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April 20th, 2024 Len’s Political Note #637 Michael Boulware Moore South Carolina 01
General Election
In 2020, South Carolina 01 was a swing district. Nancy Mace, the incumbent was elected. In 2018, a Democrat was elected. Joe Cunningham was a one term Member of Congress. He lost in a close race 2020.
The redistricting undertaken by the South Carolina legislature after the 2020 census made changes that appear to ensure that subsequent races in SC 01 would not be close. The ACLU argues that 30,000 Black voters had been switched from SC 01 to SC 06, the home of Jim Clyburn, South Carolina’s only Black Member of Congress.
In 2020, Nancy Mace won by 50.6 – 49.3. After redistricting in 2022, she won 56.4 – 42.5 – about 38,000 votes. Is there a reason that SC 01 would vote any differently in 2024 than in 2021? The district is still nearly 70% white and only slightly more than 15% Black. Nevertheless, SC 01 is different from the rest of South Carolina and not just because it is on the coast. In the presidential primary this year, Donald Trump carried every Congressional district except SC 01. Nikki Haley carried this district. Republicans here are not necessarily Trumpish.
Given an appealing Democrat and chaos among the Republicans, SC 01 is getable. Not likely, but getable.
Michael Boulware Moore will be the Democratic candidate. He is descended from Robert Smalls. Not a familiar name to you? He should be.
Robert Smalls is an enduring American hero. He was born into slavery in Beaufort, SC. His mother, a house slave, ensured his education. She had him sent to the fields so he would understand what that work meant. At the age of 12, she had him sent to Charleston where he could earn money (almost all of which was paid, of course, to his owner). He worked on ships in Charleston harbor and eventually (though he was prohibited from the title) worked as a helmsman.
During the Civil War, when the white officers went ashore for the night, he and other enslaved men on the ship, which was loaded with cannon and ammunition, were given permission to invite their family onto the docked ship. The family members left before curfew, but were located in spots where they could meet the ship as it steered out of the Confederate controlled harbor. They sailed through the US blockade that did not initially recognize the ship as having been captured, and continued on to Beaufort and Hilton Head, controlled by Union forces. Small turned the ship, its cargo, and its books about Charleston defenses over to the Union.
After assisting the military to understand the details of Charleston harbor and having been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles in the North, Robert Smalls left for Washington DC with Wilberforce University founder Mansfield French to help persuade Lincoln of the value of allowing the formerly enslaved to enlist in the military. Smalls returned to the war, participating in the capture of Fort Sumter and providing naval cover for Sherman’s army when it reached South Carolina.
When the war was over, Robert Smalls returned to Beaufort and was elected to the state legislature and eventually to congress. He supported reconstruction, opposed the removal of federal troops from the south, and continued to fight for equality until his death in 1915. One particular state legislative accomplishment was creation of a public school system and passing the first in the nation compulsory attendance statute. Illiterate, he taught himself to read as an adult.
He had been a successful businessman during reconstruction, forming a Black owned railroad, among other projects. After reconstruction, he was sustained by his appointment by President Benjamin Harrison as the collector at the Port of Beaufort. As late as 1913, he was able to use his influence and a threat of mob violence to persuade the Beaumont mayor to stop a lynching.
Michael Boulware Moore is proud enough of this family legacy to have authored a children’s book about Robert Small’s life. He wrote an adult book titled “Bridging the Gap.” Not the racial gap. The subtitle is “The Love of Marketing.”
Michael Boulware Moore grew up in a prosperous family. Another antecedent he notes is Harold R. Boulware Sr, an attorney and county judge who was chief counsel for the South Carolina NAACP, won a desegregation case in South Carolina and was on the Brown v Board of Education legal team. Michael B Moore went to prep school and college in the north. He graduated in 1980 from St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA and got his BA from Syracuse University. He returned south for his MBA from Duke. He focused on business.
He worked in marketing at Coca Cola and at Krafts Foods, eventually becoming CEO of Glory Foods, a Black owned family business founded in 1989. They created a line of southern style canned vegetables and other packaged southern style food. Michael B. Moore helped this nascent national business to prosper.
Prosperous, he turned to other activities. He has been a motivational speaker, a founder of the International African American Museum in Charleston, and a Trustee at his old prep school — St. Mark’s. Chair of the Board of Trustees, his leadership Is felt there. Recently, St. Mark’s hired an African-American Head of School who had just the right credentials. Ivory D. Hills had been the Dean of Faculty and Assistant Head of School for Strategy and Planning at Deerfield Academy.
Michael B. Moore has two possible opponents. There might be enough chaos to make the seat vulnerable despite the gerrymandering. The greater possibility is that the Incumbent, Nancy Mace will be nominated. Born on an army base, she was Citadel’s first female cadet graduate. Politics became her interest. She got a Master’s degree ijn communication, tried journalism, worked for a public relations firm, and supported Ron Paul for president in 2012. She ran for the US Senate and was swamped in the primary by Lindsey Graham. In 2016, she worked for Donald Trump as a coalition director and a field director. A victor, in 2017, in a special election, she served more than a term as a state rep.
There she was a moderate Republican with an interest in women’s issues. Arguing that abortion prohibitions should have a rape and incest exception, she revealed that she had been raped. Supporting prison reform, her bill preventing pregnant women from being shackled was signed by the governor. She opposed President Trump’s plan to drill for oil offshore of South Carolina’s coast.
She was elected to congress in 2020 – sustaining her reputation as a moderate Republican. She continued to oppose drilling for oil offshore. She was also one of seven Republicans who refused to participate in a challenge to the 2020 election results.
Something happened. In October, 2023, she joined the extremist Republican House members and voted to oust Kevin McCarthy. You can’t trust him, she said. In January, 2024, she endorsed Donald Trump for President. In March, Donald Trump endorsed Nancy Mace for re-election to Congress. Later in the month, she got into a spat with journalist George Stephanopoulos, claiming he was shaming her when he asked how, as a woman who had been raped, could support Donald Trump with his history of women. These days, she is as thoroughly in Donald Trump’s camp as she was when she worked for him in 2016.
Catherine Templeton is Nancy Mace’s formidable opponent and a reminder of what Republicans used to be like (though she voted for the Democrat for governor rather than vote for Haley. When Templeton practiced law, she specialized in “union avoidance.” As an example, she helped prevent the auto workers from organizing Nissan in Tennessee. She also worked with Sandra Day O’Connor on expanding civics education.
Appointed in 2010 as Nikki Haley’s Director of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation Catherine Templeton halted an audit that checked on whether or not employers were verifying the immigrant status of employees. She also cut the number of the state employed to oversee immigrant employment from 20 to 3.
Appointed in 2012 as Nikki Haley’s Director of Health and Environmental Control, to the chagrin of the Beverage Association, Catherine Templeton proposed to limit the kinds of foods that could be purchased with food stamps. To achieve these and other goals, she laid off nine staffers, but added three high paid executives.
After she returned to the private sector, she co-founded US Brick as a publicly traded business; changing the character of the family owned business that had been founded in 1939. Under her leadership as president of the company, US Brick became the largest privately held, American manufacturer of bricks
Does Catherine Templeton’s candidacy create enough of a mess out of Republican politics to give Michael B. Moore a chance to recruit voters from whoever loses the primary? Do not count Michael B. Moore out. Even if he does not win in 2024, the Court will finally address the gerrymandering, see it as racial, and revised the district in time for 2026. If Michael B. Moore can have a strong run this time, he will be in a position to be elected to the seat that most resembles the seat that his great, great grandfather Robert Smalls held during reconstruction. DONATE TO MICHAEL B. MOORE.
Other competitive House races in the Southeast
FL 23. The Democratic incumbent is Jared Moskowitz. He is #22 on Len’s list of vulnerable incumbents. He does not make Daily Kos’s List. OATH.vote considers him a 4.7 on their 10 point scale in terms of how effective or necessary your financial support would be. A Likely successful Democrat according to Cook. The former Director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management under Ron DeSantis, as a member of Florida’s House of Representatives, he was able to get passed some gun safety legislation after the Parkland massacre. Jared Moskowitz entered 2024 with less than $300,000 available for his campaign, a much smaller amount than many incumbents. It may not matter. Nurse and Veteran Carla Spalding, the probable Republican opponent raised more than $450,000, but spent almost all of it. She started the year with less than $25,000. DONATE TO JARED MOSKOWITZ. He may need a little help. See Len’s Political Notes #584.
FL 09. The Democratic incumbent is Darren Soto. He is #23 on Len’s list. He does not make Daily Kos.s List either. OATH.vote consideres him a 5.5 on their 10 point scale, making close to being moderately vulnerable. He is also a Likely winner according to Cook. Darren Soto is the only Puerto Rican Congressman from Florida. He has two opponents who had a little money on hand at the beginning of the year – Former County Commissioner John Quinones with $50,000 and Jose Castillo, who calls Darren Soto an anti American liberal, with $50,000. Darren Soto had $550,000 available for his campaign. Not enough, but with help he could sustain hie lead. DONATE TO DARREN SOTO. See Len’s Political Note #585
FL 13. Whitney Fox has been a transit authority marketing director and brings a real commitment to public transportation to her campaign against right wing fringe incumbent Anna Paulina Luna. The district includes a portion of St. Petersburg and continues north west of Tampa along the coast. Whitney Fox is a local who can run as the voice of reason. Luna did not have a lot of money, at $550,000 at the end of 2023. Whitney Fox had less — $150,000. DONATE TO WHITNEY FOX. This would be a big win. See Len’s Political Note #625
FL 27. The Democratic challenger is Miami school board member Lucia Baez-Geller. Incumbent Republican Maria Elvira Salazar was an anchor for Telemundo before being elected to Congress. She is not on Len’s List of vulnerable Republicans, but she is tied for #24 on Daily Kos’s list. Salazar entered 2024 with $850,000; Lucia Baez-Geller had $85,000. Consider. DONATE TO LUCIA BAEZ-GELLER
North Carolina 01. Inc Don Davis is defending the seat to which he was first elected in 2020. An Airforce Academy graduate, one of his assignments was to inform families of the death of their child or spouse in the war. He has a connection with East Carolina University where he earned advanced degrees and taught. In Congress he has been particularly interested in infrastructure construction. For that purpose, Joe Biden’s presidency has been a delight. He has raised $1.2 million and, on February 14, still had almost a million dollars for the rest of the campaign. His opponent, Laurie Buckhout raised $1.3 millions, but spent a million dollars winning the primary, She had $300,000 on February 14. She has the resources to get more. She retired from the military as a colonel and started her own business. Using a million dollars of her own money, she created a business consulting in Electronic Warfare and cyberspace operations. She says she a proponent of small government. The DCCC says she is a big opponent of abortions. She will accept abortions to save the life of the mother and in the case of incest, but does not so far as to allow abortions in the case of rape.
The Big Senate race nearby
Florida – Former Member of Congress Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, came to the US when her mother brought her four daughters from Ecuador. Debbie Mucarsel became a professional fund raiser for non-profits and was elected to a term in Congress. She is running against billionaire incumbent and former governor Rick Scott. She began the year with $1.5 million available; he began the year with $3.2 million in his campaign fund. Her candidacy could be difficult because she has a primary opponent. There are still no useful polls, but the world has changed. Scott’s proposal to vote on Medicare and other programs valued by the electorate will not be forgotten. Florida’s Women’s Freedom Coalition have submitted nearly a million signatures, well more than the requirement, to put protection of the right to an abortion into Florida’s constitution. That proposal could change the electorate in November. DONATE TO DEBBIE MUCARSEL-POWELL. See Len’s Political Note #598
Another Nearby Senate Race
Tennessee – State Rep Gloria Johnson is known nationally as one of the three state reps who protested against the Tennessee House for refusing to debate a gun safety proposal. Two young Black reps were expelled from the legislature; she was not, by a single vote. She is running against Senator Marsha Blackburn – whose attacks on Democrats put her in a league with Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Rick Scott. Gloria Johnson started the year with $1.4 million. Blackburn began the year with $7.4 million. Polls are not encouraging. An April 2 poll had Blackburn up by 16 points. DONATE TO GLORIA JOHNSON See Len’s Political Note #622
We have a presidential race to win
Support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
As we look toward November, 2024, help sustain the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaign. Eleven polls between April 1 and April 10 found Trump ahead in 6 of them ranging from +1 to +6, Biden ahead in 4 of them ranging from +1 to +4. One poll was even. Every donation, large or small, makes a difference. Larger donations mean more money for the campaign. But large numbers of small donations are a measure of enthusiasm for the candidate. Make a small donation if you cannot afford a large one. DONATE TO JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS. See Len’s Political Note #605
#18 in the Stephenson County, IL list of Biden accomplishments: Created more jobs in a single year than any other president in history.
