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Democrats are about to get hammered in multiple South Carolina Senate races – and the leader of the state party is barely on the job. But that doesn’t mean every member of the Palmetto State’s perpetual minority party is going down without a fight.
One Democrat aggressively defending his Senate seat is veteran lawmaker Gerald Malloy, a lawyer-legislator who has served in the upper chamber of the S.C. General Assembly since 2002.
Among the most powerful members of the ruling “uni-party” in Columbia, Malloy was recently popped by his Republican opponent – farmer JD Chaplin – for presiding over more than two decades of failing infrastructure, rising crime and a lack of jobs and opportunity in his rural district.
Take a look…
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Malloy, 62, of Hartsville, S.C., represents Senate District 29 – which includes parts of Chesterfield, Darlington, Lee and Marlboro counties. He also represents, well, others.
A prolific lawmaker and adept parliamentarian, Malloy is among the Senate’s most industrious author of bills – and one of the key players in moving them through the chamber, which is ostensibly governed by a GOP supermajority. The problem? Malloy’s influence hasn’t always translated into progress for his people – or for the state.
This is especially true on the issue of judicial reform, which he has consistently opposed. This is not surprising, though, given his status as a practicing attorney who routinely appears in front of the judges he votes either for or against.
Why would he vote to strip himself of this power? Therein lies the issue with fixing the Palmetto State’s badly broken judicial branch…
Defeating Malloy has proven difficult, however.
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In 2020, Malloy vanquished Chaplin – drawing 22,877 votes (or 53.7 percent of all ballots cast) compared to 19,693 votes (or 46.2 percent of ballots cast) for the challenger. While the district was supposed to have been redrawn to Malloy’s liking ahead of the current race (rendering future challenges more difficult) – polling provided to this media outlet suggests the rematch between the two candidates is within the margin of error.
Can Chaplin pull off an upset of a definitional entrenched incumbent?
With less than four weeks to go, Malloy is leaving nothing to chance – unloading the saddle bags on a campaign that has veered into surprisingly conservative territory. Just this week – in response to getting popped by Chaplin – the incumbent took to social media to tout his love for tax cuts.
Wait… what?
“Less taxes = More money in your pocket,” Malloy wrote.
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What is going on here? Aren’t Democrats supposed to believe government knows better than you do how to spend your money?
“Opportunity and job growth are key to improving our quality of life in the Pee Dee,” Malloy said. “That’s why I worked to pass one of the largest tax cuts in recent history. And more tax relief is on the way.”
Malloy is referring to a 2022 bill which cut the Palmetto State’s excessively high top marginal tax rate to 6.5 percent and provided a one-time, statewide rebate of $1 billion. He actually didn’t vote for the bill the first time it cleared the Senate, but did vote for an amended version of it several months later.
“With smart spending, we can continue to reduce taxes and make sure more of your money stays where it belongs – with you!” Malloy continued.
Hold up… smart spending?
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As our regular audience is aware, Republicans and Democrats in South Carolina citing “smart spending” is laughable. Neither party is remotely smart when it comes to spending your money, as evidenced by a state budget that continues to expand ever-heavenward despite taxpayers’ shrinking ability to pay for it – and despite the perpetually ineffectual results this escalating investment in bureaucracy is subsidizing.
My media outlet has consistently called them out for the diminishing returns of their profligacy… and thankfully, status quo “Republicans” took it on the chin during the recent primary cycle.
Still, it’s funny to see Malloy basically cribbing the GOP talking points in his reelection bid… and sad to know he’s probably no better or worse on this bread-and-butter issue than the majority of rank-and-file “Republicans” at the S.C. State House.
Can Malloy cling to his seat? We shall see in just 25 days…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
Going against the grain I see Mr. Malloy. He is self aware enough to realize the vast majority are moving off the democrat plantation.