ONE-ON-ONE: USC professor explains voting trends ahead of Election Day
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — After the early voting period began Monday, locations have welcomed in registered voters to cast their ballots.
On their ballot are races for the governor’s office as well as the seven congressional seats.
With early voting already underway, what issues are sending residents of the Palmetto State to the polls?
“The same thing just about everybody is worried about. How’s the economy going? Will there be a recession? Is inflation slowing down? I know abortion is also an issue,” said Dr. Jacob Long, professor at the University of South Carolina.
Another issue that has been brought up among South Carolina lawmakers is concerning how the lines for the congressional districts are drawn.
“There certainly does seem to be gerrymandering in South Carolina. South Carolina is not the worst offender in the country by any stretch,” Dr. Long said. “However, you would not expect such a lopsided Republican delegation from a fair map.”
Based on how the congressional districts are for this election, Dr. Long says he is fairly certain of the winner when it comes to many of the races on the ballot.
“I’m not expecting competitive races in the statewide races in the congressional districts,” the USC professor said. “Cunningham seems like a strong candidate for governor but this is South Carolina. McMaster seems popular. The environment is not good for Democrats in the whole country and South Carolina is no different.”
The professor claims that a poor showing by the Democrats is on the card, but there’s always a chance that history may not repeat itself.
“Generally in a midterm… the president’s party will disappoint. Everybody knows that and they try to account for it,” Long said. “We expect high turnout in general but it will probably be better for the Republicans. I’m interested to see if it works out exactly like that.”
Long projects Jim Clyburn as the only Democrat to win a congressional seat from South Carolina in this election.
