Winthrop to host national Democratic presidential candidates forum in November

All eyes will be on Rock Hill in November when Winthrop University hosts a forum for Democratic presidential primary candidates, the S.C. Democratic Party announced Friday.

The Nov. 6 event is between the first and second scheduled Democratic debates and comes before South Carolina’s Feb. 27 primary, the first Southern primary contest in 2016. The forum will be televised nationally on MSNBC.

Five candidates have officially entered the 2016 Democratic presidential primary race: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont; former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley; former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb; and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

All have been invited to the forum and are “holding the date open” pending final arrangements, said Jaime Harrison, chairman of the state party.

South Carolina campaign officials for Clinton and Sanders said the list of attendees will come from state Democratic Party.

Details are still being worked out with Winthrop University. Winthrop’s Brynes Auditorium, which hosted Sanders and about 3,000 of his supporters last Saturday, is a likely venue. Winthrop has a volleyball game Nov. 6 at the coliseum.

Admission to the event will likely be by ticket.

“It will be huge, people are hungry to see these candidates,” said Amy Hayes, chair of the York County Democratic Party. “It will be an issue-oriented, substance-filled night. They will be getting into the issues deeper than you can in a debate.”

As planned, the event will be a forum and the candidates will individually appear on stage. The evening will be preceded by a series of policy meetings where Democratic leaders from the South will gather to define the “New South,” Harrison said.

“Gov. Nikki Haley recently defined her perception of the ‘New South,’ it’s time for the Democrats to frame what needs to happen in the South,” Harrison said.

Among the issues that are expected to be discussed by the groups – and the candidates – are equality; jobs, minimum wage and pay equity; Medicaid expansion and health care; education; foreign policy; and voter registration laws.

“‘Black Lives Matter’ will also come up,” said Karen Kedrowski, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and former political science professor at Winthrop.

Former U.S. Rep. John Spratt of York, the Democrat who represented the 5th Congressional District from 1983-2011, said the focus should be on the things that “define, and are of interest, to the southern region.” Spratt said he plans to attend the event.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who is co-hosting the forum, said in a statement released Friday, “This forum will give candidates an additional opportunity to focus on the issues that matter to voters in the South and highlight the diversity of the Democratic Party.”

Harrison said it will also be a chance for the candidates to learn what’s important to South Carolina and southern voters. Representatives from the campaigns likely will be part of the issue discussions before the candidates’ forum.

It also is a chance to show off Winthrop University, Rock Hill and York County in the national spotlight, said Hayes and others.

“Don’t call us sleepy Rock Hill, this is a chance to show people how we have changed, we are not a super conservative, boring Rock Hill,” Hayes said.

Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols, a Democrat, said, “Winthrop has actively sought out a continuing large role in hosting candidates from both parties. The forum with all candidates and the national attention it will bring, regardless of political affiliation, is a winner for the city and region.”

Winthrop University President Dan Mahony said, “Hosting this forum puts Winthrop on the national stage and demonstrates our commitment to serve the campus and community by bringing to Rock Hill candidates vying to be the next president of the United States.”

Hayes was among those locally who assisted the state Democratic Party in choosing a site. Other sites considered included the Kenneth Monroe Transformation Center on Saluda Street in Rock Hill, she said.

State party officials choose Rock Hill because of its strategic location; it is a chance to reach voters from both Carolinas. The recent Sanders event at Winthrop confirmed that as one-half of the license plates on campus for the event were from North Carolina, Kedrowski said.

It’s also easy for the candidates to reach as Rock Hill is a short ride from Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

“For the candidates they can get two for the price one exposure,” Kedrowski said.

Kedrowski and Harrison stressed the importance of South Carolina’s primary, the first test of candidates before a racially diverse electorate.

“This demonstrates how important South Carolina is to both parties,” Kedrowski said. South Carolina is a bellwether state for Republicans, the winner here is usually the party’s nominee.

For Democrats, it’s the first primary with a significant African-American population. “Fifty percent of Democratic voters in South Carolina are African-American, she said.

“It’s a whole different feel from Iowa and New Hampshire,” Harrison said.

The decision to come to York County was also, in part, based on Spratt’s long service in Congress and an effort to engage all parts of South Carolina, not just Charleston and Columbia, Harrison said

“We want to share the Democratic love across the state,” he said.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Winthrop to host national Democratic presidential candidates forum in November."