FRONTRUNNER OUT OF THE GATE WITH INTRODUCTORY TELEVISION SPOT …
S.C. Speaker pro tempore Tommy Pope has launched the first ad of his front-running (for now) candidacy for the Palmetto State’s fifth congressional district.
The spot – entitled “Law and Order” – focuses on Pope’s career in law enforcement.
“As a police officer I caught the bad guys,” Pope says in the thirty-second advertisement. “As a prosecutor I put them away.”
Pope’s spot goes on to outline his priorities in the event he wins the special election to replace Mick Mulvaney, who was confirmed last month as Donald Trump‘s director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“As your congressman I’ll rebuild our military to destroy ISIS, give more resources for law enforcement and finally repeal Obamacare,” Pope said.
Wait … no mention of Pope’s views on taxes?
Oh … right. Hmmmm.
Anyway, sources close to Pope’s campaign tell us the advertisement will run for the next four weeks all across the fifth district on conservative cable and radio.
Joining Pope in the GOP primary are Indian Land attorney Kris Wampler, former S.C. Rep. Ralph Norman (a developer from Rock Hill), Camden businessman and S.C. State Guard leader Tom Mullikin, social conservative activist Sheri Few of Lugoff and former SCGOP chairman Chad Connelly of Prosperity.
Three Democrats – Alexis Frank, Les Murphy and Archie Parnell – have announced their candidacies, and the race also features a Green party candidate (David Kluma) a Libertarian (Nathaniel Cooper) and a fusion candidate (Bill Bledsoe, who is currently running as both a Constitution and Libertarian party candidate).
The fifth district (map) covers the northern central portion of South Carolina – including the booming suburbs of Charlotte, N.C. It has been reliably Republican since it was redrawn prior to the 2012 elections – although Mulvaney won it from Democrat John Spratt during the Tea Party wave of 2010.
Partisan primary elections for the seat will be held on May 2 with runoffs scheduled for May 16 (in South Carolina’s partisan primaries, runoff elections are held in the event no candidate receives a majority of votes in the initial round of balloting)
The special election itself is scheduled for June 20 – with the leading vote-getter in that race becoming the next congressman.
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