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Beshear, Khanna rally SC Democrats as party touts contested races 'everywhere'
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hundreds of Democrats from across South Carolina gathered at the State Fairgrounds on Saturday for the South Carolina Democratic Party's annual state convention, an event focused on energizing voters ahead of the primary and general election.
The convention came just days after a week of record early voting turnout in the upcoming primary. Attendees spent the day hearing from candidates, elected officials and national Democratic figures, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna.
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Many attendees said they noticed growing enthusiasm within the party.
"This weekend was very energetic," Anderson resident Demetrius Carson said. "I've seen more people than I've seen before. I've been here before. The amount of people that are actually running on the Democratic ticket has grown tremendously. I think there's a real energy behind this Democratic Party going into the primaries and into November."
That enthusiasm was a common theme throughout the convention, with attendees pointing to early voting turnout and a growing number of contested races as signs of increased political engagement.
"It really feels very good and affirming to be in a room full of people that all kind of have the same morality, so it was nice to see that momentum and definitely coming off of this whole redistricting effort," Greenville resident Jill Lutz said. "It's very exciting."
Party members said they hope that enthusiasm translates into voter turnout this fall as Democrats compete in races across the state.
"The first time in our modern history of South Carolina, we have contested races everywhere, and I've been a South Carolina resident for 27 years and have never experienced this," Lutz said. "So that is really exciting, and I think it is time to exercise using our voices and our choices."