South Carolina Democrats will travel to Chicago in the coming days for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
65 delegates and five alternates will attend the convention from August 19 to 22. Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have already accepted the party’s nomination for the presidential and vice presidential elections in November and were confirmed in a virtual nomination process.
Harris received the support of 99% of the participating delegates. According to the DNC, all 65 South Carolina The delegates elected the vice president.
Jamie Harrison of South Carolina will be in the spotlight at the convention as chairman of the DNC. This will be the first time Harrison, a Columbia resident and elected in 2021, has taken full leadership of the convention.
The convention will feature elected officials such as U.S. Rep. James Clyburn and South Carolina State Senator Margie Bright Matthews, as well as party leaders including South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain and Greenville County Democratic Party Chair Amanda McDougald Scott.
Clyburn automatically attends the convention as a delegate, decided by the state’s Democratic congressmen or members of the Democratic National Committee. Clyburn, the only Democrat in South Carolina’s Washington delegation, has been a key ally of President Joe Biden. It was Clyburn’s support that helped Biden win the nomination in 2020.
Clyburn never joined other Democrats’ calls for Biden to drop out of the race, but endorsed Harris hours after Biden announced his exit. “I share the good judgment he showed in selecting Vice President Harris to lead this country alongside him, and I am proud to follow his lead and support her candidacy as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee,” he said in a statement.
What to expect from this year’s DNC
Kathryn Harvey, chair of the Spartanburg County Democratic Party and a candidate for the 4th Congressional District, said the convention was an “exciting and historic” moment. As a first-time delegate, Harvey wasn’t sure what to expect during the roll call, but said all 65 votes for Harris are a “testament to how energized people are.”
Harvey said several events are planned throughout the convention, such as meetings in the southern states where Democrats can meet.
“I’m excited to be with my colleagues and some of the leaders and have the chance to really move this movement forward,” Harvey said.
More: With President Biden out of the race, South Carolina delegates vote for Kamala Harris
The conference will be held in Chicago for the first time since 1996, when former President Bill Clinton was nominated for a second term. The city expects more than 50,000 participants from across the country.
The parties hold their own conventions every four years, where their candidates officially accept the nomination. The Republican National Convention took place in July, where former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance accepted the nomination.
Here is the full list of South Carolina delegates and alternates:
Congressional District 1:
- State Senator Margie Bright Matthews (Colleton County)
- Blaine Lotz, former chairman of the Beaufort County Democratic Party
- 2nd Vice Chairman of the Berkeley County Democratic Party, Sean McCawley
- 2and Vice Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Mayra Rivera-Vazquez
- Sam Skardon, Chairman of the Charleston County Democratic Party
- Melissa Watson, President of the South Carolina Democratic Women’s Council
Congressional District 2:
- State Rep. Heather Bauer (Richland County)
- State Representative William Clyburn (Aiken County)
- Aiken Democratic Party Board Member James Horch
- Valerie Moore, Chair of the Richland County Democratic Party
Congressional District 3
- Cherry Brown, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party in McCormick County
- Jody Gaulin, former chairman of the Oconee County Democratic Party
Congressional District 4
- Kathryn Harvey, Chair of the Spartanburg County Democrats
- Amanda McDougald Scott, Chair of the Greenville County Democrats
Congressional District 5
- Former Rock Hill City Council member Nikita Jackson
- State Representative Rich King (York County)
- State Representative Annie King (Fairfield County)
- Lenore Waterman-Jackson
Congressional District 6
- 3rd Deputy Chair of the SCDP Michelle Brandt
- Former State Senator Marlon Kimpson
- Patricia Pringle, Clarendon County Auditor
- Former Richland County Councilwoman Bernice Scott
- Charleston County Auditor Peter Tecklenburg
Congressional District 7
- Cedric Blain-Spain, member of the State Executive Committee and Horry County Democratic Party
Party and elected leaders
- Kendra Dove, Richland County Treasurer
- Marcurius Byrd, member of the Richland County Democratic Party Executive Committee
- 3rd Vice Chairman of the Marion County Democratic Party, Jaheem McLaurin
- 2and Vice Chairman of the York County Democratic Party, Ryan Stephens
- State Representative Ivory Thigpen (Richland County)
Delegates without portfolio
- Former State Representative Jerry Govan Jr. (Orangeburg County)
- Chairman of the Young Democratic South Carolina Progressive Caucus, Austin Jackson
- Chaquez McCall, Florence City Councilor
- Former SCDP Chairman Trav Robertson Jr.
Alternatives:
- Diane Anderson, Laurens County Councilmember
Automatic Delegates:
- U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC 6th District)
- DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison
- State President Christale Spain
- Colleen Condon, First Vice Chair of the State
- DNC member Clay Middleton
- DNC member Carol Fowler
- DNC member without portfolio Kaye Koonce
- President of the High School Democrats of America Annika Krovi
- Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle
Savannah Moss covers politics for the Greenville News. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her @Savmoss.
