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U.S.
Senate candidates converge on Greenwood
Tenenbaum
visits college; DeMint meets with supporters
October
28, 2004
By WALLACE
McBRIDE
Index-Journal
senior staff writer
Local
political parties were out in force Wednesday in Greenwood
whistle-stop rallies for a pair of U.S. Senate
candidates.
Republican Jim DeMint and Democrat Inez
Tenenbaum did little to explore new ground during their
visits, though. Tenenbaum, the current S.C. Superintendent of
Education, visited a local college, while DeMint addressed a
crowd comprised mostly of local Republican officials and party
members at the Inn on the Square.
“It’s the core of the
Third District and a good Republican area,” DeMint said,
explaining the decision to rally in Greenwood.
“I’ve got a
lot of good supporters here. A lot of these people are already
working with us, making calls and putting up signs. The ground
war is what’s going to win it now.”
“We want everybody in
the state to know that we’re interested in their area, and we
particularly want Greenwood to know that,” he
said.
Tenenbaum said Greenwood was targeted by her campaign
because she wanted to get a look at academic efforts of
Piedmont Tech to mend the state’s ailing industrial
sector.
“I have been so concerned about the number of
manufacturing jobs that we have lost,” she said. “ I wanted to
come back through here because I wanted to see what the
technical colleges are doing to prepare our workers in
manufacturing for the future.”
Travelling with DeMint’s
campaign was U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has introduced the
candidate during recent travels. Greenwood was an obvious
choice for a Republican rally, he said.
“Greenwood County
has been here for me from the get-go,” Graham said. “I’m the
first Republican from this congressional district since
1877.”
He further told the crowd that a recent election for
U.S. House of Representatives also ended with a Republican
nominee win for Gresham Barrett.
“The point of the whole
story is that Greenwood’s going to be there for you, Jim,” he
said during Wednesday’s introduction. Graham was also a brief
point of reference during Tenenbaum’s speech at Piedmont Tech.
Despite the heated final days of the race, though, she had
nothing but flattering words for the Republican
senator.
“My campaign is about helping the people of South
Carolina out,” She said, “and giving them hope that someone in
Washington is looking out for them, that someone in Washington
cares whether they have jobs. Sen. Fritz Hollings has been
that kind of leader. Sen. Lindsey Graham has been that kind of
leader. And I want to be that kind of leader as
well.”
Technical schools will play a part in creating a
skilled workforce for the state, she said.
“When I travel
around the state, I tell people this job is about three things
— jobs, jobs and jobs,” Tenenbaum said. “As you may have
heard, it’s a particularly tough time for textile
manufacturing jobs here in the upstate.”
DeMint had his eye
on the party agenda, saying his election would be another
piece of the puzzle for a Republican dominated federal
government.
“This is what we’ve been working for years for
as Republicans,” DeMint said. “To have a courageous, good
leader for a president, a House of Representatives that would
vote like you would want them to in South Carolina, and then a
Senate that would support what Lindsey Graham has talked
about.”
Tenenbaum said that South Carolinians have not
warmed to many of DeMint’s ideas, though.
“This race for
the U.S. Senate is neck and neck,” Tenenbaum said. “I think
there’s a clear difference between my opponent and me. He’s
got a lot of big ideas that sound good in Washington, but I
think we need a senator that will put South Carolina
first.”
Wallace McBride covers Greenwood and general
assignments in the Lakelands. He can be reached at 223-1812,
or: wmcbride@indexjournal.com
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