Democrats aim to challenge Republican dominance in York County elections

YORK COUNTY, N.C. — Filing for election seats in York County begins Monday. Political leaders say they expect the upcoming races to be more competitive than in previous years as more candidates prepare to enter the field.

York County and the state of South Carolina have historically been reliably Republican, with few Democratic candidates choosing to run in the past.

Christale Spain, chair of the Democratic Party, said she expects a significant increase in Democratic competition this season. “When people have to compete, the government is better,” Spain said.

Spain stated during a meeting on Zoom that the party intends to challenge Republican control by increasing the number of Democratic candidates on the ballot.

ALSO READ: Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley hit campaign trail, focus on key issues

“Republicans have been in charge here for decades...this is how the democrats are going to fight back. That is by running candidates everywhere,” Spain said.

She argued that the party must have a presence in all races to be viable. “We can’t win if we don’t run candidates, and we can’t make seats competitive if we don’t run candidates everywhere,” she said.

To demonstrate the potential for Democratic competition in the state, Spain referenced the 2020 U.S. Senate race between Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democrat Jaime Harrison.

During that cycle, Harrison raised $130 million, which set a record at the time for the most money ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate.

Spain noted that several Democrats have already decided to run for state-wide positions this year, suggesting that the race against Graham could become competitive again.

Local voters expressed a desire for more choices during the election season. Cori Rivas, a York County resident and Republican voter, said she intends to exercise her right to vote despite previously being told it would not matter.

Rivas noted that her significant other used to tell her that her vote did not count, but she now knows better and intends to do the best she can.

Regarding the importance of having multiple candidates to choose from, Rivas said, “Otherwise we would be robots.”

Filing for York County election seats is scheduled to begin Monday. Party leaders expect the upcoming filing period to reveal the full extent of Democratic participation in both local and state-wide races.

VIDEO: Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley hit campaign trail, focus on key issues