At Steyer’s visit to Hilton Head, many voters ‘still shopping’ ahead of Saturday vote
Most of the 250 people who attended a meet and greet Monday morning with Tom Steyer on Hilton Head Island likely have seen his fliers in their mailbox or driven by one of his billboards.
That’s because Steyer has spent over $13 million on advertising in the state. In Beaufort County, it shows.
The billionaire and Democratic presidential candidate visited the island Monday morning ahead of Saturday’s primary. A California native who began the “Need to Impeach” campaign in 2017 to oppose Trump, Steyer touted his recent endorsements by S.C. Reps. Michael Rivers of Beaufort and Colleton counties and Christopher Hart of Richland County.
He celebrated a most recent SC poll that put him in third place with 16.5%.
Steyer has spent millions throughout the state publicizing the need to combat climate change, increase regulations on guns, and remove Donald Trump from the White House.
Steyer “is not cheap,” Rivers said in introducing the candidate. “If anyone in here gets mail, I’m sure you have come to find out that he inundates your mailbox.”
People attending the event acknowledged the big advertising push.
“I get a flyer every day,” Hilton Head resident Flo Rosse said as she waited in line for the event. “They make me feel like he’s moving forward.”
She and Judy Pizzuti, both members of the Democratic club, said they’d not decided which candidate they’d vote for on Saturday.
SC Primary information
South Carolina’s Democratic primary is Saturday. The S.C. Republican Party’s executive committee voted in September to skip its 2020 presidential primary.
Many candidates, fresh from Nevada’s Saturday caucuses, have turned their focus to winning over South Carolina voters. Several attendees at Monday’s event said they were “still shopping” for their candidate.
“I came to see what he has to say, but I haven’t decided,” said Tommy Battista of Bluffton. “I’m kicking the tires on all the candidates.”
Battista, who was waiting in line with his 18-year-old son, Michael, said they’ve seen candidates Elizabeth Warren and Tulsi Gabbard. They plan to see Pete Buttigieg in Charleston later this week before voting.
Michael Battista, a May River High School graduate and student at Technical College of the Lowcountry, said gun control is top priority for him.
Steyer said Monday that gun manufacturers “own the Senate,” and that background checks for gun buyers will make countries and schools safer.
In 2019, South Carolina had 2,425 gun-related deaths and 45 mass shootings — defined as shootings that killed four or more people excluding the shooter, according to Congress’ gun violence archive.
Climate change
Kate Chalfant, a junior at University of South Carolina, was visiting the island from Columbia with her mom, Pamela Ahearn-Chalfant. They attended the event with Kate’s sister, Hannah, a student at USCB.
“We’ve seen every candidate except Amy Klobuchar,” Kate Chalfant said. “It’s important to see candidates in person. You need to meet them and speak with them.”
None of the three had decided which candidate they’d vote for on Saturday.
Hannah Chalfant and her mother said climate change was one of the most important issues in the upcoming election.
“We are Ground Zero,” Ahearn-Chalfant said. “We have a fragile balance between growth and beauty, and you can’t help but think about it every day when you cross that bridge.”
In 2020, South Carolina has 229,000 people at risk of coastal flooding. By 2050, an additional 56,000 people are projected to be at risk due to sea level rise, according to States At Risk, an organization funded by Climate Central, a group of scientists and journalists who research and report on climate change.
Labor unions
The candidate also voiced support for labor unions, organizations that Republican S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster called “a relic” on a visit to Hilton Head in 2018.
Steyer said he supports raising the minimum wage to help workers be able to afford to live closer to their jobs — a problem Hilton Head Island faces as 16,000 employees come over the bridge each day to staff restaurants, offices and hotels.
“A minimum wage of $7.25 (an hour) is an insult to working people,” he said, adding that a fair wage in 2020 is closer to $22 an hour.
Steyer said his beliefs on health care set him apart from other candidates. He does not agree with candidates such as Warren and Bernie Sanders that the U.S. should adopt Medicare for all, a public health insurance system, and instead favors one where people can choose to keep their employer-provided health care plan.
Trump and Republicans
Steyer also talked Monday about his fellow Democratic candidates and President Trump.
“We’re not going to cannibalize any of our Democratic candidates because any candidate we have is better than 45,” he said, referring to Trump, the 45th president. “We’re going to beat Trump because he stinks at his job.”
Steyer also noted that he was a political outsider who would support term limits on presidents and other politicians.
“Here’s the six-word argument for term limits: Mitchell McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz,” he said, referencing the Senate majority leader from Kentucky who has served in the Senate since 1985; the senior Republican senator from South Carolina, who has been in the Senate since 2003 and the U.S. House for eight years before that; and the Republican senator from Texas, who has been in office since 2013.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 2:23 PM.
