Good morning from a wet and chilly Florence Regional Airport, where former President Trump is set to hold a rally in support of Katie Arrington and Russell Fry tonight.
This is the vendor area.
Coming in, dozens of people waving Fry for Congress signs along the highway. Talked to a few.
One was thrilled to be here, and was talking about how nice everyone was. Another told me J6 was a hoax, the election was stolen, and predicted a violent civil war.
Dems countering, saying the GOP is siding with Putin over their appearance with Trump today.
Talked to a few vendors. Met one who came all the way from Michigan, named Pete, who began following Trump rallies in 2020 and is again in 2024.
Lots of flags for sale, including the Gadsden flag and the stars and bars.
Hundreds of cars here already, but this one has the most flags I've seen so far.
Some creative bumper stickers too.
"When I die, don't let me vote Democrat," among others.
Mike Lindell has arrived at Katie Arrington's tent.
"I'm endorsing her, as of today," Lindell says after arriving to huge applause and chants of "let's go Brandon!" by Arrington.
And here's Lindell's endorsement of Russell Fry.
Fiery speech by Arrington, where she blames Biden for today's economic state, and fires a preemptive blow at the "fake news" for how they depict Trump followers.
"You're patriots!" she says.
Rep. Logue is here to support Fry, along with Rep. Stewart Jones.
"He is gonna fry some rice, he says to cheers. "Tom Rice really messed up."
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I have arrived in Myrtle Beach, where I will focus on the SC-07 Primary to unseat incumbent Republican Tom Rice, one of ten Republicans to impeach Trump for his role in Jan. 6.
A quick thread of the things I'm watching tonight in this one:
First off, SC-07 is very red.
Trump carried the district with 59 percent of the vote, and the low watermark for the party under the 2010 district lines was still 54.5 percent for Romney in 2012.
What's important to note, however, is most of the power lies in one county.
In 2020, nearly 119,000 people in Horry County voted for Trump, good for about 66% of the vote.
That's more than Trump got in all of the other counties in the district COMBINED, even when I throw in every Trump voter in Florence County, only part of which is in SC-07. (106k)
That said I actually am able to reach downtown Denver quicker by car than I can reaching Brooklyn from either airport by Uber, so this take is a bit, eh.
One fun thing about flying out of DIA as a Wyomingite was the journey.
A 4-hour journey across an epic landscape, endless plains to your left, mountains to your right. A horrific parking experience. A shuttle to the airport. Then, a train from security to the terminal. Epic.
Back at the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention this morning. Speakers today have included Joe Cunningham, Mia McLeod, Gilda Cobb-Hunter, Jim Clyburn. Hearing from candidates now.
Catherine Fleming Bruce -- a longshot candidate against Tim Scott this fall -- says this year is unlike any other, evoking memories of Jan. 6.
"What is the price of a failed democracy?" she asks the crowd.
Krystle Matthews, the likely frontrunner in the Democratic US Senate Primary here, asks whether we're wrapped up with "being important." Unseated a 10-year incumbent with just over $700 in the bank.
"You can either be pitiful, or you can be powerful. But you can't be both."
The first debate of the SC-07 Republican primary is about to get underway in Florence. Stream here: wmbfnews.com/page/7th-congr…
Tom Rice, one of ten Republicans to impeach Trump, is facing four opponents. One person in the crowd yelled "Tom Rice is a traitor" as he arrived onstage.
.@RussellFrySC is considered Rice's chief opponent in the race, with the second-largest war chest and an endorsement from former President, Donald Trump.
Others include @GarrettBartonSC, Ken Richardson, and Barbara Arthur.
While waiting for broadcast to start, Rice asks the crowd to clap for Francis Marion University for hosting, as well as themselves for "participating in the democratic process."
The moderator asks if he wants to lop that off his three minute intro, to some sarcastic applause.
Floor debate now starting on the medical marijuana bill.
Rep. John McCravy, R-Greenwood, will be leading opposition on the bill. He is now arguing that based under Supreme Court precedent, this "revenue-raising bill" should have originated in the House, and should be invalid.
He cited a 2015 AG's opinion, which sought to raise fuel taxes for road repairs. scag.gov/wp-content/upl…
However, State v. Stanley found that the provision only counts the levying of taxes. Medical marijuana's tax would only be an incidental tax increase.
That point was made by Rep. Bill Herbkersman and corroborated by Rep. Todd Rutherford, who just moved to recess for lunch.
Looks like they'll be back with a verdict on this one at 1:30 p.m.