Hey Daily Kos!
I’m Archie Parnell, in Sumter, South Carolina. To save you googling time, Sumter is the geographical heart of our state.
Sumter is also at the heart of a hard-fought special election for South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District. It’s the district hardline conservative Mick Mulvaney represented in Congress before becoming Donald Trump’s slash-and-burn budget director.
As a side-note, if you’re a House of Cards fan, the 5th is the Congressional District represented by Frank Underwood before he heads to the White House!
I was honored to receive more than 70% of the May 2 Democratic Primary vote. On the other side, the Republicans are still feuding over who is going to carry their torch in the June 20th special election.
What a lot of folks don’t know is our district has only been red for the past six years. And while the Republicans want to think they have a lock on our district, that’s far from the truth.
I know we can win back the 5th Congressional District from the Republicans – but I will need the help of friends like you to defeat whomever the GOP throw up to run against me.
Of all the special elections right now, this is the only seat that was held recently by Democrats -- and for over 100 years. It's the only one with a substantial African American population. In KS-04, Democrat James Thompson lost by 6 points -- in a district Trump won by 27 points in November.
If we replicate that swing here, we win. I’m running hard across the district, talking about taxes, prescription drugs, Social Security -- which are important issues to Democrats, Republicans, and independents in this community.
Trumpcare – which has been pushed heavily by Mick Mulvaney in his new White House role – has gone down like a lead balloon in the district. As a businessman and tax expert, I can tell you this shameful bill is really messed up.
It leaves hardworking South Carolina families and veterans with higher costs and less coverage, slaps an 'age tax' on older Americans, and allows insurance companies to raise prices for South Carolinians with pre-existing conditions and to deny them some treatments. All for what? It hurts the people just to fund a massive handout to insurance companies.
The one thing the bill HAS done is provide our campaign with a fresh surge of energy. Progressive activists are working around the clock in every part of the district. Momentum is building. I’m holding town hall meetings to hear, firsthand, from residents.
I hope you'll get involved in our campaign by visiting my website at www.ArchieParnell.com.
But before we get to that, I want to get to know one another. I want to hear from you on the issues you care about, and get a dialogue going about how we can work together to create a progressive America that works for everyone.
Let's chat. I'll be around from 2-3pm or so to take your questions in the comments below.
I look forward to answering your questions,
Archie!