York County candidates vie for South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District seat

INDIAN LAND, S.C. — South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District seat is up for grabs, and two York County residents are vying for it.

There is a lot of grassroots support for both of these candidates in our area.

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Democrat Mallory Dittmer is from Fort Mill, and Republican State Sen. Wes Climer is from Rock Hill.

Dittmer spent several years in corporate retail before leaving corporate America to work for everyday people.

“I spent 15 years in corporate retail, really working on the business side of the fashion industry negotiating between multi-billion-dollar companies on licensing deals and things like that,” Dittmer said.

She added, “The No. 1 issue affecting folks today is the affordability piece. We spend more in childcare each year than I did in college for my college education.”

In addition to making things like groceries and childcare more affordable, Dittmer says she’ll also prioritize fixing healthcare by lowering the costs of insurance premiums and prescription drugs. She also wants to protect funding for public education.

She’s up against Climer. He’s served in the state Senate for almost 10 years.

“If the federal government doesn’t get its balance sheet under control, doesn’t cut spending significantly, the inflation will continue, the affordability crisis will go on,” Climer said.

Climer, a financial adviser by profession, says he has a plan to get the job done.

“I understand how capital markets work. I understand how to budget. And I want to apply those talents in the service of the country in Congress,” Climer said.

He says he’ll also prioritize exposing corruption in government, wants to advance the America First agenda, and fix the border crisis.

Both say this is a key moment in our nation and this election is crucial.

“This is a pivotal time for the country. These things have to get fixed,” Climer said.

“I got into this race because my husband and I, we don’t recognize the country we’re raising our kids in. And that gets more and more uncomfortable every day,” Dittmer said.

The 5th District was held by Congressman Ralph Norman for five terms. It includes York, Chester, Lancaster, and Chesterfield counties.

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