‘Elections matter, leadership matters.’ Kamala Harris speaks in Myrtle Beach
As Vice President Kamala Harris talked about the importance of voting during a stop in Myrtle Beach Saturday, a crowd of around 1,000 women cheered in agreement.
“Elections matter, leadership matters and it makes a difference in the lives of people,” Harris said.
Harris visited the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort on Saturday to give a keynote speech at the Seventh Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church Women’s Missionary Society annual retreat. This visit came less than a month before the S.C. Democratic presidential primary on Feb. 3. President Joe Biden will be in Charleston on Monday, Jan. 8, to visit Mother Emanuel AME Church, where a white supremacist massacred nine church members in 2015.
In Myrtle Beach, Harris talked about how states, including South Carolina, have banned ballot dropboxes, which allow voters to drop off their ballots in a secure box. On the third anniversary of the U.S. Capitol riot, she talked about how people used violence that day to try to overturn a fair election.
“On that day, we saw violence, chaos, and lawlessness, even though some so-called leaders still say it was a peaceful protest led by, quote, ‘great patriots,’” Harris said.
She warned about censorship from Republican leaders, referencing book bans and what she said was an attempt to rewrite U.S. history, such as slavery, to make it seem better.
“Must I really have to say the Civil War was about slavery?” Harris said, eliciting many claps and cheers from the crowd.
Late last month, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was criticized for her response at a New Hampshire town hall when she was asked about the reason for the Civil War. Her answer did not include slavery, but the former South Carolina governor said the next day that, “Of course the Civil War was about slavery.”
Harris also spoke about the various ways she and President Joe Biden have helped Black Americans during their term in office. The accomplishments include investing more than $7 billion in historically Black colleges and universities and nominating many Black female judges, including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court.
The administration also expanded Medicaid coverage for mothers, which helped address the high rate of Black maternal mortality. South Carolina and 41 other states now allow mothers to be covered for 12 months after birth, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.
Her stop in town closed down U.S. 17 and several exits and entrances to the highway as her motorcade traveled from the airport and back.
What other presidential candidates have visited Myrtle Beach?
Harris is the first candidate in the 2024 presidential election to visit Myrtle Beach this year. Four presidential candidates have stopped in the area since last March. In October, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigned in Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet and Haley held a rally at Horry Georgetown Technical College last March.
Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson stopped by the Unity Christ Church in Myrtle Beach in early December, according to WBTW. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, also stopped by the area in June but dropped out of the race in November.
Donald Trump, Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy and Joe Biden have not visited the Myrtle Beach area during the 2024 campaign cycle.
