Graham says rival will lose, not because he’s Black, but liberal
Polls have senator even with challenger Harrison
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is facing a competitive reelection campaign, said Friday that Black Americans “can go as far as you want to go” in state politics if they have conservative values associated with the state.
During a debate forum with Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, Graham was asked about the civil unrest across the nation and in South Carolina surrounding police reform and systemic racism. He implied that Black people will only be successful in statewide elective office if they are conservative.
“I care about everybody,” Graham said. “If you’re a young African American, an immigrant, you can go anywhere in this state, you just need to be conservative, not liberal.”
Graham is in a dead heat in polling with Harrison, who is Black.
The South Carolina senator pointed to Sen. Tim Scott – the state’s other U.S. senator, and only Black Republican senator – as well as former Gov. Nikki Haley, as people of color who have been successful because they share the state’s values.
“But one thing I can say without any doubt, you can be an African American and go to the Senate, you just have to share the values of our state,” Graham said. “Folks, it’s not about the color of your skin or where you came from, it’s about your ideas.”
Graham, who said he supports police reform but doesn’t believe police are “systemically racist,” went on to criticize Harrison. He said his opponent is going to lose “not because of race, but because he’s aligned with the most liberal people in the country.”
Harrison, during his segment of the forum, was also asked about civil unrest and police brutality. He noted that he supports a national register that discloses “bad police officers,” having a national standard of force and demilitarizing the police.
“There are some bad apples in the system that need to be rooted out. We need to bring some accountability to the system,” he said.
The debate, which would have been the second between the two candidates, was canceled after Graham rejected taking a COVID-19 test. The two, instead, were asked questions separately at the Spartanburg studios of WSPA-TV. Harrison was asked questions for the first half of the one-hour forum, while Graham answered questions in the last half.