(COLUMBIA) State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex will campaign throughout South Carolina’s capital city on Monday before returning to his home county of Fairfield on Tuesday to vote.  The schedule is as follows:

Monday, June 7, 2010
Noon
Main Street Walk
Beginning at Mac’s on Main
1710 Main Street
Columbia, SC

5 p.m.
Door-to-door visits
Begin at Gavilan Road & West Campanella Drive
Columbia, SC

Tuesday, June 8, 2010
10 a.m.
Sue and Jim Rex vote
Dutchman Creek Volunteer Fire Department
6 Dutchman Lane, Ridgeway

7 p.m.
Election Night Celebration
Wet Willie’s in the Vista
800 Gervais Street
Columbia, SC

(COLUMBIA) State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex will travel to multiple counties throughout the final days of the campaign and conclude his “46 Counties in 46 Days” tour in his home of Fairfield, when he and his wife Sue cast their votes on Tuesday. The schedule for Saturday and Sunday is as follows:

Saturday, June 5, 2010

9:00 a.m.
Williamsburg Democratic County Annual Breakfast
Kingstree Senior High School’s West Campus
615 Martin Luther King Avenue
Kingstree, SC

11:30 a.m.
Family and Friends Days: Candidate Showcase
Lilfred’s
8425 Main Street
Rembert, SC

1:00 p.m.
Waffle House
529 U.S. 601
Lugoff, SC

6:00 p.m.
Reception honoring Clayton Richardson
Centenary United Methodist Church
830 South Sixth Street
Hartsville, SC

Sunday, June 6, 2010

10:00 a.m.
Welfare Baptist Church
2106 Bolt Drive
Belton, SC

1:00 p.m.
Dempsey’s Pizza
910 South Broad Street
Clinton, SC

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Representative Joe Neal

(COLUMBIA) – State Representative Joe Neal (D-Hopkins) officially endorsed Jim Rex today, calling him the “best choice for South Carolina during these turbulent times.”  Neal, who represents portions of the Richland and Sumter counties in the South Carolina State House of Representatives, is the former Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus and former Deputy Democratic Leader.  He currently is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, SC.

“I am proud to endorse a real progressive, Jim Rex, to be South Carolina’s next Governor.  I have been impressed over these last three and a half years as we have worked together to improve our public schools.  I have been impressed by his accessibility, his intelligence, and his willingness to put politics aside to do what’s right by our state and our working families.  I support his candidacy without qualification and without reservation,” said Neal.

“Jim Rex is tried and true.  He has proven he can win as a Democrat, and not only is he the most qualified – he’s the most likely to be able to beat the Republicans in November,” said Neal.

Neal was first elected to the State House in 1993. He has served continuously since and currently sits on the House Rules Committee as well as the House Ways and Means Committee.

“It is humbling to have the confidence of a man of Representative Joe Neal’s integrity and honor,” said Rex.

“South Carolinians are hurting in every county of our state, and as Governor, I pledge to be a leader who will work to improve education and bring jobs and economic development to every community in every region of South Carolina,” said Rex. “We cannot have a twenty-first century state with islands of prosperity amid a rising sea of poverty and unemployment.”

The schedule is as follows: *

Friday, May 21, 2010

8:30 a.m.    Brandi’s Restaurant
1233 Limestone Street
Gaffney, SC

12:00 p.m.    Union County Democratic Party Headquarters
213 Main Street (Across from the Court House)
Union, SC

*Schedule reflects only official campaign events and is not inclusive of all Rex appearances.

(COLUMBIA) State Superintendent of Education and Democratic candidate for Governor Jim Rex announced today that he will bring his statewide “46 Counties in 46 Days” tour to Bamberg, Colleton, Beaufort, and Jasper counties on Wednesday and Thursday. Rex is reprising his successful 2006 tour and spending the final 46 days of the primary campaign visiting every county in South Carolina.

“South Carolinians are hurting in every county of our state, and as Governor, I pledge to be a leader who will work to improve education and bring jobs and economic development to every community in every region of South Carolina,” said Rex.  “We cannot have a twenty-first century state with islands of prosperity amid a rising sea of poverty and unemployment.”

The schedule is as follows: *

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

9:00 a.m.
B & B Grocery, Meat and Fish Market
3142 Main Hwy
Bamberg, SC

1:00 p.m.
Saints Center Ministries
106 Colsen Hwy
Walterboro, SC

6:30 p.m.
Beaufort Fundraiser
12 John Gault Road
Beaufort, SC

Thursday, May 20, 2010

9:00 a.m.
Shoney’s
224 Paynesville Road
Hardeeville, SC

11:00 a.m.
Sun City Democratic Club Lunch
Sun City Pavillion
Bluffton, SC

*Schedule reflects only official campaign events and is not inclusive of all Rex appearances.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Democrats and Republicans hoping to be South Carolina’s next governor faced off for a debate in the state capital Tuesday night.

The Palmetto Family Council event was broadcast on WIS News 10, and is posted in its entirety on WIStv.com. The four Republican candidates took the stage first, followed by three Democrats. It’s one of dozens of public debates candidates have had since the race began last year.

The Republican candidates are Attorney General Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and state Rep. Nikki Haley. The Democratic candidates are state Education Superintendent Jim Rex and state Sens. Vincent Sheheen and Robert Ford.

It might have been called the “Faith and Family Forum,” but most of the talk on stage at Drayton Hall centered on things like voting records, job creation, immigration and economic policy.

If there were any sparks flying between the four GOP candidates, they were generated early. State Rep. Nikki Haley and U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett clashed over their votes on stimulus money and corporate bailouts.

Barrett has accused Haley of flip-flopping on the stimulus, while Haley says Barrett backed bailouts. Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer meanwhile, continued his attack on what he calls “generational welfare.” He says no one is monitoring the problem.

Attorney General Henry McMaster, believed by many observers to be the GOP frontrunner, said reforming the court system could help the state out of its financial crisis.

The Democratic contenders, Sens. Robert Ford and Vincent Sheheen, and State Superintendent Jim Rex, each hoped they’ll have more of the limelight in the near future. When they took the stage for debate, each of the candidates gave their pitch.

Ford said he is the only candidate with a fast plan to fix the budget. “Video poker was a four billion dollar industry, only tax it 25%, that will bring in one billion dollars in revenue, a new casino in Myrtle Beach that’ll bring in another, and that will solve the most of the states problems economically.”

Sheheen says fixing the state’s economy is about thinking outside the box. “I talk about the need to expand the economy to new industry like alternative energy, biofuel in rural areas, wind off the coast and increasing our training for nurses and med techs were we can pay 60, 70, 80 a year.”

Rex said he would run the state like a CEO, knowing if he won he would be working mostly with Republican legislators.

“This is not an abstraction to me,” he said. “I’m the only Democrat elected to statewide office and only way Democrats get elected to statewide office is to get independents and Republicans to vote for them. That’s what happened three and a half years ago.”

After the debate, we asked each candidate if there was something else they wanted voters to know.

“Well I would have like to talk about my involvement in public schools in South Carolina with my kids being in public schools and my mom being a teacher,” said Sheheen.

“You have to have a 21st century workforce, and you’re not going to have a 21st century workforce unless you educate,” said Rex. “That’s the only way we’re going to be the state we want to be.”

As the lights went dow, Ford said he had said enough. “I think I did a superb job, I answered the questions, said this is Robert Ford, this is why I’m running, the other candidates don’t,” he said.

Nikki Haley trailed the other GOP candidates in fundraising, and they were able to start spending on TV ads weeks and even months ago. But Haley got a sizeable publicity boost from Sarah Palin’s endorsement last Friday, and this week, the candidate who appears to be closest to the Tea Party wing of the GOP hits the airwaves with her first self-financed commercial.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Henry McMaster, Congressman Gresham Barrett and Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer continue to roll out the latest of their ads. All are aimed at convincing GOP voters there’s something that sets them apart from the pack.

On the other side, the Democratic candidates are looking to do exactly the same thing.

“I certainly think this is the best opportunity a Democrat has had in many years to be elected governor in South Carolina,” said state Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler. “20 of the last 24 years, this state has had a Republican governor, and voters realize the reason this state isn’t on the right track is because a Republican has been in control all this time.”

Republican Gov. Mark Sanford is limited from seeking a third straight term and leaves office in January.
Copyright 2010 WIS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

South Carolina’s seven gubernatorial candidates met for a family-values-themed debate Tuesday as the campaign entered its final three weeks.

The Republican half of the twin 30-minute debates started with sparks, based on state Rep. Nikki Haley of Lexington’s first gubernatorial ad hitting the air Tuesday. That ad takes a shot at each of her three opponents, Attorney General Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett.

Haley has criticized Barrett for voting for a federal bank bailout, but Barrett fired back at Haley for voting for using about $350 million in federal stimulus money in this year’s state budget before voting, and campaigning, against the money. Haley said two earlier votes were “procedural” and she voted against final passage of the bill.

“I never said I never voted for it,” Barrett said of his Troubled Assets Relief Program vote. “Procedural votes do matter and the record is very clear.”

Barrett’s final vote, Haley said, was for passage of TARP.

“The final vote on the stimulus, I voted against,” she said. “My opponents have said they favored taking the stimulus.”

Bauer was pressed on his claims of ending “generational welfare,” with moderator Judi Gatson of WIS TV asking him which programs, many of which are federally run, he would end?

“We’ve got to have an adult conversation, Bauer said, not providing specifics. “It’s all programs.”

The candidates took on questions about entering office with a looming billion-dollar deficit, recruiting jobs to South Carolina counties with the highest unemployment and resisting temptations that come with elected office.

“I want every son and daughter of South Carolina to know the whole world is open to them,” McMaster said, answering a question about why S.C. has so few elected women.

The Democratic half of the debate had fewer fireworks.

Any Democratic governor would likely face a Republican-controlled Legislature, so the three candidates were asked how they would appeal to moderates.

Superintendent of Education Jim Rex noted he currently is the only statewide-elected Democrat. The majority of South Carolina, he said, is the “sensible center.”

“I think they want an executive, a CEO for governor,” he said. “I’ve run a college. I’ve been a college president.”

State Sen. Vincent Sheheen said his Kershaw County district is more moderate than most.

“I talk about basic, important issues. Like small business,” Sheheen said, explaining his plan to create a Commerce Department division to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs. ”

State Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston, who has proposed legalizing video poker and auctioning off a Myrtle Beach casino license, said his proposals would have little trouble becoming law because he would have a mandate.

“The people have spoken,” Ford said. “It’s just that simple.”

“South Carolina needs a new direction. Our current leadership has failed.”

When making a guest appearance on SCETV program, Connections, State Superintendent of SC Schools, Dr. Jim Rex discussed concerns for education reform with host P.A. Bennett. The show aired April 9 , 2010.

Dr. Rex also expressed concerns regarding the welfare of South Carolina as a whole when it comes to government spending and the lack of support for quality education. Aside from the usual political campaigns conducted during election time, Dr. Rex is delivering a public message that is quite different from the norm. One might say that his approach is transparently -genuine for the common good when it comes to the issues that affects the economy and the poor- working class of this State. His stance is to turnaround South Carolina government.

“I’m running because SC needs a turnaround Governor. My turnaround mission will be to create jobs and a growing economy, a government committed to accountability and living within its means,” he says.

When the polls open this coming election to re-elect the next governor, SC has only two choices: Either elect a leader who will build a better tomorrow that will produce growth and honor common values or elect a leader who will continue to produce the same negative habits of neglect and no change. Many agree that SC could use a major overhaul when it comes to regulating the expenditures of state funded programs. Dr. Rex has fought to generate stimulus funding to the palmetto state. Dr. Rex has a mission to turnaround SC that will reform the status quo of the present government system.

Edith Childs is fired up for Jim Rex!

Greenwood County Council member Edith Childs, who famously coined the phrase “Fired up and ready to go” for the Presidential campaign of then-Senator Barack Obama led a list of new endorsements released today by the campaign of State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, a Democrat running for Governor in the June 8 primary. Rex, halfway through his “46 Counties in 46 Days tour,” is currently traveling every county in the state during the final 46 days of the primary campaign.

“I was fired up and ready to go for Barack Obama, and I’m fired up and ready to go for Jim Rex. I encourage South Carolinians to get out and vote on Tuesday, June 8, and give us a Governor who will work with our President to make South Carolina a better place to live, work, and raise a family,” said Childs.

During the 2008 campaign, Childs unwittingly provided the Obama campaign with its signature slogan during a stop by the candidate at a Greenwood church. Subsequently, the phrase was used on t-shirts and as a chant to excite crowds at campaign rallies.

“I am proud to have the support of Edith Childs, who helped inspire a nation to change with her passion,” said Rex.

Along with Childs, the campaign released the following endorsements:

Brenda Bennett, Allendale County Probate Judge
Ken Campbell, Former chair, Oconee County Democratic Party
Tom Carter, Allendale County Sheriff
Francis Coath, Fairfax City Council
Gussie Cochrane, Clarendon School District One Board of Trustees
Moses Cohen, Mayor of Fairfax
Zach Croft, Saluda County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Terry Davis, Mullins City Council
Willie Davis, Dorchester County Council
Jim Dumm, Georgetown County School Board
Joey English, Union County Council
Dewayne Ennis, Allendale City Administrator
Mike Evatt, Oconee County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Henry Fields, Jr., Mayor of Varnville
Ed Fludd, Orangeburg Veteran Affairs Officer
Rebecca Freeman, City of Fairfax Finance Director
Al Gaines, Oconee County Council
Elaine Gentry, Greenwood County Democratic Party Chair
Jerry Goldman, McCormick County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Henri Mae Grant, Allendale County Auditor
James Grant, Allendale City Council
Charles Haggard, Mayor of Pelion
Ben Harrison, Saluda County School Board Member
Elizabeth Haynes, Hampton School District Two Board of Trustees
Sharon Holloway, Saluda Democratic Party Chair, School Board Member
Willa Jennings, Allendale County Democratic Primary Vice-Chair
James Jones, Clarendon School District One Board of Trustees
Jeff Kerr, Chester County School Board
Lois Love, Laurens County Democratic Party Treasurer
Archie Lucas, Chester County Council
Cheryl Mole, Allendale County School Board
Glenn Nixon, Colleton County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Willie B. Owens, Orangeburg City Council
Wilhemena Rhoe, Anderson County Democratic Party Exeucutive Committee
Paul Richardson, Southenders Democratic Club of Horry County
Dorothy Riley, Allendale County Council
Bill Robinson, Allendale County Council, Allendale County Democratic Party Chair
Ed Robinson, Florence City Council
Elaine Sabb, Allendale County Clerk of Court
Spencer Scott, Florence County Democratic Party Chair
Louise Settles, Edgefield County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Susan Smith, Georgetown County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Valerie Smith, Allendale County Council
Audrey Snead, Richland County Democratic Party Executive Committee
H.C. Starnes, Mayor of Great Falls
James Tallman, Clarendon School District One Board of Trustees
Anderson Taylor, Mayor of Estill
Michael Void, Bowman Town Council
Lucille Whipper, Former member, SC House of Representatives, Charleston
Theresa Williams, Hampton County Clerk of Court
Carolyn Wilson, Mullins City Council

See the full list of endorsements and supporters>>

State Superintendent of Education and Democratic candidate for Governor Jim Rex announced today that he will bring his statewide “46 Counties in 46 Days” tour to Saluda today. Rex is reprising his successful 2006 tour and spending the final 46 days of the primary campaign visiting every county in South Carolina.

“South Carolinians are hurting in every county of our state, and as Governor, I pledge to be a leader who will work to improve education and bring jobs and economic development to every community in every region of South Carolina,” said Rex.  “We cannot have a twenty-first century state with islands of prosperity amid a rising sea of poverty and unemployment.”

The schedule is as follows: *

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

3:30 p.m.
Town Hall Meeting
Riverside Community Development Center
404 N Bouknight Ferry Road
Saluda, SC

*Schedule reflects only official campaign events and is not inclusive of all Rex appearances.

See Jim’s Progress>>