2 weeks Ago
As a candidate for Congress in South Carolina’s 1st District, I am deeply concerned by my opponent Nancy Mace’s claims that immigration is our district’s top issue, even going so far as to refer to Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano as a “sanctuary sheriff,” and label South Carolina a "border state.” This is not only misleading, but it distracts from the urgent challenges facing our community. Let’s be clear: South Carolina is not a border state.
While immigration is an important national issue, it’s nowhere near the most pressing concern for hardworking families in the Lowcountry. Instead of focusing on manufactured crises, we should be addressing the real challenges our community faces. My opponent’s fixation on immigration is part of a broader pattern.
Time and again, when faced with the actual problems affecting the 1st District, she chooses to distract. She says one thing and votes the opposite way, or offers a slew of symbolic bills designed to create the illusion of action. For instance, she recently touted the “Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act," although she voted against the reauthorization of the "Violence Against Women Act," which provides comprehensive support and legal protections for all victims of gender-based violence.
Her bill, and others like it, only serve to divert attention from the urgent needs of our district. Take economic security. Many families in our district struggle with rising costs, stagnant wages and limited access to affordable housing.
The gap between what working families earn and what they need for basic expenses has widened, often due to corporate price gouging. These families need real solutions, not distractions or political talking points. Health care access is another crisis.
Thousands of people in the 1st District lack affordable, quality care. Families should never have to choose between medical bills and basic necessities, but that’s the reality for too many of our neighbors. Expanding Medicaid, lowering prescription drug prices and protecting rural hospitals are critical steps we need to take now.
South Carolina’s refusal to expand Medicaid has left families drowning in medical debt, the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. This debt drags down credit scores, making it harder to buy homes or cars or fully engage in the economy. Women’s reproductive health care is another critical issue.
South Carolina’s six-week abortion ban, one of the most restrictive in the country, threatens the health and autonomy of women. A recent poll shows that 70% of women here oppose this law. Politicians should not interfere in personal health care decisions — this is a fundamental right that must be protected.
And we cannot ignore the greatest long-term threat to our district: climate change. The 1st District is projected to suffer more from climate change than any other district in the country. Rising sea levels, more frequent hurricanes and worsening flooding already threaten homes, businesses and livelihoods across the Lowcountry.
Yet my opponent ignores this existential threat to our community. This isn’t just reckless — it’s dangerous. While immigration is a national issue that needs reform, the exaggerated claims from my opponent, as well as her tacit approval of Donald Trump's even more outrageous assertions, serve to distract from these real challenges.
Yes, we need to always be diligent about national security, create pathways to citizenship and protections for workers. And yes, we need to prosecute all violent criminals (although, in fact, there is no evidence that undocumented immigrants have a higher rate of violent crime than U.S.
citizens; research has shown quite the opposite). But using terms like "invasion" and "hunting our women" while condoning Trump's portrayal of immigrants as "vermin" is designed to stoke fear — and distract from the real issues. The real challenges facing the 1st District are right here at home.
The district deserves leadership that will address the issues that truly matter to our community — not get lost in political nonsense. Let’s move forward together and focus on the work that makes a difference for South Carolina. Michael B.
Moore is the Democratic nominee for the 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A Mount Pleasant resident, businessman and former CEO of the International African American Museum, Moore is the great-great-grandson of Civil War hero Robert Smalls..
