted in this election voted for something different.

This election is a turning point in South Carolina history.

No more doing things the same way we've always done them before.

As your governor, I aspire to be a transformational governor, not a transitional governor.

(applause) As your governor, my top priorities, and you heard the next lieutenant governor mention these earlier, our top priorities will be to make South Carolina more affordable for your families, to make our economy more profitable and prosperous for your businesses, and to make our government more accountable to you.

I will fight hard to eliminate the income tax, reduce your property taxes, root out fraud, waste and abuse from government, lower your utility rates, fix our crumbling roads and bridges, and promote a kids first education agenda.

Gavin> State Representative Jermaine Johnson spoke to his supporters in West Columbia after he sought to become the state's first black governor.

The numbers were close all night and at times higher than Wilson's, making that reality seem within reach.

>> You know, many people counted this out from the very beginning.

(crowd reacts) They never thought that we'd even be, this far here, right now.

They never thought that this race would be even this close.

And we got out there and we decided to run for governor, and make no mistake about it.

I knew getting in this race, I knew it was going to be an uphill battle.

I knew it was going to be something that was going to be difficult.

But from the very, very beginning, people close to me, you know what I said, I said, I may not win this race, but I'm going to help flip so many seats in this state.

Gavin> University of South Carolina political science professor Dr.

Kirk Randazzo offered his observation on the governor's race.

>> One lesson the Democrats should learn from this is that they should not automatically write off a gubernatorial election.

And I say that because if you think several years ago when Vince Shaheen ran against Nikki Haley, you know, the, the Democratic National Party did not invest a whole lot of money into that.

And Sheheen I mean still lost obviously, but it was within single digits.

And now we see a similar effect here in that there wasn't a lot of big money coming in for, for Johnson.

We said earlier most of his support came from the grass roots coalition that he, he put together.

And if he ends up losing by single digits, I think the Democrats absolutely need to wake up and say there is potential if we continue to find the right candidates and we give them the resources at the beginning of a campaign, not just at the end when we say, "Oh, maybe there's a chance, "possibly something could come together in the future."

But, but I think Johnson, again, even though it looks like he's likely not going to prevail, he absolutely should be proud of the campaign that he ran and the fact that he, he came this close, that is a remarkable achievement.

Gavin> Republican political analyst, Nate Leupp is also chairman of the 4th District Republican Club in Greenville, a county that swung blue for Dr.

Annie Andrews.

We asked him how that happened and other surprises.

Nate Leupp> I think what we saw last night was a nationalized election coming to South Carolina.

Normally, South Carolina can be a red wall no matter what's happening nationally.

But I think our red wall got a few holes punched into it.

And by hearing the reaction from voters, they are saying that those holes came from the leader of our party and the president of the United States.

Most of the voters that we heard from said that while they have supported President Trump in the past, they really didn't want him to insert himself in our Senate election.

And even before that, our gubernatorial election.

Gavin> Were you shocked to see those numbers?

I mean, a lot of folks are saying it's going to be close, Darline, Senator Graham is going to eke it out close.

But just to see such wild swings in the upstate specifically that, you know, that red wall up there, what was that like to see in real time?

Nate> I was one of those that thought that, Senator Darline Graham would be able to pull off a victory.

I'm not sure how the pollsters, across the board did not see this coming.

I was on a broadcast last night with Democratic chair of Spartanburg and Greenville, and I looked over at one point and I said, did you guys know that this was coming?

Did any of your polls show this?

And I didn't get the feeling that they even expected this.

We wanted to make a little friendly wager, and no one wanted to do that.

So it really, I think, shocked the Republicans.

I think it shocked the Democrats.

The national election, was a referendum on President Trump.

President Trump, we heard time and time again, said, to voters, to his supporters, '...vote as if I'm on the ballot'.

He wasn't technically on the ballot, but boy, he was on the ballot.

He was on the ballot in North Carolina, in Texas, all across the United States.

And what ended up being a huge referendum on him, I still believe that, a lot of the policies that he took that led to this landslide election are things I would still support.

I would rather see a non-nuclear Iran than, and have a socialist in some of these Senate races in the United States Senate.

So I have a give there.

I'm not being too critical of President Trump, but the reality was voters made this a referendum on President Trump.

Gavin> We talked about some of those cracks and some of those referendums.

I mean, it was about a 30, I think, a 36% percent swing between those who voted for President Trump in 2024, to those who voted for Darline Graham, a 36% percent drop off between those two races, two years apart.

Does that mean that this is more of a repudiation on Trump, like you're saying, as well as his hand-picked successor to the late Senator Lindsey Graham, Darline Graham, his sister?

Or do you think this is actually a "purple-ing" of the state when you look at those two different races there?

Nate> I went to bed late last night.

Somewhere about 5 a.m.

my phone started rattling and has kept rattling, has kept ringing, and I've talked to people across the...state.

I've talked to current politicos.

I've talked to politicos that have, kind of taken a back seat and are ready to jump back in.

And that is the question that everyone wants answered.

My best estimation right now, not raining on, the parade of my Democratic friends, is this is a one time anomaly.

I don't believe that we're going to see this happen in any future elections.

We had, in my estimation here in the upstate, especially, three things going on.

We had a nationalized election affecting South Carolina voters.

We had a vacuum in Senator Lindsey Graham and, to, to see this is the first election, where his fundraising skills were not utilized, the has, as they have been in the past, where he was the top of our ticket.

That was a big void.

And then the third was here in the upstate, it's interesting, if you see the Senate election.

All the counties around Greenville County are right on the map.

But here we have a blue Greenville.

Now, why did all those other things not affect Anderson, Pickens, Oconee, Laurens, even Spartanburg, as it did Greenville.

And I really point to, total buffoons in charge of the Republican Party here in Greenville.

Our elected officials want almost nothing to do with them.

They don't know what they're doing.

They don't win elections.

They don't recruit good candidates.

And they actually oppose our candidates all the way to the time that they're forced to put some yard signs in their yard.

So those three things, I think really made for a bad night for Senator Graham.

But also affected our constitutional officers all up and down the ballot and even State House races to see three or four Greenville, solid red districts almost flip, is shocking.

And really, those people need to resign.

Gavin> And a lot of people also criticize the state leadership, too.

But like you're saying, especially in the upstate, it's that, it's that fracturing that's been around for a long time up there, really coming into play in a year when Democrats are, are capitalizing on the unpopularity of the president, too.

But let's talk about those down ballot races, too, even down to the 1st Congressional District, even the 2nd Congressional District, where you...saw Joe Wilson, who's been in office, was seeking his 14th term neck and neck in a race that no one was talking about.

But we did see the 1st Congressional District flip.

That, those are ramifications, do you think of, of what we were seeing it play out in the Senate race, or do you think this, that was bound to happen because of these other factors at play?

Nate> The other factors, really the Senate race affected all the down ballot races.

When you look at these other congressional districts, what we saw last night was Democrat voters turnout as if it was a presidential election.

They turned out in almost similar fashion.

We did not see Republicans match those numbers.

And then if you compare our constitutional offices and the votes that they received to the Senate race, it looks like 7 - 10% percent in a lot of places flipped, which is unheard of, if there would have been some other scenario.

I heard, someone who we respect greatly Trey Gowdy say that, Ralph Norman, would not have won last night.

I believe Ralph Norman would have.

I believe Russell Fry would have.

I think Darline Graham was put in a situation, that was very, very difficult for anyone, and she carried all the baggage of her last name without a lot of the positives.

The Graham campaign, has been just a great campaign in the past, but they have also been incredibly well-funded in the past.

And so to go from a very, very well-funded campaign to trying to learn how to campaign in a state where you're used to having plenty of money to having to really budget differently, do ads differently, do direct mail.

I got barely any direct mail in my mailbox.

The presidential cycle, everyone was complaining about direct mail.

Primary, we got a little less.

I got almost nothing in my mail this cycle.

So it was just a really unique election that we're going to learn from, that the consultants are going to learn from.

I hope the voters learn from this, because we need to be that wall, first of all, in the upstate for South Carolina, that South Carolina needs to be that red wall no matter what's happening nationally.

Gavin> Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, CEO of Blueprint Strategy, has been right on the money with his insights on this campaign cycle and on election night.

Democrats won big here and around the country.

He explains what that means for South Carolina going forward.

>> Well, we always knew it was going to be a blue wave, Gavin.

The question was going to be how big was the wave?

But I don't think it was really about a blue wave.

I think it was about candidate quality.

I often remind folks that politics is a game of match ups, and you want to put your best possible players on the field against the other team's best possible players.

But when the fundamentals are on your side and in this case, we had the policy, the politics and the politician, as a better match up, if you will.

To the other side, I think that prevailed.

While most people would draw the contrast when it comes to Dr.

Annie Andrews, and Senator Darline Graham, they'll draw the contrast as a red versus blue.

Truthfully, this was about policy ideas that speak directly to the needs, concerns, fears and hopes, aspirations of South Carolinians.

Dr.

Annie Andrews stayed very hyper local and made the race about South Carolina and her challenges, whereas Darline Graham and her team wanted to stop with inflammatory language.

They wanted to lean in with the president and hyper-nationalize the election.

And I think that backfired.

This is the third time that South Carolinians have demonstrated the independent streak.

They defeated the president's redistricting effort.

And then on the first round of the gubernatorial race, they rejected his candidate, Pamela Evette, for lieutenant governor, now rejecting his pick for the U.S.

Senate.

Gavin> Antjuan, when we talk about this race and we look at some interesting swings and even a flip or two up in the upstate when it comes to that Republican stronghold, even the 5th Congressional District, parts of that, the 4th and other areas in the upstate, that's typically that red wall.

We saw Annie Andrews win Greenville County.

We saw inroads made in Spartanburg County.

We're talking about these really red places that her message broke through.

And is that a testament to her, her call, like you're talking about that independent streak in showing that she's not going to be in lockstep with the Democratic Party?

Or is this really just folks that did not turn out and did want something different?

Antjuan> Well, we know that the turnout was strong, but we also know that turnout was strong because people are pissed off.

There was pocketbook pains that South Carolina, South Carolinians feel.

We lead the nation in terms of foreclosures.

You have the highest number of Americans, including South Carolinians who are experiencing credit card debt, repossessions, foreclosures, student loan debt, not to mention gas prices as unconstitutional world choice.

We know that 600 thousand South Carolinians are experiencing more in their premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, Gavin, not to mention before they kick in, highest cut to, highest cut to Medicaid and S.N.A.P.

benefits in American history.

That's 1.3 million South Carolinians who enjoy Medicaid, including South Carolina children.

And then 600...647 thousand South Carolinians who benefited from S.N.A.P.

Those are real things.

And if you look at what's happening around the country, including in South Carolina, you have six figure income earners taking out short term loans to buy groceries.

What I heard traveling the state and traveling the country, people are concerned about the utility prices, so the material well-being was on the line.

South Carolinians felt it, and they know who caused the pain, so they voted out of frustration to that.

Gavin> Antjuan, to that effect, you're talking about Medicaid and S.N.A.P.

benefit cuts.

That's not just for Democrats, as some people think it is.

That's also Republicans that benefit from these.

I actually heard from voters who had their benefits cut, and that made them actually change their tune, in terms of how they're going to vote, because that's dollars and cents that they're seeing.

And that's not a Joe Biden thing that happened under this administration.

I mean, do you think that's an undercurrent here that didn't get enough play?

Do you think data centers came into this as well?

I'm just looking at other issues besides that affordability and the economy that might have helped factor in to this win for Dr.

Annie Andrews.

Antjuan> Well, I think when we think about Medicaid, we think about cut.

There's a certain perception that it impacts just black people or just poor people.

When you have over 78% percent of people who receive those benefits are working people, particularly when it comes to S.N.A.P.

Those are veterans.

Those are seniors.

Those are students.

Those are families.

that have a child with a disability special need.

Those are people who work and just need an extra help.

That's why they call it Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

When it comes to Medicaid, the largest insurer for children.

And we... what we don't talk about enough with this election, and extrapolating the data is that rural voters turned out for Dr.

Annie Andrews.

Border counties turned out for Dr.

Annie Andrews.

Young people turned out for Dr.

Annie Andrews.

Non-college educated South Carolinians turned out for Dr.

Annie Andrews.

The coalition she put together is a once in a generation coalition.

And I think it's important that we continue to manage and not mismanage that coalition, she was able to put together.

Gavin> Antjuan, talk to me about that and the, and the backbone of the Democratic Party, the black vote there too, turning out.

We saw massive turnout.

Explain that turnout and how that really broke for her, especially when you had someone like Jermaine Johnson at the top of the ticket running for governor as a black nominee.

Antjuan> I think he certainly helped, drive turnout in the African-American community.

But also, I think that when it comes to coalitions, while it may be rooted, in black, there were other constituencies that supplemented that, and I think that's very important.

I also don't mind telling you that black folks in any election are casting a survival vote.

And if you look at what tried to take place just a few months ago in the General Assembly, where they tried to racially gerrymander the maps to eliminate the only African-American in our delegation, that sent a signal that these elections have become life or death for us when it comes to our representation.

And so I think there were so many things on the line, including our very quality of life as we know it and basic fundamental freedoms that we as African-Americans have been recently able to unlock and enjoy.

And so that fear, that they thought was going to keep us home or drive their turnout ended up backfiring and pushed our turnout.

And when you add that to the coalition that I mentioned earlier, some of those aspects, that's how we got to victory.

with Dr.

Annie Andrews and in the 1st Congressional District.

Gavin> Antjuan, when you look at about the state going forward, moving forward, after what we saw in November 3rd, and we talk about a potential purpling of the state, we did see massive drop off from 2024 in the presidential race and Republicans voting for Donald Trump, too, who voted for Darline Graham.

We saw about a 36% percent drop off with Republicans.

So does that tell you that the Republicans just stayed home?

There was that enthusiasm gap, or are we actually on our way to becoming a purple state like our neighbors North Carolina and Georgia?

Antjuan> It says a couple of things.

It says that people are frustrated and pissed off with "Trump-ism" and "MAGA-nomics", and they feel the residue from the policies or the lack thereof, and they no longer can do business as usual.

So they did unusual business, whatever that meant for them.

It also says to me - that two things happened with elections, Gavin, you win or you learn.

Sometimes when you win, you don't always learn.

We have to learn as Democrats, or in Dr.

Annie Andrews' case is that every election presents a different challenge and a different opportunity, that South Carolina is pregnant with possibilities to do the unthinkable like we did on November 3rd.

But every election will not be the same.

And so it's so important that we manage the coalition we were able to put together, but also grow it and expand it, because the expectations will be different in any given election cycle.

What will happen now is that people will pay attention to South Carolina in a general election.

We will not just be a Democratic presidential primary state.

We'll be general election flirtation like Georgia, like North Carolina, like Virginia, and like now, Mississippi and other places around the country.

Gavin> And wrapping up here, Antjuan, well you just mentioned 2028. when I just asked you about how this springboards into 2028, because now it's November 4th.

We're talking the day after the election here, and the next stop is 2028.

South Carolina... South Carolina Democratic voters will be casting ballots January 22nd, 2028, the first in the nation there.

How does this add into, the state of play for those national Democrats that we saw coming through during the midterm, that will be coming through in droves now, leading up to January, especially when you have this success story, as Democrats will call it, and their ability to flip the state, to flip the Senate and the 1st Congressional District?

Well, what's it going to look like leading up to 2028 here in South Carolina?

Antjuan> I think we'll move from the stage, Gavin, of high level political flirtation, and wanting to date to people now want to marry South Carolina and her coalitions.

The Annie Andrews coalition is one that general election candidates are going to be think about.

But those who are worried about the first step, and that's the primary, they're going to be focused on the African-American voters.

They're going to be focused on rural voters.

They're going to be focused on young voters, and they're going to be focused with a very pragmatic message, not the extreme that sometimes projected as the mood of the Democratic Party, because when 60% percent of the people who cast their vote in that primary are African-American, we've always been pragmatic in our thinking, progressive in our thought, because we've been behind the eight ball from the time we've entered this country, but pragmatic in our approach.

And so you will not hear, de-fund the police.

You will not hear no borders, you will not hear no Supreme Court or all these things that sometimes was getting pegged with as Democrats, you're going to hear how we deal with the material well-being in everyday living of South Carolinians in this...in our Democratic primary nominating process.

That's going to be important.

Gavin> You can find this coverage and more at youtube.com/SCETV news.

For South Carolina ETV, I'm Gavin Jackson, Be well, South Carolina.

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