The Daily Gamecock editorial board has decided to run endorsements for the following candidates based on a discussion surrounding the issues each candidate ran on. Multiple senior staff members (paid staff members that appear on our masthead) voted on each candidate based on the particular issues each candidate listed on their campaign website, their congressional website and through their official vote records (if they were an incumbent).
In this process, candidates were anonymized and only their discernible issues, platforms and policy positions were included. To further remove bias, senior staff members were allowed to vote anonymously as well. Following this, candidates names were revealed and senior staff members were given the chance to refine their selections with this new information in mind. The opinions represented here are those of The Daily Gamecock Editorial Board.
District 1:
The Daily Gamecock endorses Joe Cunningham for District 1. While we praise both candidates for their relative civility — especially in their handling of Arrington's car accident back in June — we believe that Joe Cunningham has superior policy positions to Katie Arrington in a number of key areas.
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District 2:
The Daily Gamecock endorses Sean Carrigan for District 2. Aside from the fact that we agree with him on policy, Sean Carrigan was by and away the most specific out of all of the candidates in his policy positions, and this greatly influenced our decision to endorse his run for office. It is one thing to be for something, it is another entirely to state explicitly how you will achieve your goals.
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District 3:
The Daily Gamecock endorses Mary Geren for District 3. We believed that Mary Geren has superior policy positions compared to those of her opponents. We also believe that Geren's specificity in her policy positions was a contributing factor in our endorsement.
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District 4:
The Daily Gamecock endorses no candidates running in District 4. We made this decision as no candidates running met the expectations we believe are required to hold such a prestigious and powerful office. We disagreed with William Timmons' platform — particularly his stance on abortion. Brandon P. Brown and Guy V. Furay both failed to provide the necessary information needed to form an opinion of them as candidates.
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District 5:
The Daily Gamecock endorses no candidates running in District 5. We made this decision as no candidates running met the expectations we believe are required to hold such a prestigious and powerful office. Ralph Norman has made controversial statements trivializing sexual assault allegations and has violated basic principles of gun safety during a meeting with his constituents. Archie Parnell allegedly physically abused his ex-wife in multiple instances during the 1970s. Michael Chandler has next to no information available on the internet and was, therefore, impossible to form an opinion on.
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Michael Chandler (Constitution)
District 6:
The Daily Gamecock endorses James "Jim" Clyburn. Jim Clyburn's plans for expanding on and replacing the Voting Rights Act were an important factor in our decision to endorse his run for re-election.
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District 7:
The Daily Gamecock endorses no candidates running in District 7. We made this decision as no candidates running met the expectations we believe are required to hold such a prestigious and powerful office. We disagree with Tom Rice's platform — particularly his stance on abortion. Robert Williams failed to provide the necessary information needed to form an opinion of him as a candidate.
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