Williamson becomes first Democrat to file for SC presidential primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The first Democratic candidate whose name will appear on the ballot for the South Carolina presidential primary in February filed her paperwork Monday.

Speaker and author Marianne Williamson filed for the “First in the Nation” primary.

Williamson told reporters Monday afternoon she believes Americans are living in “a time of real trouble” and considers her campaign a “real alternative” to the agenda of both the Republican Party and to the Democratic Party as well.

She said while she believes Biden is working to ease the stress of the average American, she said she believes the alleviation of stress is not enough.

“We need fundamental economic reform. What I see is a country where people’s lives are falling apart. Look at the poverty rate here in South Carolina, including the child poverty rate,” she said. “If you’re one of the 20% of the top earners in the United States, you’re doing very well and that’s to be celebrated. But that 20% live on an island surrounded by a vast sea of economic despair, and that is as true in South Carolina as anywhere else.”

She criticized her party for not making a child tax credit permanent.

“So, I’m sorry, I don’t think that Joe Biden, with all due respect, has enough to brag about to the average American,” Williamson said. “His claiming that the economy is doing so well is contradictory to the visceral experience of the majority of Americans.”

She insisted that she is viable as a candidate for the White House. She also said that Donald Trump’s supporters will vote for him “even if he’s in prison” and that Trump is not the danger to Democrats in 2024.

“The danger is not enough people feeling that we are offering an exciting alternative,” she said.

Williamson said she believes many people in South Carolina, some of whom stood in line for hours to vote in 2020, “did not get the codification of voting rights and did not get a higher minimum wage, did not get many of the things that they felt they were promised.”

“And that’s why I feel that I’m the candidate who offers the kind of excitement that will get some people up and out and making sure that they vote for something different and a new beginning,” she said.

South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary will be held on Feb. 3.

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