Let me tell you why I am running.

 

We have less than 15% of women as elected officials in the State House of Representatives. Only two states are worse than we are for women elected to a state legislature. We need to change our number of women elected in South Carolina.

 

And why do we need more women in the state house? To prioritize issues that men don't always prioritize. These include education, women’s healthcare (such as reproductive rights), daycare, and gun violence. 

 

We are the ninth most restrictive state in the country when it comes to women's reproductive rights. Our six week ban is horrific and, unfortunately, there are conservative republicans in our statehouse who would love to see a complete ban on abortion. We have to make sure that we have legislators in our statehouse who can push back against these bans and more.

 

But there’s another reason why I'm running. I believe in economic justice. We are one of the poorest states in the country. One of the main reasons why we are so poor is due to low wages paid especially to our hourly employees. And these are mainly women and minorities. We need a state minimum wage law on the books in South Carolina that can periodically be raised. The message the state of South Carolina currently sends is having its hourly employees paid $7.25 per hour (the current federal minimum wage) is just fine. It is not! Right now states are raising their state minimum wages paid to hourly employees, some to $15.00 an hour. In order to lift the economic quality of life in the state of South Carolina, we need to raise wages.

 

Other reasons why I am running include advocating for a hate crimes law ( South Carolina is one of two states that does not have one) and reducing gun violence in our state. (We are the 9th worst state in the statistics of gun violence.)