‘Our nation once again needs your leadership’: Harris rallies voters during Myrtle Beach stop

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WCBD)- Cheers echoed across the Hilton ballroom as Vice President Kamala Harris walked onstage to address the congregation at the 7^th Episcopal District AME Church Women’s Missionary Society annual retreat in Myrtle Beach.

During the roughly 20-minute remarks, Harris highlighted what she called the administration’s commitment to Black Americans, particularly in South Carolina. African American voters comprise roughly 60 percent of the state’s Democratic electorate, making it a critical voting bloc.

“We share a vision for America’s future,” she told the audience. “A future where every person has the full measure of freedom and liberty and so we have been working toward building that brighter future.”

Those investments include funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), expanding access to high-speed internet, and efforts to appoint more Black women to judgeships.

She also touched on the issue of maternal mortality across the state and efforts to expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum care.

A study by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) found that 62% of maternal deaths between 2016 and 2020 in South Carolina were pregnancy-related and that more than two-thirds of those deaths were preventable. The results are even starker for women of color who have a maternal mortality rate 2.4 times higher than White women.

“Now, instead of only three states, I am pleased to report 42 states now offer women a full year of coverage, including the women here in South Carolina.”

Her trip to the Palmetto State – the seventh since she became vice president – comes four weeks ahead of the first-in-the-nation Feb. 3 Democratic primary, in which Biden hopes to have a strong showing. The state proved key to Biden’s campaign in 2020, ultimately propelling him to the White House in part thanks to key endorsements from leaders like Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).

In her remarks, which fell on the third anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Harris said the country is facing a “full-on attack on hard-fought and hard-won freedoms and rights”. She urged South Carolina voters to join in the ongoing fight for democracy.  

“While we fight for progress, there are those who are trying to pull us backward,” she told the crowd. “[Democracy] is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. In this moment, our nation once again needs your leadership…when we fight, we win.”

Biden is expected to visit Mother Emanuel AME Church on Monday, where nine Black parishioners were shot and killed in a June 2015 white supremacist attack.

Leaders in the state’s Democratic Party say the visits show a strong commitment to “move South Carolina first” and invest in the state.  

“I think it just goes to show the commitment the president, the vice president, made in urging the Democrat National Committee to move us first, is that they’re taking this seriously and they are going to be here,” said Parmley.