Name: Hicks column: Can Graham afford to write off 400,000 South Carolina voters?
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Hicks column: Can Graham afford to write off 400,000 South Carolina voters?

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Lindsey Graham may come to regret that remark about extending unemployment benefits “over our dead bodies.”And not just because it was a bit insensitive during a pandemic.South Carolina’s senior senator last week reminded 400,000 out-of-work state residents that he suspects some of them would rather collect unemployment than hold a job. Just as he said about nurses back in March.Graham hasn’t been critical of eight-figure bailouts for corporations that used massive tax cuts for stock buybacks and bonuses, yet didn’t plan for a rainy day. Apparently that’s fine, but the CARES Act is just too generous.“I promise you over our dead bodies will this get reauthorized,” Graham said.That clip is no doubt coming soon to a campaign commercial near you.Graham has never been the most beloved politician in South Carolina, and now it seems he’s shedding friends every day. Which is part of the reason two noted political prognosticators have reduced his chances for reelection from inevitable to simply probable.Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report last week moved Lindsey’s Senate race from “Safe Republican” to “Likely Republican.” It’s the latest in a long string of less-than-ideal news for Graham:Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison raised significantly more money for his campaign in the first quarter of this year than Graham did — $7 million versus $5.5 million.Granted, some of Harrison’s cash came from people who don’t vote in South Carolina, as Lindsey’s shamelessly sycophantic relationship with President Trump has made him a national villain among Democrats.Richard Wilkerson, former chairman and president of Michelin’s North American operations in South Carolina — as well as a Graham donor and finance committee member during his brief 2016 president run — recently endorsed Harrison.Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings.Sure, Wilkerson has been known to donate to Democrats, but that is precisely why this matters.Graham has always been viewed suspiciously among the GOP’s far-right wing, and has depended on Democrats and independents to get elected. And in the past year, he has alienated the very voters who routinely lift him over 50 percent.Republicans already face dim prospects this election year. Trump is trailing in nearly every battleground state, and GOP senators have warned donors even Georgia could go blue. Yet Graham essentially calls 10% of South Carolina voters lazy.As such, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report predict Graham’s Senate race could be the most competitive since the Bush era.“Harrison’s path is not an easy one, but it is also not an impossible one,” the Crystal Ball says.Harrison is capitalizing on all this pretty well, reminding everyone what Graham said about medical workers during a health crisis.“A few weeks ago, he went after nurses, and now he is continuing to prove that, even during a global pandemic, he can’t bring himself to stand on the side of working families,” Harrison’s campaign said.Ouch.Now, Graham probably isn’t going to lose, but it should worry him that respected election analysts say his defeat is even possible.He’d just better hope the coronavirus burns itself out … and people stop dying.Otherwise, six months from today, Graham’s flippant quip about “over our dead bodies” could end up on his political tombstone.Reach Brian Hicks at ., Post and Courier, an Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group. All rights reserved.&nbsp;| &nbsp;|

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Lindsey Graham may come to regret that remark about extending unemployment benefits “over our dead bodies.”And not just because it was a bit insensitive during a pandemic.South Carolina’s senior senator last week reminded 400,000 out-of-work state residents that he suspects some of them would rather collect unemployment than hold a job. Just as he said about nurses back in March.Graham hasn’t been critical of eight-figure bailouts for corporations that used massive tax cuts for stock buybacks and bonuses, yet didn’t...

Hicks column: Can Graham afford to write off 400,000 South Carolina voters?

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