DNC chair follows Clyburn, endorses in SC Democratic Party chair’s race

Christale Spain, one of three running for chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, added another notable backer to her list of endorsements.

Democratic National Committee Jaime Harrison, a former state party chairman who until Thursday had remained out of the current chair’s race, endorsed Spain two days before delegates choose the next leader of the state Democratic Party.

Harrison’s endorsement follows that of close ally Congressman Jim Clyburn, who endorsed Spain earlier this month.

Harrison’s endorsement could seal a victory for Spain, who is running against activist Catherine Fleming Bruce and Brandon Upson, chair of the party’s Black caucus.

“On all levels, folks need to be able to rely upon and trust the judgment of the state party chair,” Harrison said in a nearly three-minute video released Thursday, first obtained by The State newspaper. “Christale will always put the interests of South Carolina Democrats first.”

The party will meet Saturday in Columbia to elect a chair to succeed Trav Robertson, who opted not to seek another two-year term. The race has resembled that of a traditional election, with candidates trying to whip the estimated 1,600 delegates who will vote.

Whoever wins Saturday will be tasked with trying to right the ship of a party that has not won a statewide race since 2006 and has lost a handful of State House seats over the last two election cycles.

Democrats lost five seats in the State House in 2020, then eight more seats in 2022. Republicans also flipped the coastal 1st Congressional District in 2020, and last year won the governor’s race by nearly 18 points.

Whoever wins chair also will sit in charge of the first in the nation Democratic presidential primary in 2024 and work to ensure the state party keeps that slot in 2028.

Harrison said Spain is the only candidate in the chair’s race who understands how state parties operate in a presidential election year, and has the ability to oversee party conventions on county, state and national levels.

Currently, Spain works for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as the senior advisor of Black engagement. Prior, she was the state party’s executive director and worked for Clyburn.

The char’s race kicked off in February, when Upson announced his candidacy.

Upson is running with a slate of candidates seeking vice chair positions. Since entering the race, he’s rolled out endorsements from Democratic state Reps. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, of Orangeburg, and John King, of York, and former state superintendent of education candidate Lisa Ellis, among others.

Bruce has promoted endorsements from 14 former and current county party leaders.

Bruce and Spain are both seeking to become the first Black woman to lead the S.C. Democratic Party.

Harrison ran the state party from 2013 to 2017. In 2020, he unsuccessfully challenged Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, raising $132 million. He lost by 10 percentage points.

Spain has received $10,000 for her campaign from Clyburn, while Upson has raised money through an Act Blue account, a Democratic Party fundraising tool.

In his video, Harrison said Spain helped hold off large gains by Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, winning 12 of the 13 races she worked on.

“She has the strategy to get South Carolina Democrats back on a winning track,” Harrison said.