Longtime SC lawmaker faces young African American challenger in Lower Richland primary

South Carolina’s Democratic primary for House District 80 is shaping up to be a reflection of contrasts, starting with Lower Richland voters deciding whether to vote for a seasoned lawmaker with 22 years under his belt or a newcomer to State House politics with a progressive message in hopes to engage more voters.

Longtime state Rep. Jimmy Bales, 84, who is white, faces a challenge from Jermaine Johnson, a 34-year-old African American who formerly worked as a state campaign chair for failed presidential hopeful Andrew Yang’s presidential bid in a district that according to the last U.S. Census was majority African American.

At a time when COVID-19 has ripped apart the playbook of traditional campaigning, Bales is banking on name ID, a lengthy resume and his decades-long relationships in his Lower Richland district, stretching from Kershaw and Richland counties, to help him keep the seat he has held since 1999.

“I listen to my constituents to find out their concerns and then their concerns become my goals,” Bales, of Eastover, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, wrote in a candidate questionnaire for The State. “I respond to inquires by my constituents.”

Meanwhile, Johnson, of Hopkins, who is involved with Richland County’s Recreation Commission and owns a consulting firm, has had to adjust his campaign to digital platforms, signs and word of mouth through family and friends, hoping endorsements from Yang and CNN contributor and former state Rep. Bakari Sellers can help him catch voters’ attention.

Johnson said it’s time for new leadership and has promised he’ll serve no more than five terms in the State House.

“It’s time to have somebody who’s extremely vocal and can stand up and represent people who are marginalized and disadvantaged,” Johnson told The State.

Their priorities are quite similar and range anywhere from fixing neglected roads and bridges in the district, to pledging to push for a better education system for children and a stronger investment in the Lower Richland senior community.

But can a populist message from a relatively new face unseat a decades-long House lawmaker with a lengthy resume?

Experience matters, Bales said.

Bales’ career stretches back to 1959, when he worked as a teacher then principal of Lower Richland High School. He was elected to Richland County Council in 1976, becoming chairman in 1983. Bales was elected to the S.C. House in 1998, eventually chairing the Richland County Legislative Delegation. He also sits on the House’s budget-writing committee, which every year drafts the first spending plan for the state.

“If you’ve been there awhile you can get on important and more powerful committees,” Bales said when asked why experience matters. “I’ve been there for 22 years. ... You don’t just go over there and get a committee like Ways and Means.”

A College of Charleston graduate with a doctorate in organizational leadership from online Northcentral University based in California, Johnson’s involvement in politics spans from serving as third vice chair for the Richland County Democratic Party to a member of the Democratic Black Caucus. He also is an adjunct professor at online Webster University in South Carolina teaching organizational leadership.

“I believe I’m the best representative for the future generation and where they would like to go,” said Johnson, who said he’s become more energized in light of protests of mostly young people calling for the end of police brutality of African Americans in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died in May after an officer knelt on his neck for longer than eight minutes while he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. That officer and three others face charges in Floyd’s death.

“I’ve been through some things, I’ve gone through poverty and had experiences that I’ve gone through that have allowed me to be a good representation for those individuals still unheard,” he said.

Bales, Johnson said, can be out of touch with his district.

Offering an example, Bales and Johnson were set to meet Monday for a virtual debate hosted by the Lower Richland NAACP. Then the day before the debate, Johnson said he was told Bales had a scheduling conflict and that his daughter would step in instead.

“I felt extremely disrespected, slighted and disappointed as a constituent of his,” Johnson said.

Bales told The State he had another meeting, and saw no problem with his daughter, a lawyer, speaking on his behalf.

Outside of the debate, Bales said he speaks to his constituents regularly, fielding at least 10 calls a week.

“They call here all the time, and I help them with a lot of problems,” said Bales, who added this week he helped a woman struggling to get unemployment get her check. “If you ask for a job, you ought to do it, and I try my best to do it.”

The Buzz on SC Politics Newsletter Click here to sign up.

‘Young upstart versus a seasoned vet’

Bales’ endorsers say in time that a debate over putting a fresh face in the seat can take place. But not now.

“I don’t think right at this time, when you’re being productive in your district, that you make a change in your district when leadership has decided they want to continue to fill those projects that have been worked on,” said state Sen. John Scott, a Richland Democrat who recently recorded a radio ad for Bales’ on a predominately African American radio station.

The two lawmakers date back to 1988, when they first served together on Richland County Council.

Scott said Bales has been influential in helping to get money to the Lower Richland community: including to build a new fire department, fix up the community’s health care center, get money for physicians or help extend Shop Road.

“He’s indicated this is his last term, and he wants to make sure projects are being completed before he goes into retirement,” Scott said.

Seniority matters, Scott said.

“You need some seniority representation in the House of Representatives,” Scott said, noting Bales’ role on the House’s powerful budget-writing committee. “Rather than direct appropriation, you have input in terms of funding for health care programs, streets and roads infrastructure programs. That input is very important.”

The baton is going to get passed at some point, Scott said, “and I hope it’s to people who show the capability and willingness to work.”

Sellers, the former House representative from Bamberg County, says that person is Johnson.

“Every now and then we need to make sure we put new voices in, somebody who’s forward thinking, progressive and who’s not afraid to challenge and tackle the issues of today,” Sellers said. “These aren’t the same issues 15, 20 years ago.”

Sellers commended Bales’ service to the state, but said, “it’s literally time for a change.” He compared Johnson’s bid to unseat Bales to his own unsuccessful 2014 bid for lieutenant governor against Henry McMaster, who ultimately won that seat only to become governor a few years later: “Young upstart versus a seasoned vet.”

Sellers called Johnson “more than capable, somebody who comes from the soil of South Carolina.”

“I love Jimmy Bales, and I always will,” Sellers said. “But it’s Jermaine’s time.”